Euro 2020 Final: London is already rooting for England as fans prepare for a historic clash with Italy

England fans are preparing for the first-ever European Championship final of their favorite national team, in which they will meet Italy at London’s Wembley Stadium. The stadium, which holds 90,000 spectators, will be filled to 75 percent of its capacity, and those who can’t get there are filling pubs in London.

Pubs are navigating social distancing rules while ensuring that fans get to experience the match as much as possible. “We have set the tables according to reservation and maintained social distancing,” said Virenti Dcosta, a pub manager in the city.

“People have to wear masks whenever they are getting up from their tables. For the football match we will be putting up a big screen and we will be calling a DJ.”

Dcosta said that his pub started taking bookings for the final a day after England’s semi-final win over Denmark. The bookings were sold out within a matter of hours.

“We started taking bookings on Thursday, a day after the semi-final, and within about five or six hours it was full. We don’t have a single seat left and we have had to reject a lot of bookings.”

The United Kingdom’s Beer and Pub Association says about 13.1 million pints are expected be sold on Sunday whereas on a normal matchday the number could be about 9.5 million pints. Only 30 people can sit outside pubs and a maximum six people can sit on a table inside with social distancing. The city has already taken a festive mood with songs and chants dominating streets and pubs.

The Euro 2020 final marks the first time that England have reached the final of the competition. England have conceded just one goal throughout the tournament and they face Italy, who come into the match on the back of a winning streak of 14 matches and unbeaten run of 33 matches.