Nigel Farage shared a photo of himself celebrating England's 4-2 World Cup victory over Croatia — but eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot that his pub celebration picture wasn't quite what it seemed.
Social Media Reaction
Jubilant scenes erupted throughout England last night as Thomas Tuchel's squad stormed to a spectacular 4-2 triumph in the Three Lions' World Cup opener. Supporters nationwide rejoiced and downed pint after pint following two strikes from Harry Kane before half-time, and two more from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford in the second half, launching England's tournament in emphatic fashion.
Among those marking the occasion was Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who shared an image on X, formerly Twitter, following the final whistle showing himself at a pub, dressed in an England shirt and cheerfully drinking a pint, accompanied by the caption: "Proper job. @England." However, observers were swift to highlight one issue.
Mirror US Political Editor Mikey Smith reshared the photograph with the comment: "This...er. This taken tonight was it Nigel?" Another remarked: "Incredible that you managed to be in the same pub with the flags in the exact same place with same people next to you from the Euros two years ago."
Social media commenters rapidly recognised the photograph as having been captured nearly two years previously, at The Armfield Club in Blackpool when England met Denmark in the Euros on June 20, 2024 - not last night, reports the Daily Star.
Another X user shared a series of photographs from the same occasion in 2024, accompanied by the tongue-in-cheek caption: "Nigel Farage is such a man of the people, that he arranged for everyone he was in the pub with to watch England play Denmark in 2024, to get back together in the same clothes to watch England play Croatia in the 2026 World Cup. What a guy!"
Responding to Farage's post, one witty user quipped: "It's taken you two years to drink that pint, you f****** lightweight." While another cheekily shared the identical image with the caption: "Farage celebrating the World Cup in 2030."
Mikey weighed in, commenting: "If Keir Starmer was caught using a picture of himself from two years ago to celebrate an England win, the backlash would probably be enough to finish him off."
Reform UK Response
A Reform UK spokesperson responded: "Yes, the picture is from 2024. After a full day campaigning in Makerfield ahead of the by-election, Nigel watched the game nearby and celebrated England's first win (hopefully the first of many!)"
Residents of Makerfield, Greater Manchester, are heading to the polls today, Thursday, for a by-election to select their new MP.
Match Details
The contest at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas was level at half-time after Kane's brace was met with goals from Croatia's Martin Baturina and Petar Musa. However, England stormed back after the break, with Bellingham finding the net just two minutes into the second half, before Rashford sealed the victory in the 85th minute.
Writing on X following the fixture, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed the win as a "fantastic result against Croatia and a performance to be proud of". He continued: "On to the next one."
England's upcoming fixture sees them take on Ghana at Boston Stadium on Tuesday, June 23 - with kick-off scheduled for 9pm GMT. Their concluding group stage encounter against Panama will then take place at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Saturday, June 27, commencing at 10pm British time.
