Scottish daily steals the limelight as England prepare for Euro 2020 final

For many local newspapers, today was the last chance — in print, anyway — to look forward to England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley.

But it was a front page from North of the border which will perhaps live longest in the memory, if the reaction it got on Twitter is anything to go by.

The National, Newsquest’s pro-independence Scottish daily, created this front page, turning Italy boss Roberto Mancini into Scottish warrior William Wallace.

Wallace was portrayed by Mel Gibson in the 1995 film Braveheart, and it appears inspiration was drawn from the film for the front page which urged Mancini to ‘save’ Scotland from an England Euro 2020 win on Sunday. The Italian flag was added to the masthead for added impact.

Cue furious debate on Twitter about the front page — but how many other publications can boast being commented upon by the Italy manager himself?

Asked at a pre-match press conference about the front page, Mancini said: “The front page of the newspaper is nice.

“We’ll have to play our game. We’ll have to have a great match, this must be our only thought. It’s a football match after all.”

The National’s front page was a huge hit in Italy, with the nation’s largest sports paper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, pinning the image of Mancini as Braveheart to the top of their live Euros blog.

Back in England, papers up and down the country led with the big game. The Yorkshire Post reported that England’s success in the tournament had given the economy a £2.3bn boost as people set about spending and celebrating with each game that was won.

The Blackpool Gazette spoke to the son of World Cup winner Jimmy Armfield, who was certain his father, who passed away in 2018, would be cheering England on. The Chronicle in Newcastle reported on how everyone from football legend Malcolm Macdonald to local schookids getting behind England.

It wasn’t all positive news, however. Bradford’s Telegraph and Argus reported on the fan sacked for pulling a sickie — and then being caught celebrating by TV cameras during England’s last game. The Southampton Daily Echo reported on a landlord’s anguish at a pub being trashed by England fans.

The Grimsby Telegraph was more upbeat, reporting on how the town would be drinking for England (!) tomorrow, while the Sunderland Echo focused on two local heroes — Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson — who could bring home the trophy for England tomorrow.

The Oxford Mail deployed war metaphors with a ‘Once more unto the breach’ headline, while the Eastern Daily Press and Wolverhampton Express and Star went with a simple message, urging England to victory tomorrow night.

A country awaits — and an industry’s designers have a nervy evening ahead tomorrow…

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