Excitement In The Air: 22million To Watch Large England-Germany Clash At Euro 2020

 

England’s army of followers will flock to pubs in their droves tonight to watch the integral clash in opposition to Germany, with a mixture of ­excitement and trepidation.

Excitement knowing if Gareth Southgate’s men can overcome our fierce rivals, the course to Euro 2020 glory would be made a little easier.

And trepidation over the possibility the game could go to ­penalties after a draw – given our poor record in opposition to the Germans in shoot-outs.

But this young crew will not be weighed down by history, Southgate insisted, as the country rallies behind them, along with fans at Wembley, in a bid to break the hoodoo. Bars, ­restaurants and beer gardens are being decked with England flags for the last-16 suit at 5pm – with many bosses permitting staff to leave work early for it.

Landlords will be hoping for bumper takings after a yr of closures at some stage in the pandemic that has battered the industry.

A TV audience of round 22 million, the largest of the year so far, will be watching and tens of ­thousands more are anticipated to be in fanzones, with massive screens in Newcastle, Manchester, and Birmingham.

Rick Robinson is landlord of the Willoughby Arms in ­Kingston, South West London, and has one hundred sixty clients booked in to see the action. He said: “It is a splendid atmosphere for England games.

“If England do win, I hope people will make a good night of it. If it goes to extra time and penalties then they should be here till round 8pm. If they lose I could be in bed via 9pm.”

Norman Scott runs Dougie’s Tavern in Hebburn, South Tyneside, which has 1,000 flags up and a 100ft marquee outside. The 59-year-old said: “It is pretty feasible that we will have five hundred here, the marquee is our fanzone.

“But people are already talking about taking a day off and asking what time they can arrive. When England score, it is just a fantastic sight.” Many fans have built “lockdown locals” in back gardens.