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THE Sun helped to rev up England’s bid for Euro glory in Rome yesterday — with a dramatic Italian Job dash across Europe.Harry Kane’s lionhearts take on Ukraine tonight in a do-or-die quarter-final clash after toppling Germany.
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Captain Harry Kane will be England’s Roman gladiator
And lion mascot Harry Mane plus a posse of Sun men charged to the Eternal City to rally them — in red, white and blue Minis.
Italian jobsworths thwarted an English invasion by slapping a five-day Covid quarantine order on fans arriving by air from the UK.
But double-jabbed, Covid-secure arrivals via France were allowed a 36-hour window without having to self-isolate.
The safe legal loophole kicked off an epic Sun road trip worthy of Michael Caine’s famous heist movie.
Sun England mascot Harry Mane was a lion outside Rome’s ColosseumCredit: The Sun
An epic Sun road trip completed the Italian Job ahead of Saturday’s big game
We flew from London to Nice in France’s Cote d’Azur then slipped across the border near Monte Carlo, crossing the Italian border at dawn in French hire cars.
Then we switched vehicles — leaping into race-tuned red, white and blue Mini Cooper S sports cars in true Italian Job-style to vroom from Florence to Rome.
Mascot Harry and the Sun team were all treble-checked for Covid with swab tests before the final assault on the Italian capital.
And England fans and locals were thrilled as the trio of Minis completed their mission — with a St George’s flag-waving lap of honour around the Colosseum.
The Sun’s mini convoy brightened up Rome’s streetsCredit: The Sun
Our mascot Harry roared: “I must be the first lion to be glad to see the Colosseum — what a journey. We’re all double-jabbed and have had tests galore plus more paperwork than Brexit.
“But we’ve made it to show support for England when and where it matters and can’t wait to get our claws into Ukraine. Football’s coming Rome!”
England fans in the city saluted our epic 1,100-mile mission last night.
Arabella Vickers, 21, a West London student, said: “It’s great fun and just the sort of crazy stuff we need to fire up our team to win.
“It helps make up for having so few travelling fans here. It’s wonderful seeing the Minis roaring through Rome like the famous movie — and your lion’s a hoot!”

Mascot Harry Mane was treble checked for CovidCredit: The Sun
Communications manager Sam Eversden, 42, from Uxbridge, North West London, was reminded of The Italian Job’s famous punchline.
He quipped: “Now Kane’s got a goal he’s going to blow the bloody doors off Ukraine’s defence. Having The Sun’s Minis and a lion in Rome is going to help our heroes roar. Trust The Sun to bring some fun and lift the nation. Brilliant teamwork!”
Civil servant Chris Dandy, 44, from Surrey, even evoked one of our famous headlines, saying: The England team will be smiling when they see this — and when they win it’ll be ‘The Sun wot won it’ for England.”
Our convoy also went down a storm among scooter-riding locals, with Italian interior designer Massimo Riva, 36, stopping us by the gladiatorial amphitheatre for a selfie.
The Sun hopes to whip up enthusiasm among Brit expat locals in ItalyCredit: The Sun
He laughed: “I did a double take when I saw three Italian Job Minis fly by — and nearly fell off my scooter when I saw there was a lion in one of the cars.
“It’s a long time since we’ve had lions in the Colosseum but yours is more than welcome — he’s hilarious.”
Travelling Three Lions fans have been banned from Rome’s 73,000- capacity Stadio Olimpico.
But more than 2,000 English expats, made up of pensioners, teachers, financers, families and charity workers, will be in the 16,000-strong crowd.
Harry Mane gets a Covid test from Sun man Nick ParkerCredit: The Sun
Steph MacGillivray, 28, who works for a humanitarian organisation in Rome but is originally from Watford, Herts, said: “It won’t be the usual raucous crowd. I should imagine it’ll be very Wimbledon meets Wembley.
“I can’t see any of the expat fans booing the Ukraine national anthem but we will be singing God Save The Queen as loudly as possible.”

