Huge blow for England as 'lucky mascot' set to miss Euro 2024 semi-final
England are set to take on the Netherlands on Wednesday night (July 10) to fight for their spot in the Euro 2024 finals, but unfortunately their ‘lucky mascot’ Prince William will not be attending.
Fans saw the Prince of Wales share his distress during the tense penalty shootout between Switzerland at the weekend, as pictures of his facial expressions went viral.
However, William will reportedly not be travelling to the semi-final in Germany due to work commitments. As President of the FA and an avid Aston Villa fan, it’s no doubt the future King will be disappointed to miss the highly anticipated semi-final.
During the weekend, the Prince cheered on the England squad at the arrived at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, along with 50,000 football fans.
He was also in the stands for England's 1-1 draw with Denmark in Frankfurt during the group stages of the Euros.
Saturday’s quarter final saw England go through by winning 5-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
After the game, William was seen congratulating the players, as he was spotted with players including Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold who both scored penalties during the tense shootout.
"Nail biting to the very end. Well done @England! Semi-finals here we come! We believe. W,” the Prince wrote on social media after the game.
If the Three Lions go on to beat the Netherlands in Wednesdays semi-final, they will take on Spain in the final on Sunday. On Tuesday night, Spain beat France 2-1 to secure their place in the 2024 finals.
If the England team were to go all the way, it would fix the heartbreak of millions of fans, after they lost to Italy in the 2021 finals after a penalty shootout.
Prince William was in attendance at the Wembley final three years ago, which he called “heartbreaking”.
Captioning a photo of the team reposted on his Instagram account at the time, the Prince penned: " @England , you've all come so far, but sadly this time it wasn't our day. You can all hold your heads high, and be so proud of yourselves — I know there's more to come. W."
William was joined by wife Kate Middleton and eldest child Prince George during the final, as the visibly sad young Prince was comforted by his parents after the heartbreaking loss.
George wasn’t by his dad’s side during the 2024 quarter-final, although fans will be hoping for his presence should the team make it to the final.
