England fans have been arriving in Kiev ahead of their crunch quarter-final against Italy in Euro 2012.
Unlike previous tournaments where tens of thousands of fans have followed England, there are far fewer on tour in Ukraine.
Only around 5,000 had tickets to the final group game in Donetsk , and similar numbers are expected on Sunday.
Airlines and travel firms have been busy dealing with enquiries about getting to Kiev.
But so far high ticket prices and limited hotel accommodation have put some fans off.
Graham Edmondson, who flew in to Kiev with his son Charlie, told Sky News: "We started off in Northumberland yesterday.
"It is not cheap, it is not easy, it is fairly gruelling painful process but, you know, we have just got to do it, haven't we?"
Many fans are eyeing a potential semi-final in Warsaw, Poland, which would be easier and cheaper to get to.
After so much disappointment and disillusionment by the inept performances at the World Cup in South Africa two years ago, the travelling fans now have a team that is making the travel worthwhile.
Barnsley resident Kieran Baker, 25, told Sky News: "We obviously care a lot, we spend a lot of money on this."
"It is good to see that they care and show the passion and hopefully that leads us through this one and leads us to the final - you never know!"
