[Video] 2014 World Cup Draw: A Close-Up Look At How England Fans Reacted To The Draw

December 6th 2013 was an important date in any football fans’ calendar. It was the day of the 2014 World Cup Draw.

England secured their place in Brazil with a 2-0 win over Poland at Wembley back in October and after months of gruelling World Cup qualifiers and tense play-offs played all across the globe, we had our 32 finalists who were ready to find out their fate.

While the majority of media outlets stuck to the generic coverage of last weeks draw, as one of the official partners of the 2014 World Cup, Budweiser decided to take a more immersive look at fan culture and record their reactions all over the world.

Budweiser hosted events at pubs in five cities around the globe to bring us a closer look at fans’ experiences, expectations and their reactions to the draw as it happened. The aim was to see what their thoughts were pre-draw, what their gut-reactions were post-draw, and to asses how fan culture compares in different nations.

Before the draw, England fans understandably wanted to avoid the likes of Germany, Spain and Brazil – the three World Cup favourites – and the general consensus was they were hoping for lady-luck to be on their side and hand England a kind draw.

However, somewhat surprisingly, fans seemed rather upbeat after the draw had taken place despite the fact Roy Hodgson’s men had been drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ along with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. Maybe it was the beer talking, but there was a sense of positivity among the supports that England could not only get out the group, but do something special at the tournament.

Here’s the video from the London event that includes interviews with a number of fans before and after the draw: