Our Black Country man in South Africa Paul Geiss saw the horror of England’s World Cup exit live from a stunned fan park in Cape Town.

One of the best places to view the World Cup matches, if you do not actually have a ticket, is the fan parks set up in each of the host cities.

As a resident of the city I may be biased, but Cape Town surely has the best fan park of them all particularly for the late afternoon games. It is a dramatic sight to watch your football amongst a good natured crowd, with the light changing and the colours of sunset splashed across Table Mountain.

So Sunday saw us venture out again to join the festivity for England versus Germany. Once again it was a party atmosphere and Table Mountain was beautiful.

Sadly the football from the side in red was not. The controversy over the Frank Lampard goal will go on for long after the game and probably deflect attention from the England performance in this game and maybe the tournament as a whole.

In a cricket and rugby mad country where every try and lbw decision can be replayed then scrutinized beyond all doubt, the locals are amazed that football still lags behind the times.

The gasp of shock from tens of thousands of fans at the first replay was probably heard on top of Table Mountain. Even the German supporters put flags to one side to shake their heads in amazement.

Ultimately this should not overshadow what has been a hugely disappointing tournament for everyone visiting from England and those of us living out here who have waited years for this chance.

I hope the players are disappointed too, as so many of them seem to be riddled with self doubt and an inability to step up and perform on the big stage.

I suspect many England fans will start to head home now – the weather in the United Kingdom is sure to be warmer than our winter.

For those of us staying for the rest of the tournament and beyond, a decision now needs to be made on who to support.

South Africa have shown a magnificent ability to accept their own team’s elimination and still enjoy the party. Locals have adopted many of the surviving teams – sadly of course England were a popular choice.

Everyone remaining here needs to be equally as gracious and find a new side to adopt. I have tickets for Spain versus Portugal and then Germany versus Argentina here in Cape Town, so it will not be hard to enjoy some quality football.

I just wonder when if ever I will see it from the team of my homeland.