Also there will be Chelsea fan Max Heinemann, 29, originally from Clapham, South West London, and now living in Rome.
He said: “I’ve got friends coming in from Bilbao and Poland — he’s got a broken leg as well. We are going to have a fantastic time and cheer on the lads.”
Meanwhile, back home, experts estimate 42 million pints will be downed today as England fans get supercharged for the 8pm kick-off. 
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ENGLAND last night ended decades of hurt — by beating the Germans in a knockout game for the first time since the World Cup triumph in 1966.Since that momentous win, the Three Lions had crashed out against the old foe in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, then on penalties at Italia 90 and penalties again at Euro 96.
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Gareth Southgate’s fearless heroes could go on to win a major tournament againCredit: The Sun
In the 2010 World Cup the Germans dished out a 4-1 hammering.
But Gareth Southgate’s fearless heroes ended the hoodoo with a famous 2-0 victory, giving the nation hope they can go on to win a major tournament again.
Even German goal king and 1990 World Cup winner Jürgen Klinsmann believes it could be England’s time. He said: “Everything seems to be in sync and in balance — it’s your tournament.”
The result also delivered redemption to manager Southgate who, 25 years ago, missed the crucial spot-kick in the ’96 penalty shootout.
He raised his fists to the heavens as his young squad — including Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips and Bukayo Saka — eased that agony with a stunning result.
Last night England beat the Germans in a knockout game for the first time since the 1966 World Cup
Harry Kane headed in England’s 86th-minute second goal, securing a historic victory
It was redemption for Southgate, who missed the crucial spot-kick in the ’96 penalty shootout
The rivalry between the two footballing giants is as big as any in world football.
Ex-England striker Gary Lineker once said: “Football is a simple game — 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, the Germans win.”
Everything seems to be in sync and in balance — it’s your tournament.Jürgen Klinsmann
But last night, Southgate’s men got millions dreaming that Football’s Coming Home after delivering arguably the nation’s greatest football victory in 55 years.
Since Alf Ramsey’s team, led by Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst, lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley in ’66, England’s tournament record against the Germans had been one of disappointment.
In 1970, England were reigning world champions and favourites, along with Brazil.

They were 2-0 up in the quarter finals but wilted in the heat in the second half after talisman Bobby Charlton was subbed.
West Germany came back to win 3-2. The result was so disheartening that Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson blamed it for his General Election defeat four days later.
In 1990, Paul Gascoigne and ­Lineker had led England to a semi- final against West Germany in Italy.
England lost thanks to a miss from Stuart Pearce and a skied effort from Chris Waddle.
Six years later Gazza was an inch from finding the winner in the Euro 96 semi-final, just failing to reach a whipped cross. The game went to penalties.
In 1990 England lost thanks to Pearce’s miss and a skied effort from Waddle
And in 2010 Lampard’s strike was ruled outCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Defender Southgate had taken responsibility for the sixth penalty but saw it saved. The Germans duly made the final and won.
England’s most recent meeting at a tournament saw Germany drub England 4-1 in the South Africa World Cup.
England were poor — but had no luck when Frank Lampard’s strike was ruled out despite replays showing it hit the bar and clearly crossed the goal line.
The Sun’s headline which greeted the team home amid a summer heatwave read: “Sunny outlook in many areas but depression over Heathrow as shower drifts in from South Africa.”
Apart from ’66, England had only two competitive wins over the ­Germans.
One came in 2000 when Alan Shearer scored to clinch a 1-0 group stage win at the Euros.
Since Moore and Hurst’s team lifted the ’66 trophy, England’s record against the Germans has been disappointing
But Southgate’s young squad just proved it’s possible to grab glory again

And in 2001 Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in a famous 5-1 thrashing in Munich during World Cup qualifying.
In what could be another good omen, last night’s 2-0 score meant it was the first time since 1966 that England had kept four clean sheets in a row.
Fans are now dreaming that the Three Lions can grab glory again. And bring football home.
England beat Germany in tense Euro 2020 match at Wembley More

