Excitement from Bully and city MPs as England come to town
A Wolves legend and city MPs have spoken about their excitement and pride at seeing the Three Lions playing in their city.
Wolverhampton Wanderer's Molineux stadium will be the host for both the men's and women's England teams, with three games taking place over the course of a week at the stadium in the UEFA Nations League and in preparation for the Women's Euro 2022.
The men's team will take on Italy on Saturday behind closed doors, albeit with around 3,000 children allowed to watch the game, but will be roared on by a capacity, sold-out crowd of around 32,000 as it takes on Hungary on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Lionesses will take on Belgium on Thursday as they continue to prepare for the 2022 European Championships, having won the Arnold Clark Cup with a 3-1 win against Germany at the stadium in February.
The arrival of international football at Molineux for the first time since 1956 has been met with excitement by former Wolves goal-scoring legend Steve Bull, who played 13 times for England, scoring four goals and playing at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
He said it was going to be unbelievable to have England playing at Molineux and said it would be something which would inspire youngsters in the city.
He said: "It's been over 60 years since we last had an England game down here and I think for the youngsters coming down here to watch the game, it's going to be unbelievable, and we have the facilities, training ground and pitch ready and, hopefully, we can have more in the future.
"I hope they get the results here and I want them to get the results here and I will be here on Tuesday for the game, which will be a huge occasion and a massive atmosphere.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what the women can do here as well as the football is absolutely superb and they play some damn good football, so it'll be a great evening as well."
Steve Bull also spoke about his own England career and his fond memories from that time and how they would come flooding back when he heard the national anthem playing and said he hoped to see Conor Coady take the field for England at Molineux.
He said: "I remember us playing Italy in the third and fourth place playoff in 1990 and I was there, proud as punch, so I hope we beat them as we owe them one.
"Conor's a great player and I hope he gets the chance to get out there and put on his boots in an England shirt on a Wolverhampton Wanderers pitch."
All three of the city's MPs were united in their excitement at seeing England playing in the city and spoke of the boost to the local economy.
Wolverhampton North East MP Jane Stevenson said: "I think it's fantastic that international football is coming to Molineux and I know so many local fans are looking forward to it.
"Our historic stadium has been Wolves fans' hallowed turf since 1889.
"Apart from enjoying some Molineux Magic, I hope visitors will enjoy all our local pubs and restaurants and give our city-centre economy a much-needed boost."
Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said he was going to the women's game on Thursday and said it was a wonderful honour for the city.
He said: "It's wonderful to see England play at Molineux as it is a stadium in a city with a wonderful footballing tradition and it will be really exciting to have the national team back in Wolverhampton for the first time since 1956.
"We've got two international games in the city next week that people can attend and that can only be good news for Wolverhampton and I'm looking forward to seeing the England women's game."
Wolverhampton South West MP Stuart Anderson said: "I think it's outstanding for the city.
"Wolves is right in the heart of the city centre and it's loved across the whole of Wolverhampton and internally too, it has a huge following.
"And to have England come here, it's outstanding - it's great for raising the profile of the city, showing off the facilities we have here and for the economy too.
"It's always good (when stuff like this happens) and it's definitely welcome."
