ENGLAND fans lucky enough to fly into Rome for tonight’s quarter-finals clash have hit bars in the sunshine – as Brits back home settle into pubs.
Supporters around the world are nervously lifting a glass to toast Gareth Southgate’s Lions this afternoon ahead of the players’ bid for glory.
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And while most of us will be watching the game from the local boozer, hundreds of fans have made it to the Italian capital and are now toasting the team’s fortunes ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
Tonight’s clash with Ukraine comes just days after Brits awoke with sore heads after a wild night of celebrations following the win over Germany, prompting plenty of calls in sick.
Bookies have slashed the odds on an England victory – meaning tomorrow could well be a write-off for millions.
And even England’s 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst thinks it’s coming home.
He tweeted: “Come on England. You can do it. Good luck tonight.”
It comes as:
UK cities are packed with punters preparing for the match, while expats in Italy are biting their nails.
Die-hard fans were told not to fly out to Rome for tonight’s Euro 2020 game as the destination is on the travel amber list – meaning returning travellers face quarantine upon their return to the UK.
Anyone caught breaking Covid regulations could be hit with a £386 fine.
But double-jabbed, Covid-secure arrivals via France were allowed a 36-hour window without having to self-isolate.
And expats have flown in to Rome from Dubai, Spain, the Czech Republic and other EU countries.
Around 300 fans have arrived from the UAE alone – paying a whopping £700 for a return ticket – while another 200 are expected to join Brits living in Italy.
Amazingly, England has received backing from an unexpected quarter.
Germany fans still in Italy say they’ll be backing Brits in the match after they were swayed by the passionate support they saw at Wembley this week.
The Three Lions take on Ukraine at Stadio Olympico in Rome in its first Euro quarter-final for 25 years.
Supporters marked the occasion by donning St George costumes in Newcastle, while in London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson posed for photograph outside 10 Downing Street with a giant St George’s flag.
Residents living on a football-mad estate in West London have put up more than 200 flags of their own – and they started singing “It’s Coming Home” at 7am.
The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have spent all their free
hours decorating the estate in tribute to the Lions.
Elsewhere in the capital, crowds are gathering for a fan zone in Trafalgar Square.
Bradley Hayden, 27, doesn’t have a ticket for the event – but had travelled into the city centre from Barnes to “be part of the atmosphere”.
“I thought, ‘Why not come down, get in the thick of it and see what it’s about’,” he said.
“I think we’ve got to have our trust in Southgate – he’s got us this far.
“The boys will do us proud tonight.”
But for others, the temptation to watch their team perform was too great.
Chris Pike, 32, flew into Rome from his home in Dubai with group of five friends, telling the MailOnline: “There will be more England fans in the stadium than Ukraine and we will make as much noise as possible.
“I’ve got my England shirt and we will do all we can to cheer England on.’
Pike and friend Henry Mark are expecting to fork out £2000 for the entire trip after paying £250 for match tickets and £700 for their flight.
“It really is a one off and fantastic to be here in Rome and cheer on England. I will get my white shirt on later and we are looking to see if we can get any flags.”
Dubai is on Italy’s approved list of countries – which means arrivals to not have quarantine.
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Association, said fans in England are disappointed about not being able to travel, but added: “We’ve got used to a bit of disappointment”.
He told Times Radio: “We haven’t been watching football live for a long time – club games and internationals (have) been missed, so to some extent, people got used to it.”
Mr Clarke joked that fans were just hoping “England can give us something to cheer about”.
Jack Francis, 20, from Southampton, travelled to Rome from France.
“I’m feeling confident for the game especially if we play the way we did against Germany,” he said.
“But with the lack of home advantage it will be interesting to see how we play in our first away game of the tournament, but hopefully the England fans here will do all they can to give the players a boost.”
Many of the tickets have been sold to some of the 30,000 expats who live in Italy and the FA returned its allocation of tickets for the 16,000-capacity stadium.
The Three Lions secured their place in the tournament’s last eight with an historic victory over Germany.
The win – courtesy of second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane – was their first over their old rivals in 55 years.
And better yet, Southgate’s team are the only remaining side yet to concede a goal after a 1-0 win over Croatia and the Czech Republic and a goalless draw with Scotland.
If the team manage a victory in Rome, they will face either the Czech Republic or Denmark next week.
Football legend Gary Lineker told fans: “Pace yourself today, kick off is not until 8 o’clock,” with a beer stein emoji.
But – perhaps unsurprisingly – those watching the game on home turf will spend a small fortune on food and booze today.
Forecasters predict a £533m pay-out for refreshments.
Six million pints will be knocked back during the game alone – with 19m sunk over the course of the day, according to metro.co.uk.
Beers sales soared 60 per cent at the Co-op and by 40 per cent at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose as fans spend £348millioon stocking up on match-day essentials to consume at home.
England and Ukraine have played seven times with the Three Lions generally having the better of close encounters.
The Three Lions won four matches, drew two, and lost one since 1999.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
