The Sun Newspaper

 ENGLAND’S stars had a whale of a time in training yesterday — relaxing on orca inflatables ahead of their Wembley showdown with Germany.Three Lions aces — including striker Marcus Rashford, 23 — looked more like the Miami Dolphins at the team’s St George’s Park training base.
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Three Lions star Rashford looked more like a member of the Miami Dolphins at the team’s St George’s Park training baseCredit: Getty
The snaps were similar to images which saw stars like Harry Maguire, 28, playing on inflatable unicorns at the 2018 Russia World Cup — where Gareth Southgate led his team to the semi-finals.
And yesterday an England camp source said: “Let’s hope this is a good sign — and means we will get past the Germans on Tuesday and go as far as the semis or further. It worked well to give the lads time to relax in Russia, and Gareth is sticking to many of the same routines.
“The boys all looked to be having a good time, were calm and were bonding well together.
“But as well as relaxing their ­muscles in the pools, Gareth has had them in for team talks about tactics after studying the German side.
“They have also been getting down to it on the training pitch and ­working on set-pieces a lot including, of course, penalties.”
Yesterday’s session at the Three Lions HQ in Burton, Staffs, also saw Phil Foden, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, chatting and joking with defender Luke Shaw, 25, in a plunge pool.
Aston Villa winger Jack Grealish, 25, showed he could turn his hand to anything — as he played basketball in the rain while sports presenter Josh Denzel held his brolly.
Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Luke Shaw of England sit in a pool at St George’s ParkCredit: Getty
Striker Harry Kane, 27 — who hopes to find his scoring touch against ­Germany — was put through his paces on the training pitch.
And Chelsea pair Mason Mount, 22, and Ben Chilwell, 24 — forced to self-isolate after hugging Scotland star Billy Gilmour after the group game — were spotted training away from their team-mates.
The duo’s period of isolation ends on Monday, meaning they are in contention to play in the last-16 clash with Germany in front of 45,000 fans at Wembley.
Yesterday, excitement around the game, which provides a chance to avenge our Euro 96 semi-final loss to Germany at Wembley, was building as fans scrambled for ­tickets and made plans to watch on TV.
More than 20million are expected to tune into the 5pm kick off on the BBC.
If England win, they face a trip to Italy, where they will take on the winners of the Sweden v Ukraine tie in Rome next Saturday night.
England fans are set to buy more than five million pints when the team face off against the Germans, a pub trade body said.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) hopes eight million pints will be sold on Tuesday, with 5.25million of those served during the match.
But the rule of six in pubs means that figure will be 1.3million pints lower than if the match was shown in boozers without restrictions, the BBPA estimates.
Marcus Rashford of England looks on in the swimming poolCredit: Getty
Meanwhile, England’s Wags face a battle to get into Italy to cheer on their loved ones if we beat the Germans. FA chiefs are in talks with Italian officials as all arrivals from the UK must go into quarantine for five days.
The girls — including Harry Maguire’s partner Fern Hawkins, Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan, Kieran Trippier’s wife Charlotte, Kyle Walker’s fiancée Annie Kilner and Luke Shaw’s girlfriend Anouska Santos — are desperate to be there if we make the quarter-final.
The Wags have been out in force at every Three Lions game, cheering on the team and stunning the crowd with their glamorous outfits and personalised England shirts.
FA advisers are desperately ­trying to find a way around the rules with Covid-secure bubbles, regular testing and flying in and out on a specially chartered plane the same day a possibility.
An FA source said: “It’s unlikely at this stage any of the Wags will be able to get there but we have discussed this situation.”
Presenter Josh Denzel and Jack Grealish of England pose for a photograph at St George’s ParkCredit: Getty
A Wags source said: “The Wags like to plan ahead and one or two of them have seen this as a potential fly in the ointment. They have been to every game so far and will be at Wembley on Tuesday.
“If they do win, then England are in Rome on Saturday — but with the new Covid restrictions introduced there it could mean they won’t be able to go.
