Harry Kane’s World Cup feats have been celebrated in a new artwork near Peterborough just in time for England reaching the quarter-finals.
A record nine million people watched Monday’s dramatic victory over Mexico on BBC TV and the BBC iPlayer.
The city’s renowned street artist Nathan Murdoch has painted a mural of the England captain on a barn-type building door just off the A47 between Eye and Thorney. The artwork is about four metres (13ft) high.
Murdoch, 38, is also planning to paint a mural honouring England’s Jude Bellingham in Peterborough on Saturday, although the exact location has yet to be confirmed.
The mural had been well-received, Nathan Murdoch said [John Devine/BBC]
“He’s going to break [more] records for England. I wanted to do something as a fan, and here it is,” Murdoch, from Street Arts Hire, said of Kane.
The mural, which was finished on Sunday, had already caught the attention of passing motorists ahead of England’s win in Mexico City in the early hours of Monday.
Murdoch said a video of his artwork had been viewed more than 300,000 times on social media.
“The response has been great… it’s an achievement,” he said.
However, he admitted painting the mural was challenging.
“It took about seven hours… the heat and the wind [were] blowing the paint away,” he added.
“At one point I was like ‘I just want to go home’.
“The door is corrugated; it’s uneven surfaces; I battled with this painting, just like England did on Monday.”
Rachael Denham says she is a “huge football fan” [John Devine/BBC]
Rachael Denham, from Sutton St James, near Peterborough, had come to view the mural after spotting it on social media.
“We are huge football fans. It’s fantastic… it’s a lot bigger than it looks online,” she said.
Asked about England’s chances in the next round, she said: “We are all set up. We have England flags in the front and back of the house. The beer fridge is full and we are very optimistic. They have a good chance if they play like they did on Monday.”
Jade Barker said the mural was “fantastic” [John Devine/BBC]
Jade Barker, also from Sutton St James, said: “The detail is perfection. The eyes look like he’s alive.”
She predicted England would beat Norway 2-1 in Saturday’s quarter-final.
Nathan Murdoch said “Harry deserves this place” on the agricultural building, which is on the northern side of the A47 where Thorney Road becomes The Causeway [John Devine/BBC]
The Kane mural has replaced one that Murdoch painted of former England manager Gareth Southgate, whom he described as “the best manager in my lifetime”.
He said it was his dream to see England win the World Cup “at least once”.
“The conversation in my house is all about Erling Haaland,” he said.
“He’s the one we’re worried about. Dan Burn, it’s your time to shine – you’re our wall against the Norwegians.”
England face Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Miami.
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