England fans in mad scramble for tickets to get to Samara for World Cup quarter-final

Thousands more England fans were today joining a scramble to the remote Russian city of Samara ahead of the Three Lions’ quarter-final clash with Sweden on Saturday.

The industrial city — home to Stalin’s wartime bunker and a hub for the Soviet space programme — is 650 miles east of Moscow, where England eventually overcame Colombia in a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out last night.

Supporters already in Moscow have three options for the gruelling journey to Samara’s Cosmos Arena: a £30 bus taking 18 hours, a two-day coach ride, or one of seven daily trains, which take 13 hours and cost around £50.

READ MORE: Ospina proud despite penalty shootout defeat to England

READ MORE: Colombia victims of ‘monumental theft’ believes Maradona

READ MORE: England win shows you can shake off the past - and not just on the pitch

Tickets for the 90-minute flight between the two cities sold out within minutes of the final whistle.

In the UK, Google searches for flights and tickets to Samara rocketed by 500 per cent at 7am today as England woke up to the realisation that victory had not been a dream. Flights from Heathrow are still available, with an eight-hour return on British Airways starting at around £1,500.

A two-day stay at a one-bed apartment near the stadium costs anything from £40 to £300.

According to the official England Supporters’ Club around 3,000 tickets were made available for the last-eight game ahead of the tournament. But up to 40,000 had been snapped up in advance by optimistic Colombians, who were selling them off “by the handful” after their dreams were dashed.

Isaac Leckie, 22, said tickets with a face value of £227 were going for up to £450.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch warned England fans to be vigilant for any terrorism threats and urged them “to make sure they get their tickets from official outlets”.