“Ideally, they would like to be over at least a day before to do some shopping and sightseeing, before watching the game and ­travelling back at their leisure.
“But at the moment that just isn’t going to be possible so a plan of action is being worked out to see if they can get there. They are happy to forego the shopping and ­sightseeing if it means they can get to the game.”
Italy’s health minister Roberto Speranza announced the new legislation earlier this month and it came into force on Monday — the day after more than 3,000 Welsh fans had travelled to Rome to see them lose 1-0 to Italy.
Kieran Trippier, Jordan Pickford, Jesse Lingard and Harry Maguire play with inflatable unicorns in the pool during a recovery session in 2018Credit: The FA

Scientists say they have managed to keep a lid on the Delta variant — which is responsible for 90 per cent of cases in the UK — and want to stop it spreading so they can lift restrictions in Italy.
The Italian Health Ministry says anyone who has stayed or travelled through the UK 14 days prior to arrival must have had a negative Covid test 48 hours before arrival.
They must then isolate for five days before taking another test to ensure they are virus free. It means England fans would have to leave by tomorrow at the latest to ensure they make the kick-off — assuming the team get through.
Charlotte Trippier, Megan Davison, Fern Hawkins, Annie Kilner and Anoushka SantosCredit: Instagram
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ENGLAND goal hero Raheem Sterling looks like he’s ready to stick one in the net again — only this time he’s playing basketball.The Manchester City ace was training for Tuesday’s Euros last 16 match with Germany.
Raheem Sterling looks like he’s ready to get the ball in the net again…Credit: Getty
This time it’s basketball though for England’s Euro 2020 goal heroCredit: Getty
He is clearly loving life in training after scoring the winner in our group games against Croatia and Czech Republic.
Midfielder Jordan Henderson got his eye in on the dartboard at the daily press conference.

The Liverpool star was soon hitting the doubles and trebles and later tweeted: “Journalists need some practice. 5-2.”
Top darts player Stephen Bunting instantly chipped back offering him a practice session.
He wrote: “Give me a shout if you need a practice partner. Would be a privilege to give you a game. A big fan of yours and Liverpool.”
Midfielder Jordan Henderson got his eye in on the dart board at the daily press conferenceCredit: PA
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THEY are our old foes – and it’s important to know who we’re facing when England meet Germany in the Euros on Tuesday.No, not on the pitch, off it. Will our Three Lions Wags meet their match with the German Frauen?
Here, Kate Jackson puts them head to head. 
You’re willkommen . . . 
MODEL PLAYERS
OK, OK, it’s not unusual for a footballer to date a model . . . 
Chloe Wealleans-Watts, 21, midfielder Mason Mount’s glamorous girlfriend
ENGLAND: Waving the St George’s flag we have Chloe Wealleans-Watts, 21, midfielder Mason Mount’s glamorous girlfriend. She is signed to Storm Models, the agency that brought us supermodels Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford. Chloe and Mason, 22, who plays for Chelsea, have been dating since 2017.
Izabel Goulart, a Victoria’s Secret model and Germany’s goalie Kevin Trapp, 30
GERMANY: Our old football rivals have pulled out a trump card with Izabel Goulart, a Victoria’s Secret model who has also posed for Sports Illustrated magazine.
The 36-year-old Brazilian, who has 4.6million followers on Instagram, has been with German goalie Kevin Trapp, 30, for five years and the couple are now engaged.
Izabel once said the pair have sex four or five times a week, but added: “If he has played an important game and his team loses, I can make myself beautiful, have my nails done and wear my best lingerie and there still won’t be any sex.”
SCORE: England 1 – Germany 2.
THE CHILDHOOD WONDERS
BOTH squads, rather sweetly, boast several couples who have known each other since childhood.
Sasha Attwood, 25, has come back into the game after a brief absence from Jack Grealish
ENGLAND: There are a lot of long-term couples in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad. Megan Davison, 25, and Three Lions goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, 27, started dating as teenagers.
