Former Herne Bay captain Neil Brown talks having helped England over-60s to World Nations Cup joy in Spain

A former semi-professional footballer has described helping England to international joy as a dream come true.

Herne Bay-based Neil Brown, 61, was part of the England over-60s team that enjoyed World Nations Cup joy in Spain last month.

“It was great,” Brown said. “The weather was hot, it was probably somewhere between 26 and 28 degrees. The pitches were very good.

“It was well-organised by Team Spain. The referees were very good, as well, so I cannot really complain about anything. Maybe, that would be different if we hadn’t won it!

“Hopefully, it promotes well-being and mental health because there are people that just want to come along and get out of the house.

“This is something I would never have dreamt of when I was in my 30s and coming to the end of my football career.

“It’s a dream come true.”

Former Herne Bay captain Brown, who previously skippered England over-50s, helped the over-60s side see off finalists Northern Ireland in Torrevieja.

He said: "It was a bit like the World Cup. The top four went through to the knockout stages.

"We played the Czech Republic in the quarter-final and we beat them 3-1.

“Then, we played Spain - the host nation - in the semi-final. There was big support for them.

“We were 2-1 down but came back to win 3-2 and, in the final, we beat Northern Ireland 1-0.”

Brown was joined in the England over-60s squad by Bexley Walking Football team-mates Mickey Orme and Andy Douglas.

Former Gravesend & Northfleet man Gary Groom, also with Bexley, helped England over-50s to glory at the same competition.

“Mickey Orme was with me,” he said. “He’s a good mate. We were in separate rooms but he was next door so I know Mickey really well.

“Obviously, I played against him when I played normal football -