No divided loyalties for lucky Euro finals ticket holder Sergio as England take on Italy in Euro 2020 final

England take on Italy at Wembley on Sunday evening after coming from behind to beat Denmark 2-1 in extra time in the semi-final.

But half-Italian Sergio says there will be no divided loyalties during the match. He is backing Gareth Southgate’s side: “I would like England to win because they have not won anything since 1966,” he said.

"I think the fans deserve it.”

Sergio, 45, whose dad Agostino is Italian, will travel down to Wembley with son Enzo and family members on what will be his fourth visit to the tournament.

"I have been to the Scotland game, the Germany game and the Italy/Spain semi-final,” he said.

He has known for a while that he would be going to the first two matches and the semi-final ticket was a last-minute gift from a friend who fell ill and was unable to travel – but the family had to gamble on whether to buy tickets for the final long before they knew whether England or, indeed, Italy would be taking part.

“It has been in the pipeline since 2018 and we applied for the tickets back in 2019,” said Sergio.

"The semi-final was so last minute. I only found out about four or five o’clock in the afternoon the previous day. He managed to sell two of his four tickets and passed the remainders on.”

The family had to commit to buying final tickets in order to secure their place, despite not knowing who would be playing.

"We got the chance to buy tickets for the final before the last 16 game against Germany, so we took a gamble and it paid off,” said Sergio.

“We didn’t know who would be playing but we fancied England or Italy to make it and either way, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Sergio has been blown away by the tournament: “The atmosphere has been unreal,” he said.

"I thought the atmosphere at the Germany game was unbelievable and it got to me a bit more because there were two Sunderland lads – Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford – on the pitch.”

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. The Sunderland Echo has been on Wearside since 1873, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.