ENGLAND football fans went crazy as they watched their side beat Tunisia in their dramatic World Cup opener.

Pints were launched in the air, furniture sent flying and shirts and flags waved by fans in celebration as England, in typical fashion, took supporters down to the wire to claim a nervy 2-1 win.

Earlier in the day, commuters faced traffic chaos as people attempted to dash home or rushed off to get the best spot in the pub for the 7pm kick-off.

And with good reason — Hogarth’s in Churchgate was packed to the rafters with fans, so much so that people had to queue to get in as the pub reached capacity.

Before the game, friends John Gaskell, from Heaton, and Danny Alker and Joe Lomax, both from Smithills, ambitiously predicted a two or three-nil win for England, with the side then going on to reach the quarter or semi-finals.

All seemed to be going according to plan as England came out strong in the first half, with captain Harry Kane scoring an early goal, but Tunisia got one back before the break from a controversial penalty.

Some fans seemed a little disillusioned at half time, thinking England should have scored several more on the score sheet, while others were buoyed by the performance.

John Noble, from Westhoughton said: “I think there’s certain things they need to improve on. There are things they did well but they are lacking the finishing touch. It’s the worst first half of football I have seen from England. They should be 4-1 up.”

Chris Horrocks, from Bradshaw, simply added: “Football’s coming home. We’re going to win 2-1.”

The second half was tense affair but that did not stop fans chanting, as they did for much of the 90 minutes.

Then Hogarth’s erupted as hundreds of fans celebrated when the game was sealed by a Harry Kane header in the dying minutes of injury time.

The victory provides a dream start for the Three Lions, especially with Germany, Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Argentina all failing to win in their first group stage matches.

Danny Chadwick aged 27, from Tong Moor said: “It was unbelievable but they left it late. We deserved the win but it’s just like being a Bolton fan, they never make it easy.”

England play Panama at 1pm on June 24.