Tens of thousands of fans converged on London's Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night for an emotional international friendly match between old rivals, the English and French national teams.
English fans draped themselves in the French Tricolore and belted out "La Marseillaise" ahead of the match in a stirring show of support for the French, who had their own vocal contingent at Wembley for the match.
#LaMarseillaise #wembley #EngvFra @LBC pic.twitter.com/yS9xn5NNZM— John Cushing (@JohnCushing_) November 17, 2015
Love this #england #france #solidarity A photo posted by Rob Davies (@rdavies7) on Nov 17, 2015 at 11:31am PST
The scene inside the stadium was as colorful as it had been outside as English fans waved the national flag of France alongside their rivals.
Fantastic shot of @Wembley pre-kickoff by @henrywinter. #ENGvFRA. May this be a moment we can all be proud of. pic.twitter.com/VKHZSKjYL8— Sam Laird (@samcmlaird) November 17, 2015
Play For Paris flag spotted at the #EngvFra game pic.twitter.com/DM6lOe3nIV— Mashable GIF (@mashablegif) November 17, 2015
Both teams wore black bands on their arms for the match, particularly poignant for French midfielder Lassana Diarra, whose cousin was among those killed in Friday's attack.
Another French player, Antoine Griezmann, had a sister who escaped the carnage at the Le Bataclan music venue.
Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, was among a trio, including both teams' coaches, who presented wreaths before the match in honor of the victims of the deadly attacks.
Prince William laying wreaths for the victims of the Paris attacks. pic.twitter.com/814KMONfLG— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) November 17, 2015
In a stirring display of unity, when the time came during the pregame festivities to play the national anthems, the stadium in its entirety was asked to join in to sing "La Marseillaise."
A powerful performance of 'La Marseillaise' before the #EngvFra game pic.twitter.com/svUJd1gDRd— Mashable GIF (@mashablegif) November 17, 2015
As the prematch remembrances came to an end, the teams embraced to raucous applause and cheers from the fans in attendance. And, in the moments before kickoff, the players and referees gathered around the circle at midfield and took part in one minute of silence to honor the victims of the attacks.
The moment of silence #ENGvFRA pic.twitter.com/yIY999y3Ku— Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) November 17, 2015
Armed police at Wembley for #EngvFra. (Not a common sight in England.)They said they're hoping for a quiet night. pic.twitter.com/l2AKgO28oQ— Liza Hearon (@hello_liza) November 17, 2015
As for the match itself, England won 2-0 behind goals from Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney. But on this Tuesday night at Wembley, the actual result between two soccer rivals was the last thing that actually mattered. The match's true stakes were shown to powerful effect when hundreds of fans in the stands waved French flags in unison immediately after the final whistle.
There was plenty of reason for the post-match hugs among players and coaches.
And French players cheered the attending throngs as the flags continued waving in all corners of the stadium.
The match comes just days after the deadly terror attacks in Paris, which included a series of suicide bombers detonating themselves outside the Stade de France during a match between France and Germany.
The match also featured heightened security measures in light of the Paris attacks. At least two other international friendly matches between European countries scheduled for Tuesday were canceled due to security concerns, but England and France played on.