Tickets for England World Cup opener go on sale for £15

We’re here: England fans Matthew Carson and Dan Thomas arrive at Tambo airport in Johannesburg today

Hundreds of tickets for England's opening World Cup game on Saturday are on sale for as little as £15 today.

As the first of an expected 10,000 England fans began to arrive in South Africa, they were greeted with news that cut-price tickets had become available for the match against America.

Fifa has allowed the last-minute sale of about 300 tickets that had previously been reserved for South African residents, with prices starting at £15.

Kevin Miles of the Football Supporters' Federation, who is in Johannesburg, said: "All official 5,000 tickets designated for England fans have sold out and I expect there will be double that number in the stadium.

"If tickets are put on sale at the last minute, then that is good news for those who turn up at a late stage."

Mr Miles said he expected most supporters to land in Johannesburg on Friday, and stay for the first three games.

He said many tickets that include hospitality packages had also come back onto the market because of poor sales, but "these will cost around £1,000 and be out of the reach of most fans".

Four friends from Cheltenham were among the first England followers to land, with tickets for the first three games and each possible match up to and including the final.

John Galpin, a 46-year-old managing director, said: "I expect the whole trip to cost around £3,000 each with flights, hotels and match tickets, but it will be worth every penny if England win.

"This is the first time I have travelled to watch us abroad. I want to be able to say, I was there when Steve Gerrard lifted the World Cup and ran around the pitch waving it in the air.' That will be priceless."

His friend Barry Walker added: "It is a long way to travel and you have to be fairly committed to the cause to have done this.

"We are because we believe that England's time has come. Wayne Rooney will get the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals."

Officials have erected a giant beer tent in Johannesburg for England fans to congregate in, and British police have set up an operations in the city to keep an eye on any potential trouble.

Malcolm Hodges, 40, who works in a senior citizens' home, added: "Let's hope there is no hooliganism. I can never understand why people would go so far and then break the law in a foreign country."

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