World Cup: 'I'll miss England's game to be home for Christmas'

Football fan Jonny Halstein has taken his flag to all nine games he has been to at the Qatari World Cup

A man who spends half of his working life in Qatar has told how a shortage of flights means he will go home before England's World Cup quarter-final.

Instead of watching the match against France in person, Jonny Halstein will be at Portman Road to see Ipswich Town v Peterborough United in League One.

Mr Halstein, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, works in the oil and gas industry.

He said: "I'm going to watch Ipswich versus Peterborough on Saturday so that's the next best thing, hey?"

The 50-year-old has split his time between and home and Qatar over the past seven years, with five weeks on and five weeks off.

During that time, he has seen the World Cup stadiums built and all the infrastructure put in place.

The Ipswich Town fan looked into extending his stay but found he would not be able to get home in time for Christmas if he did not fly home as planned.

Jonny Halstein has visited all the World Cup stadia in Qatar

"I couldn't find any [flight] tickets so I had to go back," he said.

Mr Halstein has been taking an England flag to matches, featuring Ipswich Town's badge and Lowestoft Blues.

It also references two former Ipswich and England managers - Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey.

Sir Bobby, who won the Uefa Cup and FA Cup with Town, took England to the World Cup quarter-finals in 1986 and semi-finals in 1990, while Sir Alf won the league title with the Suffolk club in 1962 before leading his country to World Cup glory in 1966.

Mr Halstein said he had seen two of Sir Bobby's former players working as World Cup pundits during his travels in Qatar - Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.

"I showed them the flag and they gave me the thumbs up, so that was good," he said.

He has brought his flag back to the UK and plans to take it with him to the Wycombe Wanderers v Ipswich Town match on 17 December.

He said attending a World Cup was always on his bucket list and he has seen nine games in Qatar, including two with his partner.

Acknowledging worldwide concerns over the number of construction worker deaths in Qatar, he said the tournament itself had been well-organised, adding: "A lack of alcohol has probably helped."

"It's been good because there's been 32 nations all in one city, and you probably get 32 nations at each match," he said.

"I've been to every stadium, there's eight stadiums and I've been to all eight.

"You won't be able to do that at any other World Cup - not without a lot of travelling and a lot of money."

Mr Halstein arrives back home in Lowestoft later and is looking forward to a big day of football on Saturday.

After watching Ipswich Town, he plans to head to his local pub, the Ole Frank, in Lowestoft, to watch the England v France game. His prediction?

"I think the winner of this game will get to the final," he said.