I think it would have lifted the England team hugely if there were more fans, governments officials and royalties attended their matches especially the semi final. The politics of government boycott and their stupid advice that scared off most fans cost England dearly. Without most of their fans, England were one of the least supported teams in this World Cup. I am sure the Croatia team were really lifted to have their president attending their Quarter Final against Russia in which she unshamedly danced on the stands after they scored their goals. A good lesson for England to learn from this World Cup is never mix politics with sports again !
Did you see the amount of England fans there? The semi-final was sold out, no tickets available. I know, I spent hours and hours trying to get them. Thousands and thousands of England fans were there. Unlike the France-Belgium semi-final where you could still buy tickets on the day.
The reason for England fans originally staying away was nothing to do with governmental boycotts and everything to do with concerns around Russian hooligans targetting England fans, after the trouble at Euro 2016.
And whilst I cannot speak for the players, I very, very much doubt that the prospect of watching Teresa May, Boris Johnson or Prince William dancing in the stands would have been any kind of lift for them. Quite the opposite I expect.
On a serious note, the Russian government sent agents to this country,with a deadly substance, with the aim of killing. There is now a murder investigation underway as a result of the fallout.
There is no way our government could send anyone to the World Cup in an official capacity as that would mean accepting official hospitality. Not possible.
However, the England football team still participated. Thus sports and politics were not mixed.