While in Rome: How the Italians are preparing for the Euro 2020 final | Euro2020 News

Rome, Italy – The main Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport has the headline “W L’Italia” on Saturday.

Although they mean “Go Italy”, W also represents Wimbledon and Wembley because Italy has the opportunity to lift two trophies in London on Sunday.

First, the 25-year-old Matteo Berrettini (Matteo Berrettini) faced the world number one Noivak Djokovic (Noivak Djokovic) in the Wimbledon men’s final.

Later that day, the men’s football team will face England at Wembley Stadium, hoping to raise their second European Championship trophy.

Rome Mayor Virginia Raj has proposed opening the Olympic Stadium and allowing 16,000 fans to enter the finals, but this idea was rejected by the authorities because of concerns that the move might further spread the coronavirus.

At the same time, due to the pandemic, Milan has decided not to watch it publicly at all.

Italy has reported nearly 4.3 million cases of the coronavirus, of which more than 127,000 have died.

However, the city has set up two fan zones-People’s Square and Roman Forum. Both are admission tickets, which can be purchased for free from midnight on Saturday.

On Saturday, the atmosphere in the center of Rome was festive and quiet, with people wandering around looking for places to reserve seats and watch Sunday night games.

37-year-old Antonio Martino and Eros said: “We will watch the game in a bar with a big screen on the street. Because this is the final, we want to cheer with others, especially We cannot go out after the pandemic, 36-year-old Cesano told Al Jazeera.

“We watched all the games with friends and family at home, but tomorrow will be different. We are very excited.

“This game has a different feel from the 2006 World Cup final [Italy won 5-3 on penalties against France]. It is indeed a different feeling. But we believe we can beat England. We must win to forget this year.

“If we have the opportunity to travel around Europe, it would be great, but at least we are in Rome, which is also incredible.”

Although the restaurant did not show the finals, the staff at La nuova Piazzetta are looking forward to many customers [Maria Michela D’Alessandro/Al Jazeera]

La nuova Piazzetta restaurant is located near the Colosseum, just in front of the Shamrock Bar. This is a sports bar where all the matches of the Euro 2020 will be broadcast.

The restaurant will not broadcast the game live, but they hope to have a healthy passenger flow. The staff told Al Jazeera that “the bar across the road will be crowded with people. People need something to eat and hope to come to our table”.

The staff at the Shamrock Bar told Al Jazeera that they had booked for the final for a week. They rejected all bookings, but still look forward to a full house.

“If Italy wins, I think we won’t be able to close this place until the morning,” a staff member said.

Preparing for the Euro 2020 final in Rome [Maria Michela D’Alessandro/Al Jazeera]

In the Puma store in the center of Via del Corso, all official team jerseys are sold out. It’s not just locals who buy them. The staff said that there were a large number of tourists who came to buy them.

“Italy can do it. The media overestimated England and made them look stronger than Italy,” the 16-year-old Emmanuel from Catania told Al Jazeera.

“It may be good for us. If we win, we will win, and we will celebrate more than anyone can imagine now. I will not be in the final in Rome, but I will watch the game at my home in Catania. “

Although the number of tourists has decreased and souvenir sales have decreased, the owner of a small shop facing the Trevi Fountain said that she sold all the T-shirts with the Italian flag.

“The public’s enthusiasm is high. We forgot to miss the 2018 World Cup. The important thing now is to win on Sunday, which is the most important thing,” 42-year-old taxi driver Andrea Laurenti told Al Jazeera.

“Due to the pandemic, there are not so many tourists, but it is not important for the game. I will work on Sunday morning because this is my shift, but because of the game, I will not work on Sunday night.

“But let me tell you, it is difficult to find a taxi in Rome during the race because we will watch it anyway.”

Rome will set up two fan zones for the final [Maria Michela D’Alessandro/Al Jazeera]