Euro 2020 final: English-Italian supporters on football loyalties

Elisabetta Zamboni with son Andrew Gray as a baby in 1996, and the football fans pictured together in 2021

The anthemic sounds of Three Lions roaring across England will always hold a place dear to Elisabetta Zamboni's heart.

Half-Italian and half-Brazilian, she was 23 and pregnant when she moved to the UK while the Euro 96 tournament was in full swing.

When she arrived she only had a tiny vocabulary and her grasp of English was, she says, "precarious".

"The funny thing is that nowadays I can understand what they are singing about but back in 1996 I couldn't understand much of the song," the 48-year-old says.

"It didn't stop me absolutely loving it though, it's a really, really beautiful and meaningful song.

"It reminds me of how well England was doing then and also it reminds me of my pregnancy."

A quarter of a century ago Elisabetta relocated to be with her English partner but she is now a British citizen and settled in Sunderland, where she works as a translator.

The mum of two will be watching the final with her 24-year-old son, Andrew Gray, but admits it will be a tense affair.

"I am so nervous and so happy at the same time because I think the country needed this.

"We were talking to each other and I told him I had a feeling that it's going to be England and Italy in the final.

"I love both teams. If Italy wins I am going to rejoice, if England wins I am going to rejoice.

"I'm going to be very diplomatic and all I am saying is 'may the best team win'," she smiles.

'I'll have fish and chips for life'

Sergio Petrucci and his 11-year-old son Enzo at Wembley watching England and Scotland

For Sunderland-born Sergio Petrucci being half-English and half-Italian has seen him watch a lot of football in recent weeks.

After already travelling to London to watch England take on Scotland in the group stage, he was lucky enough to get a ticket to see Italy qualify for the final after beating Spain.

• How to watch Euro 2020 final on the BBC

• Calls grow for extra bank holiday if England win

The 45-year-old will be back at Wembley Stadium with son Enzo, 11, for the final.

"People keep saying to me, 'who are you going to support?', and I keep saying, 'I'm going to support the winners'," he laughs.

"It's amazing to have two Mackems in the final too - the two Jordans from Sunderland.

"It has been an incredible journey, the atmosphere is unreal."

Sergio managed to get a last-minute ticket to the Italy-Spain semi-final at Wembley

The dad of two's mother, Janise, is from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, and his father, Agostino, is from Rome.

"My dad came to England in 1965 - so he's an adopted Mackem - and I have a foot in both camps this weekend," he said.

"I love Italy's manager, Roberto Mancini - he's fantastic and a great personality and picking up the feedback from my family in Italy, they are so excited.

"I personally think Sterling will be the difference because of the speed he has got against those old warhorses Chiellini and Bonucci, they are fantastic defenders anyway. I was reading something that they know each other better than they know their wives.

"For the general public I would love it if England win because I think the country really needs it and I think this is the best chance they will ever have of winning.

"[If England win] I will not be able to have any pasta any more, I'll just be having fish and chips for the rest of my life," he joked.