Euro 2020: Duchess of Cambridge shares her hopes at Wimbledon

Kate Middleton is keeping her fingers crossed for England’s bid for Euros glory today as she attends the men’s singles final at Wimbledon – while her ‘excited’ husband Prince William praised Gareth Southgate’s squad and enthused: ‘The whole country is behind you’. 

The Duchess of Cambridge crossed her fingers for tennis fans at the All England Tennis Club while William shared a video message on Twitter in which he wished Southgate, captain Harry Kane and ‘every member of the England team on and off the pitch’ the ‘very best of luck’.  

William, the President of the FA, appeared to be crossing his fingers for victory while at Wimbledon yesterday, where he and Kate attended the grand slam to watch Australia’s Ashleigh Barty win the tennis Championship in an epic three-set final against Karolina Pliskova.

The duke said: ‘Gareth, Harry and to every member of the England team on and off the pitch, just want to wish you the very best of luck tonight. What a team performance it’s been, everyone in the squad has played their part. All the backroom team as well have been truly essentially. 

‘I can’t really believe this is happening. So exciting and I just wish you the very best of luck. You bring out the very best of England and we are all behind you. 

‘The whole country is behind you. So, bring it home.’ 

The duke’s grandmother the Queen paid tribute to the ‘spirit, commitment and pride’ of the squad in a good luck message. In her written message, the monarch recalled presenting the Jules Rimet trophy to Bobby Moore after England beat then West Germany in the World Cup – almost six decades ago.

She said: ‘Fifty-five years ago I was fortunate to present the World Cup to Bobby Moore and saw what it meant to the players, management and support staff to reach and win the final of a major international football tournament.

‘I want to send my congratulations and that of my family to you all on reaching the final of the European Championships, and send my good wishes for tomorrow with the hope that history will record not only your success but also the spirit, commitment and pride with which you have conducted yourselves.’    

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Southgate and the players they had ‘already made history’ by reaching the final, writing: ‘You have lifted the spirits of the whole country, and tomorrow we know you can lift that trophy too. We are not just hoping or praying. 

‘We believe in you, Gareth, and your incredible squad.’ 

Millions of England fans will be sporting reds, whites and blues in their living rooms and in pubs across the country, with 60,000 supporters expected to cheer on Gareth Southgate’s men at Wembley in the side’s first major final since the 1966 World Cup win.

The Queen, Prince William and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have all showered the Three Lions in praise, while thousands of England supporters urge the side to ‘bring it home’ on Twitter – with some fans revealing they have been so excited that they did not sleep last night.  

The British Beer & Pub Association predicts England fans will buy 7.1 million pints on Sunday, while over the weekend an estimated £750million is expected to be withdrawn from cash machines – up 12 per cent on the same period a year earlier, according to ATM network Link.

In a welcome economic boost, by the end of the competition, it is estimated that £815million will have been spent in pubs and hospitality venues, with 32.6 million pints sold, a report by Vouchercodes.co.uk and the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) said.

A number of schools have already said they will allow pupils to start later on Monday if they wish to and some employers are considering letting staff enjoy a celebratory – or consolatory – lie-in after what could be a very late night.

The final – which is expected to attract a record television audience of 35 million – is due to kick off at 8pm and will finish by 10pm if it ends in normal time, but could end closer to 11pm if there is extra time or a penalty shootout. 

The official England Twitter account posted this morning: ‘A matchday like no other’ – sparking a flurry of excited and anxious messages. One expectant fan wrote: ‘Massive day ahead, first final for @England in my lifetime. Wherever you’re watching it, whatever your plans are, enjoy! Proud of the squad and what they’ve done so far, but they can lift that trophy!’

Another said: ‘Today is the day! The sun’s out, enjoy it, embrace it, soak up the atmosphere!! The excitement, the nerves, the butterflies in the stomach. Go mad!! Who knows when or if this day will come again! #ItsComingHome’.

One tweeted: ‘Been up since 5am cos of today. Couldn’t sleep at all! C’mon @England #ItsComingHome #ENG’ – with another writing on Twitter: ‘Morning everyone, anybody got any sleep last night or feeling nervous ahead of #ITAENG #ItsComingHome Come on #ENG @England’. 

Across England, fans have been savouring the run-up to a game that could see the country crowned champions of Europe. Houses have been bedecked with flags amid a surge in demand for England-themed paraphernalia and the Shard in London was lit up in the team colours.

Residents on Wales Street, in Oldham, Greater Manchester have even patriotically renamed their road in honour of the Three Lions – England Street, with a new red-and-white sign erected above the original. 

A good luck message from David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds – who are behind the anthemic Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home) – has been projected onto the white cliffs of Dover ahead of the match.

London’s transport network will display digital well wishes across the capital, visible at Tube stations, the DLR and London Overground as well as at bus stops and on road traffic alert signs. 

Kane said his team hopes to do the nation proud in their bid for Euro 2020 glory. He told reporters at a press conference last night: ‘We want to go and bring the trophy home’ – adding: ‘We know how much it means to the English fans all over the country so we’re proud to be representing them and hopefully we can do them proud again.’