Fan bought flight before having Euros final ticket

Paul Freeman booked his travel before England had even played in the semi-final

An England football fan said he booked his travel to Berlin before he had a ticket to the final Euros game against Spain on Sunday.

Paul Freeman, from Norwich, is a part of the England Supporters Travel Club and was placed into a ballot to win tickets.

He found out on Thursday that he and his son had won - but this was after they had already booked their travel over to Germany.

Mr Freeman said they were "very lucky" to have got a ticket but he was never in doubt England would make it this far.

"We did have to book a flight [beforehand] because the prices were just soaring through the roof," he explained to BBC Look East.

"My son and I decided to book a flight before the semi-final because they were just getting more and more expensive.

"We did take a bit of a chance with that. We were confident."

Mr Freeman left on Friday on a flight from Norwich City Airport to Amsterdam before boarding a six-and-a-half hour train to Berlin.

He will then leave Berlin and do the same route back on Monday.

England's Ollie Watkins delighted fans on Wednesday when he scored the semi-final winning goal

Mr Freeman, who works on an oil rig in the North Sea, was also lucky enough to have watched England's first two group stage matches against Serbia and Denmark respectively.

He said the atmosphere at the Serbia game was "very good" before some "moans and groans" were heard against Denmark.

"But being a football fan - and a Norwich City supporter - you always have to stay positive and get behind your team," he continued.

"I thought a lot of the criticism of Gareth Southgate was unfair - I like Gareth Southgate.

"His record as England manager is very, very good and let's hope he is Sir Gareth Southgate after Sunday because I'm sure if he wins he'll be getting a knighthood."

Mr Freeman said he was "very confident" of an England win against Spain on Sunday.

He believed the English squad was "peaking at the right time" and predicted a 2-1 win to the Three Lions.

"[Spain has] beaten Germany and they've beaten France but they've not played England yet," he added.

"We'll find a way to beat Spain."