England has its "best chance in decades to lift the World Cup," having fallen short in the semifinals in '90, and the nation's media is "getting into a frenzy," according to Hardik Vyas of REUTERS. Goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli gave Gareth Southgate's side a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Sweden on Saturday. The front page of the Sunday Mirror read, "Semi Gods," with a picture of English players celebrating Maguire's header to open the scoring, while the Sunday People's headline urged the fans and the squad to "Keep calm and Harry on." The London Observer said that a nation "hungry for joy has finally found its new heroes." The Sunday Express said that a "quietly confident" nation started to believe that football could really be "coming home," as England's '96 football anthem goes (REUTERS, 7/8). The BBC's Chris Bevan reported Alan Shearer said, "It's coming home," after seeing England reach the semifinals. On Radio 5 live, Chris Waddle -- one of the heroes of the '90 campaign -- "broke down in tears," saying, "It's unbelievable. I couldn't believe I would witness this. It's quite emotional actually." Former Three Lions captain Shearer described goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's performance as "outstanding," while fellow BBC TV pundit Rio Ferdinand felt defender Harry Maguire, who scored England's opener, was "immense" (BBC, 7/7).
