ENGLAND legend Sir Geoff Hurst has told how proud he is of our Euros heroes — as the nation prepares for an almighty party for Sunday’s final.
The last survivor of our 1966 win cannot wait for the showdown with the Spanish, and neither can our hospitality sector which is heading for an estimated £800million boost.
World Cup hat-trick hero Sir Geoff is hoping Gareth Southgate’s men will finally end 58 years of trophyless hurt — and he is backing growing calls for a bank holiday if football does comes home.
The 82-year-old said: “With England so close to achieving greatness on Sunday, I couldn’t be prouder of the team, and I know the nation feels the same.
“As the last surviving member of the ’66 starting eleven, I can’t tell you how incredible it would be to see England win again.
“But this moment isn’t just about the team. It’s about England fans across the nation.”
Sir Geoff — a brand ambassador for Official England Beer Budweiser — is supporting the idea of a bank holiday if we win “to allow the fans to celebrate together”.
As the last surviving member of the ’66 starting eleven, I can’t tell you how incredible it would be to see England win again.
Sir Geoff Hurst
With warm weather forecast, packed boozers around the country will be allowed to stay open extra late on Sunday night — as they were for Wednesday’s semi-final triumph.
Experts reckon Ollie Watkins’ dramatic 90th-minute winner against the Netherlands has triggered a £405million spending bonanza in pubs and supermarkets.
‘I don’t want to jinx it’
An estimated £120million worth of booze will be sunk on Sunday alone, with pubs expected to sell ten million more pints than usual.
But many fans will likely shun Spanish lagers such as Estrella and San Miguel to show their support for the Three Lions — who will be the underdogs in Berlin.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “As with the semi-finals, pubs will be licensed to stay open until 1am.
“That gives fans even more time to enjoy the game, support our pubs and hopefully celebrate football finally coming home.”
Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, reckons it will sell four million packs of beer and cider, plus 1.2 million cans and bottles of low and zero-alcohol beer.
Nearly 2.5 million bottles of wine will be bought — and a similar amount of champagne will be snapped up by the more optimistic England supporters.
Tesco also reckons it will shift more than one million pizzas and pies while nearly 800,000 packs of sausages and 180,000 burgers will be bought for the barbecue.
Andrew Rennie, chief executive of Domino’s, said the takeaway chain expects to be making 20 to 25 pizzas a second during the game.
I went to the last Euros final, I don’t want to go through that again.
Sir Keir Starmer
He said: “We’ll be pulling out all the stops that no matter how busy it gets, everyone will get their piping-hot pizza on time.”
Sunday’s final will be the climax to a hugely successful Euros for our hospitality sector, which analysts say has enjoyed a staggering £800million sales boost during the four-week tournament. Meanwhile, new PM Sir Keir Starmer — a fanatical Arsenal supporter who still plays in five-a-side games – has told how he is desperate for England to succeed against Spain.
He dropped hints last night that he would give government backing to a bank holiday — although he doesn’t want to tempt fate.
Sir Keir, who watched England’s last Euros final heartbreak when we lost to Italy on penalties, said: “We should certainly mark the occasion. I went to the last Euros final so I don’t want to jinx it. I don’t want to go through that again.” Sir Keir watched parts of the semi-final despite being at the Nato defence and security summit in Washington DC.
Monster hangover warning
He said: “It was fantastic. I managed to pop out from one of my sessions for just five minutes, which is when I saw Harry Kane (above) get the first goal. I missed the second one but it was brilliant.
“So on we go now, great chance. I’ve always said this team were going to go all the way so I’m really, really pleased and just good luck for Sunday.”
Employers should be prepared to be inundated with leave requests for staff scheduled to work on Sunday evening.
The money-spinning footie shindig will also trigger monster hangovers across the nation — and a surge of staff requesting Monday off or ringing in sick.
Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, which monitors absence among more than a million employees at 50,000-plus UK companies, said: “Everyone wants to watch the final, staff included. Employers should be prepared to be inundated with leave requests for staff scheduled to work on Sunday evening.”
Sickness absence rocketed 232 per cent the day after England’s Euro 2020 final. Sunday’s final in Berlin is set to be watched by a record 32 million-strong TV audience — half the nation. And bosses at England’s supermarkets, petrol stations and delivery services were coming under pressure to give staff the evening off so they can see it too.
Tesco said it would close 1,800 Express stores early for the 8pm kick-off so workers could watch
Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose are considering a shutdown.
Brits can look forward to enjoying a glorious weekend scorcher as temperatures hit 23C for the final.
The Met Office has forecast a brighter outlook on the horizon following dismal drizzles and below-average temperatures. The Met Office’s Aidan McGivern said: “On Sunday, temperatures are closer to average. It’s warming up”.
FA PRESIDENT Prince William yesterday revealed he had a “hoarse” voice after screaming at England’s last-minute winner againt the Netherlands.ᐧ The Aston Villa fan told guests in Brixton, South London that the club’s striker Ollie Watkins scored a “hell of a goal”.