World Cup excitement builds in Channel Islands

The World Cup excitement is going up a notch in the Channel Islands today, as England and Portugal play for the first time.

It's Portugal who play first, taking on DR Congo at 6pm, with England taking on Croatia from 9pm.

Portugal will be hoping to repeat scenes seen in 2016 when they won the Euros, while England's men will be looking for major tournament glory for the first time since their 1966 World Cup victory.

Fabio, a Portugal fan in the Channel Islands, said:

"They can do well as long as they play (well) defensively, construct the team properly, and keep everything in balance.

"(Cristiano Ronaldo) is the main scorer, but it'll be nice if other players have the opportunity to score as well."

 This is 41 year old Ronaldo's sixth World Cup.

We also spoke to some local England fans about how they're feeling.

"Yeah, confident! Tuchel is building more of a team than star players, so hopefully we can play a bit better!"

"I don't think they'll do very well. I'll be very surprised if they win the first game and then it's a struggle."

"I don't want to be too positive yet, we'll see what happens!"

"We've got a fantasy league already going, I've got (Harry) Kane as the captain, so really hoping to get some good points!"

Jersey pubs can stay open later to show some matches, and some Guernsey pubs have applied to do the same.

Sean Murphy, publican of The Lamplighter in Jersey, said:

"Most of the games are a bit awkward for small pubs like ourselves. We have been given a licence to extend, but there's a few rules and regulations we need to follow, like with doormen and being an island, there's only a certain amount of doorman that go around.

"But we have shown a few of the early games, and the football has gone down quite well!

"We're different to the UK. Everybody here seems to have a good time, you don't have to worry about violence or anything like that, the island governs itself, everybody knows each other, good times all round!"

Jersey and Guernsey Police are reminding islanders to respect fellow fans, enjoy matches responsibly, and challenge  behaviour that risks harm to others or damages the reputation of the game.

It follows news of banning orders imposed on three spectators for disorder at the men's Muratti final last month.

Guernsey Police have also confirmed they are stepping up drink drive checks during the tournament, having made 28 arrests so far this year.