 Harry Kane, 27, and his wife, Kate, also 27, met at school and became a couple soon afterwards. Sasha Attwood, 25, has come back into the game after a brief absence. 
She met Aston Villa attacking midfielder Jack Grealish, also 25, at St Peter’s Roman Catholic Secondary School in Solihull, West Mids. The pair have reunited after a short “rocky patch” and Jack considers Sasha his “secret weapon” off the pitch.
Sophia Weber and Germany’s Kai Havertz, 22
GERMANY: Sophia Weber, above, has known Kai Havertz, 22, since the pair were children. The 22-year-old went on to the pitch to celebrate the Chelsea defender’s Champions League win against Man City in May, but Sophia normally prefers to avoid the limelight.
Defender Marcel Halstenberg, 29, has known his wife Franziska since they were 13. They married in 2017 and have a two-year-old daughter.
SCORE: England 3 – Germany 2.
THE NEW SIGNINGS
HERE are relative newcomers to the Wag world.
Olivia Naylor, left, joined the Wag line-up in 2019 with fella, John Stones, 27
ENGLAND: Olivia Naylor, left, joined the Wag line-up in 2019. Her fella, John Stones, 27, was previously dating Millie Savage, who cheered the Man City ace on at the last World Cup.
Olivia, 32, runs a salon in Cheshire and met John in a nightclub.
Model Sandra Jerze with Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry, 25
GERMANY: Stunning model Sandra Jerze is thought to have hooked up with Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry, 25, early last year. The 23-year-old Ethiopian-Swiss model has tried her hand at acting in a music video.
SCORE: England 1 – Germany 1.
THE BUSINESS END
THESE other halves have their own flourishing businesses. 
Paige Milian, 25, fiancée of Raheem Sterling, 26
ENGLAND: Ashleigh Behan, 25, has been dating Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, also 25, who set up the winning goal against Croatia, for 11 years.
She is a make-up artist specialising in bridal and proms beauty.
Paige Milian, 25, fiancée of Raheem Sterling, 26, who scored the goal against Croatia, is mum to their two children and runs Milian Property Group.
Cathy Hummels, 33, the wife of centre back Mats, 32,
GERMANY: Cathy Hummels, 33, the wife of centre back Mats, 32, is an author with books on yoga and happiness as well as a sugar-free cookbook. She took part in the German version of Strictly in 2015, partnering with Marius Lepure – aka Mr Oti Mabuse.
SCORE: England 3 – Germany 1.
EXTRA TIMES
BEING a Wag isn’t a full-time job for these ladies. They have other passions.
Sheffield stunner Fern Hawkins, 26, has two daughters with Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, 28
ENGLAND: Mia McClenaghan, 21, is dating Chelsea’s Reece James, also 21. She has just finished her law degree at London’s Royal Holloway University.
Sheffield stunner Fern Hawkins, 26, who has two daughters with Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, 28, got a first-class degree in science and physiotherapy.
Lisa Muller, 31, is married to midfielder Thomas Muller, 31,
GERMANY: Lisa Muller, 31, above, who married midfielder Thomas Muller, 31, in 2009, is a semi-professional equestrian who works on a farm. She has her own stables where she breeds horses.
SCORE: England 2 – Germany 1.

INSTA REPLAY
THESE footie partners have loads of followers on Instagram.
Kate Kane is married to England skipper Harry
ENGLAND: She’s married to the England captain, so no wonder Kate Kane, above left, takes the lead on social media. The personal trainer regularly updates her 162,000 followers with glimpses into their home life with three children, including trips to Lapland and building dens.
Sophie Christin, 24, wife of German goalie Bernd Leno
GERMANY: Sophie Christin, 24, above, wife of German goalie Bernd Leno, loves to travel and update her 73,000 followers from exotic locations. The pair married in August last year in Dusseldorf.
Hot on her heels is Maria Cataleya, with nearly 50,000 followers. She is dating Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can, 27.
SCORE: England 1 – Germany 0.
