Whatever happens from this point, we can say that we were there to see England win a penalty shootout. A firm outstretched top hand from Jordan Pickford to save the Colombian penalty, followed by an Eric Dier winner, made the sucker-punch 90th-minute equaliser worth the heart-wrenching stress.

As a group we came to Russia refusing to believe what we considered to be over-hyped depictions of blood-thirsty Russians chomping at the bit to get their hands on some England fans. We were aided by the fact that one of us, Max, had been based in Moscow for three years and we trusted his judgment when it came to the reception England fans would receive.

Safe to say, though, we were not expecting to spend our first night in St Petersburg bar-crawling our way along Nevsky Prospekt with a group of Zenit St Petersburg ultras. Their astonishment, verging on awe, at meeting someone “from the real Great Britain”, to put it in Kirill’s words, was a shock. Yet it was clear that Kirill and his rather brutish-looking friends were genuinely excited to show us around their beloved “Piter”, as they referred to it.

Max was the only member of our group to attend the first two England matches, in Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod, but the atmosphere at these was much the same. A real cocktail of incredibly enthusiastic underdog supporters, largely open-minded England fans and a big addition of friendly, hospitable locals.

Selfie time with Harry Kane. Photograph: Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images

The only issues in Volgograd were the swarms of midges, getting harassed for photos by Tunisians for foolishly wearing a retro Algeria shirt the day before the match and being threatened with “the hammer” by a 60-year-old drunk Scouser for daring to ask for a replacement beer having been drenched by his pint as he knocked over a table.

After our first few nights the message was clear: England are as welcome here as any other nation. The queues of Russians in Volgograd and Nizhny wanting to take photos with England fans and flags were a testament to this.

Our first chance to all meet up came in Kaliningrad where we received a call from an organiser of a Fans’ Embassy friendly match taking place at the Baltika stadium. Having already sampled a couple of the local beverages we were probably not in the best shape to be playing football, but it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down.

We played two matches: a 2-0 loss to the local Baltika Kaliningrad fan side and a 2-1 defeat by a well kitted-out Belgian side. The tone was friendly and the local media were delighted to hear that our experiences had been nothing but positive. All the teams congregated afterwards for the local cameras and the fans joined in, as much as they could, with each other’s songs.

Despite a pair of ripped shorts and an unwelcome breeze for Howard, who played his first game in goal for 10 years, and an eye-opener for the rest of us on how not to prepare for a match in the future, it was a great experience and an unexpected treat before what turned out to be a dud of a game the next day.

England fans watch the Colombia match in a fan zone in Moscow. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

However, our trip to the strikingly German-looking area of Russia had already been made worthwhile by witnessing Germany’s exit in a pub dominated by ecstatic Mexicans chanting “Ko-re-a” incessantly at full-time.

Although we are well aware you never really see the true nature of a country during a World Cup, the excessive negative press aimed at Russia pre‑tournament failed to hit the mark on what has been an incredible party. The political mess between Britain and Russia has clearly not affected locals’ ability to greet travelling fans with a full “ryumka” of vodka and a smile on their face.

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