Celebrities across England have shared their support for the Three Lions ahead of their wildly-anticipated Euros final in Berlin, Germany on Sunday evening.
Famous faces such as Maureen Lipman, Patrick Stewart and John Cleese voiced their support for Gareth Southgate’s England squad this weekend.
Sir Patrick Stewart, 84, who is based in Los Angeles, admitted he is anguished that he is so far away from Europe and unable to attend the match in person.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I very much wish that I were not nine thousand miles away. I have a feeling that this could be the match of the competition.’
Meanwhile, Dame Maureen Lipman, 78, shared her theory that Southgate has been waiting with an ace up his sleeve ahead of the big final.
Celebrities across England have shared their support for the Three Lions ahead of their wildly-anticipated Euros final in Berlin , Germany on Sunday evening
Famous faces such as Maureen Lipman, Patrick Stewart and John Cleese voiced their support for Gareth Southgate ‘s England squad this weekend (pictured Harry Kane)
The Coronation Street actress said: ‘I have watched almost every game, wherever I am I tear myself away and tear my hair out or just tear up.
‘I have now convinced myself that England’s relentlessly defensive game until semi-finals was part of Southgate’s masterly plan to deceive the continent of Europe that we had no striking power then “wham bam thank you”.
‘Gareth, bring em on, take ’em off, substitute and smash ’em in….I shall be glued, accusatory and hysterical.’
Fellow actor John Cleese said: ‘All these games are decided by random moments of luck. I hope we’re really lucky today. These guys deserve it’.
While the country is crossing their fingers that the England boys manage to finally bring it home, Jeremy Irons wished them a ‘great game’ regardless.
He said: ‘Gareth, You do what you do very well. You lead from the front. You are a great example to us all, and hence we are all behind you. Win or lose, have a great match.’
Meanwhile, Dame Maureen Lipman (pictured), 78, shared her theory that Southgate has been waiting with an ace up his sleeve ahead of the big final.
Fellow actor John Cleese (pictured) said: ‘All these games are decided by random moments of luck. I hope we’re really lucky today. These guys deserve it’
Call the Midwife star Jenny Agutter, added: ‘Hoping you enjoy the game, if you do we will. I’ll be cheering you on. I basically want to see them feeling free to take risks, and play well together. ‘
The messages of support come as Gareth delivered an emotional message to his England heroes ahead of their date with destiny: ‘Go and fulfil your dreams.’.
The national team face Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday night following a tumultuous tournament, and Southgate said: ‘I don’t believe in fairytales but I am a believer in dreams and we have big dreams but you have to make those things happen.
‘The run we have had, late goals, penalties but that doesn’t equate to us making it happen. We have to perform.
‘When you try to create dreams you need a vision to go with that. That lights a small fire. We know what it would mean (to win).’
The England men’s side haven’t won a major trophy since World Cup 1966, and Southgate added: ‘We have to get this trophy to get the respect of the rest of the football world.
The messages of support come as Gareth delivered an emotional message to his England heroes ahead of their date with destiny: ‘Go and fulfil your dreams.’.
The Three Lions boss told his players to achieve their dreams in winning a first major trophy for the side since 1966
‘I travelled to World Cups and European Championships watching as an observer (before becoming England manager) and on the highlights on the big screens before games we weren’t in them. They only showed the finals and the big games.
‘We had high expectations but they didn’t match where we were performance-wise. We have now.
‘Tomorrow, I don’t have any fear of what might happen because I’ve been through everything. I want my players to feel that fearlessness… If we’re not afraid to lose, it gives us a better chance of winning.’
The Three are competing in their second consecutive final in the European Championship after heartbreak against Italy at Wembley in 2021.
The team lost on penalties on home turf, and that night has lived long in the memory of those involved.
‘I think it shows unbelievable consistency, first and foremost,’ captain Harry Kane said on Saturday night. ‘A lot of us after that final, we were obviously heartbroken with the result, as always a long journey back to getting where we are now.
‘Full credit to the boys for the resilience that we’ve shown. It speaks volumes for the mentality of the squad, extremely happy to be in this situation and to be back in a European final. Of course we are really desperate to go one step further than we did last time.’
Kane said a lot of the England team were ‘heartbroken’ after losing on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley
England go into the game as underdogs, with Spain winning all six of their matches so far, with the Three Lions playing out four draws in 90 minutes.
That hasn’t bothered Southgate, however, who is happy that his planning has so far paid off.
He added: ‘We haven’t had too much time on the training pitch but we’ve had several meetings trying to assess the opponent, work out the best way to play against them.
‘But our messages haven’t really changed throughout the six or seven weeks we’ve been together – we’ve had a long-term vision and we’ve always broken that down into smaller pieces.’