Proud England football fans have been blocked from welcoming their World Cup heroes back home at Birmingham Airport.

The Three Lions are due to fly back from Russia this afternoon after reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1990.

Gareth Southgate’s team defied all expectations to make the last four and have restored some much-needed pride after the nightmare of Euro 2016.

They were beaten 2-0 by Belgium yesterday in the third-place play-off match that defeat has done little to dampen the spirit of a nation that was gripped with World Cup fever.

However, supporters will not be permitted to share that joy with the squad upon their arrival after it was confirmed there would be no viewing area.

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Angry members of the public slammed Birmingham Airport for the move and branded them ‘killjoys’ for failing to judge the national mood.

But they were quick to inform disappointed fans that they were only acting under orders from the Football Association.

The statement from Birmingham Airport read: “Please be aware that there will be no public viewing area to see the England Football team arrive home so we strongly advise the public not to come to Birmingham Airport as you will not see the team. Thank you for your cooperation.

“We haven’t made the decision to not arrange a homecoming. We’re handling the flight as the FA asked & the area of the airport doesn’t lend itself to a viewing area. We understand you want to welcome the team but you’ll not be able to see them. We ask you not to come to the site.”

It means England fans will have to wait until the Three Lions’ next fixtures in September to properly thank the players for their efforts.

Southgate’s side will first play the USA before taking on Spain and Croatia in the UEFA Nations League in October.

The performances in Russia have raised hopes of another big adventure at Euro 2020 but the England boss knows his boys still need to improve.

He said: “We don’t kid ourselves and we know the areas we hope to get better.

“We are very proud of what we have done. Against the best teams we have come up short, but we have had a wonderful experience.

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“I couldn’t ask for any more from the players. We were 20 minutes from a World Cup final three nights ago.

“We haven’t hidden in terms of where we see our progress, but we also leave here having progressed a lot as a team.

“The experiences the players have had and the enjoyment is important in an England shirt. They would have learned a lot in victory and in defeat, and now we look to the future.”