'It's payback time for the Hand of God in 1986'

A man who spent his life savings to take his grandad to the World Cup says he is "quietly confident" ahead of England's semi-final with Argentina.

Jacob Allmendinger, 21, from North Ferriby in East Yorkshire, and Geoff Golliker, 80, will be in Atlanta for the match on Wednesday and said victory for the Three Lions would be "payback" for Diego Maradona's infamous Hand of God goal in 1986.

"I feel like this is a proper rivalry and it's going to be fierce," Jacob said.

The pair have gone viral on social media since starting their trip, which has seen them travel to England's matches in Miami and Mexico City.

Jacob added: "Playing Argentina in the semi-final obviously brings you back to the heartbreak you had at the World Cup in '86. Then there's the political tensions and the rivalry between the two teams, which is just crazy."

The pair said they would travel to New York after the Argentina match, where they hoped to cheer on England in the final, which takes place in Manhattan on Sunday.

"There's been a different edge in every match we've played. Tuchel has got something with this squad," Geoff said.

"I'm confident we'll be in the final. I'm not sure it'll be beautiful football but I think we'll do it and the whole country would take that."

Jacob agreed and said a win in the final would round off a memorable trip.

"We've already watched England beat Mexico in Mexico, which was crazy. The only game that could ever beat that is winning the World Cup, which hopefully we'll do on Sunday," he said.

Jacob and Geoff, who were given their savings back by a company inspired by their tale, said their newfound fame had been "crazy" but they were enjoying the attention.

"It's absolutely brilliant," said Geoff.

"Everybody's so friendly and we'll just be walking along and suddenly someone will say are you those two from TikTok? It's fantastic."

Jacob was equally bemused: "It's crazy the amount of people that have recognised us. We've had loads of family and friends messaging us. It's pretty crazy."

The pair are due to arrive back in East Yorkshire on Monday and said travelling to England matches had been an amazing experience.

Jacob concluded: "You get to go to places that you'd never get to go to otherwise. You meet people that you'd never meet and see cultures and cities that you'd never actually go to.

"Who would go to Serbia and Latvia for a weekend other than football fans? That's the beauty of it. You get to do these things, you get to squash stereotypes and it is absolutely amazing."

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Storefor iPhone and iPad orGoogle Play for Android devices