DEAR continental cousins — please don’t tell anyone, but the English are secretly quite fond of the Germans.Your cars. Your washing machines. Your world-famous sense of humour. Your pop music . . . well, maybe not so much.
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Dear continental cousins, please don’t tell anyone but the English are secretly quite fond of the GermansCredit: Rex
But Jurgen Klopp’s smile. And Frau Merkel’s style. And what red-blooded Englishman could dislike a country where they eat sausages for breakfast?
We are even trying to be understanding about Merkel’s wish to ban all Brits from all European beaches this summer when the Germans were part of the great EU vaccination cock-up.
But we get it. We left your precious European Union. You’re hurt. Nobody likes getting dumped. True, England and Germany have some previous. We spent some torrid times in the last century kicking lumps out of each other.
But in the end, there was grudging respect in England for the fine country that Germany became after the last war. A place of peace and prosperity and democracy — at least the part of Germany that didn’t have a Russian jackboot on its throat.
My father had German shrapnel in his legs on the day he died. But I honestly can’t remember Dad ever having a bad word to say about Deutschland — even when I brought home a German girlfriend. Forgive and forget, eh?
And despite what Basil Fawlty said, we did not even need to pretend. As someone once said, you do not make peace with your friend. You make peace with your enemy. The exception is on a football pitch. Because it rankles.
The English invented football but Germany perfected it.
We came up with a sport and a pastime where flair, creativity and joy could run amok. And Germans turned football into a machine of frightening efficiency.
The English invented football but Germany perfected itCredit: AP
We need a defining moment like 1966
As dull as a VW Beetle, perhaps. As boring as a Miele washing machine in full spin cycle, possibly. As dreary as Frau Merkel’s face when Boris Johnson is attempting to do one of his elbow bumps. But German football — like any German product — works. The proof is on the respective shirts.
One tiny star twinkles on the England shirt, representing that golden day in 1966. The Germans have four.
They have also won the Euros a couple of times, although not for a while. That’s why they like to talk about “seven years of hurt” — that German sense of humour again — since they won a major title.
While England has other football rivalries — Argentina, Portugal and Scotland — it is true that the agony and the ecstasy of English football has largely revolved around games versus Germany.
With all that silverware back in the Fatherland, these dates might not mean much to the German football fan. But to the Englishman, they are sacred.1966 at Wembley. 1990 in Italy. The Euros of 1996. And tonight.
After all our people have endured over the last 15 months, it could truly mean as much as any of those sacred dates. But this is more than a chance to avenge penalty shoot-outs.
One tiny star twinkles on the England shirt, representing that golden day in 1966 but the Germans have four, here pictured Harry KaneCredit: Getty
Around 20 million of us will watch England v Germany tonight, Raheem Sterling poses during the official UEFA Euro 2020Credit: Getty
This is a chance to feel good about ourselves again.
Around 20 million of us will watch England v Germany tonight.
The fate of the nation does not rest on the result of the match, but the mood of the nation certainly does. Beating the real old enemy would be the shot in the arm our country so desperately craves and so badly needs.
Because right now the prevailing mood here is less than glorious. Because right now it feels like the UK is a nation suffering from long Covid. The shaming of Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed a stinking hypocrisy at the heart of our government.
When he was caught with his metaphorical pants down, it proved that our rulers truly do think there is one set of rules for them and another for the rest of us.
The frustration and the fury in the country is palpable.
This is a chance to feel good about ourselves again, pictured is Jordan PickfordCredit: Getty
There is something undeniably perfect about this mood-defining match being against GermanyCredit: Getty – Contributor
Something perfect about this match
The English are not a docile people like the Germans. It would be impossible to imagine, for example, the Germans ever voting to leave the European Union.
Even now, they are really good at obeying orders. It’s a bit different for the English. And our mood is sour.
Anger with Boris Johnson’s timidity — and hypocrisy — is palpable.
Frustration is everywhere. Tonight can set us free. It’s time to stuff Die Mannschaft — the German national team — right up the Wembley Way, just like we did in ’66. It’s nothing personal.
The Germans can quote our footballing national anthem — Football’s Coming Home — but it’s already home for us, here in Wembley at five o’clock tonight.
There is something undeniably perfect about this mood-defining match being against Germany.
It’s time to stuff Die Mannschaft — the German national team — right up the Wembley Way, just like we did in ’66Credit: AFP
For in the soul of every England football fan, no matter their generation, there is a secret chamber where it is always a rainy summer’s day in 1966, and Bobby Moore is smiling, Bobby Charlton is crying, and Nobby Stiles is dancing.
The 1966 World Cup Final was just a football match.
But I vividly remember what it did to the mood of a people who — 21 years on — still seemed to be recovering from the wounds, trauma and sacrifice of war. ­People like my mum and dad, my aunts and uncles.
Ordinary, working people. Good people. Worthy of love. Something in them came alive that day.
It was when the Sixties started.
Tonight’s match can be like that — a moment of national unity and collective euphoria, the chance for a battered, weary people to begin again.
The Germans can quote our footballing national anthem, Football’s Coming Home, but it’s already home for usCredit: Getty Images – Getty