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WHINING German fans threw a strop yesterday after learning they’ll be barred from the Euro 2020 clash with England due to Covid rules.But there was zero sympathy from Three Lions supporters as it came just 24 hours after Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to ban Brits from holiday sunbeds throughout Europe.
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England fans will be able join the 45,000 crowd at Wembley to roar on the Three LionsCredit: Getty
To make it to Tuesday’s Wembley showdown, fans of our old foes would have had to fly out of Germany yesterday to stand any chance of completing a five-day UK quarantine period.
They would also have the headache of sourcing hard-to-find tickets for the reduced capacity 45,000-seat game.
And they would then have to take even more time off work to quarantine for two weeks when they got home thanks to their nation’s draconian Covid crackdown on arrivals from the UK.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Merkel urged EU nations to make all arrivals from the UK quarantine — regardless of whether they are double-jabbed — to halt the spread of the Delta variant.
Whining German fans threw a strop yesterday after learning they’ll be barred from the Euro 2020 clash with England due to Covid rulesCredit: Getty
But England fan Graham Hartill, 50, from Dudley, West Mids, blasted: “They’re always first to the sunbeds on holiday and now they’re furious they can’t get first dibs on a seat at Wembley. 
“They should stick to the rules and stay home like the vast majority of England fans are having to do.”
Newspaper Bild led the German moaning yesterday as it told their fans they would have to watch at home. Its report read: “Imagine Germany playing at Wembley Stadium — but no German fan is there live. 
“Exactly this scenario threatens us on Tuesday. As of now, the national team has to forgo German support from the ranks.
Bukayo Saka and Kalvin Phillips are hoping to start for England in the huge match against GermanyCredit: Getty
“The current entry regulations make a trip to London almost impossible.” 
As well as having to leave by yesterday, the German fans would have to get a negative Covid test tomorrow and another an hour before Tuesday’s 5pm kick-off.
Car mechanic Michael Mueller, 23, from Munich, who had planned to travel with baker pal Juergen Litz, 25, said: “It’s heartbreaking — neither of us can get that amount of time off.
“The Brits want us to quarantine too. No way can we get that kind of dispensation from work for a single game — so it’s the TV for us.”
Anton Schumacher, 30, from Cham in Bavaria, said: “The only Germans at Wembley will be those who live in the UK. I would have loved to have gone but Covid has stuffed us.”
Dirk Hoffman, 40, a trucker from Berlin, added: “Corona has come down on the side of the English. Our boys would have loved to see and hear us there, but it is what it is. Still, I think we’re going to win.”
There was zero sympathy from Three Lions supporters as it came just 24 hours after Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to ban Brits from holiday sunbeds throughout EuropeCredit: AP
But England fans were unconcerned by their rivals’ griping. 
James Ceppi di Lecco, 37, of Blackheath, South East London, said last night: “It laughable that the Germans are moaning about getting to the game when they’re trying to stop us going on holiday. 
“How can they complain when they can do just five days’ quarantine in our country and we have to do 14 in theirs when most Brits are now double-jabbed?” 
Tony Stevens, 26, of Bermondsey, South London, told The Sun: “After the way they’ve behaved with trying to stop us from travelling abroad this summer, it does make you laugh. 
“We’ll win on Tuesday and carry the boys over the lines.” 
Also untroubled by the German fans’ woes, England’s Euro 2020 stars resumed training yesterday after being given a day off by boss Gareth Southgate following their 1-0 win over the Czech Republic.
England fans are gearing up for the clash on TuesdayCredit: PA

But Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka, 19, still found time for a chat about his man-of-the-match heroics — chilling on a bean bag at their St George’s Park training camp in Burton, Staffs.
Flying winger Saka told online sports host Josh Denzel his phone was jammed with messages of congratulation after his brilliant Euros debut.
He said: “My phone was booming — I didn’t know where to start with replying. It was amazing — one of the best moments of my career and my life to step on to the Wembley pitch.”

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