We need a defining moment like 1966 — to lift our spirits, to remind us of who we are, to wipe away the gloom that hangs like a shroud over our battered nation.
From the local primary school sports day to the green fields of Glastonbury, this should be the height of English summer.
Yet the summer feels like it is already slipping away. But what if the Three Lions run rampant against the Germans tonight? Then it will feel like all our summer days arrived at once.
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DEAR island snowflakes — don’t whine just because we dare to quote your title song Football’s Coming Home when we return to Wembley Stadium — aka “unser Wohnzimmer” (our living room).It was you, who chose this song for Euro ’96, that we won. So, get over it! Please believe me — we’re not really being serious here. Well, almost not.
Wembley is our living room England… so WE are the ones coming home, says Peter TiedeCredit: AFP
But seriously — our team is coming home. Wembley is a place full of beautiful, good ­German history.
A bitter moment with the stolen victory in 1966 — almost every German knows the “Wembley-Goal”. And many sweet victories, like in 1972 or 1996.
We cherish this sacred space with respect and secret glee. Wembley is part of our collective German football heritage.
With us it’s always the same story — we just love to tease each other. Just a tiny bit. We Germans call this “love-hate”. A little bit of both.
We tell each other these stories, lounging on the sunbeds we took from you early in the morning on Majorca or the Costa del Sol.
But seriously — our team is coming home. Wembley is a place full of beautiful, good ­German history, says Peter TiedeCredit: Getty – Contributor
And we attest to the fact that we cannot find a decent meal in Portugal or Andalusia, because all menus everywhere are occupied with your “food”.
You are in our thoughts, when we need to binge drink as of 18:00 with warm, foamless beer in your (great) pubs, because of early closing hours, instead of enjoying our sacred Pils and Helles.
While not only watching our own football league, but your league (with our own coaches and players).
Every year there is a feeling of amazement when I look at English people in an Andalusian trailer park eating fish and chips in 35 degree or more heat. Then there’s the beachside search game — “find a Brit without tattoos”.
As much as we feud with each other on vacation, we are united in the fact we are great football nations and that others are mystified by our rivalry.
Paul Gascoigne of England argues with Stefan Kuntz of Germany during the England v Germany semi-final of Euro 96Credit: Allsport
Your delegates burned bright red — and ours in socks and sandals. And our kids: one part drunk in Magaluf, the others at the “Ballermann” in Majorca.
We look upon England, that for us always seems to waver between stiff upper lip and drunkenly uninhibited, with respect.
Here’s hoping for tonight because if nothing major changes we will show up basically without a defence.
This was obvious during both games against Hungary and Portugal. We had to force Portugal to shoot two own goals so we could have half a chance. We almost failed against Hungary due to harmlessness.
But we do know we Germans stumble through preliminary and middle rounds and at the end we are victorious . . . at least against England.
England’s captain Alan Shearer punches the air as he celebrates his goal against GermanyCredit: Reuters

So, no worries. We would love to celebrate our victory at Wembley, but — too bad our fans can’t be there. We’ll see you next time — at Wembley or anywhere else.
You have the better football songs. We have more football titles. So, don’t be sad when we Germans sing “Football’s coming home” tonight. And just in case you do manage to grab the title, just sing our song: “So ein Tag, so wunderschön wie heute . . . ”*
*Such a day, as beautiful as today . . .
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