England supporters are filling pubs and fanzones across the country as they prepare to watch their team face Ukraine for a place in the semi-final of Euro 2020.

The match will be the squad’s first fixture away from home soil so far this tournament and fans have not been allowed to travel to Rome due to the pandemic.

Instead, up to 39 million people are expected to watch the game on TV with hopes high that Gareth Southgate’s men will reach the last four for the first time in 25 years.

Town and city centres have filled with people wearing England’s signature white shirts or decking themselves out in St George’s crosses.

A group in Newcastle were already getting into the spirit of it this morning, by dressing as St George himself and heading out into the city centre.

Up to £533 million could be spent in pubs during the big match, with 19 million pints being drunk over the course of the day.

Many have filled the pubs early to bag the best seats and soak up the atmosphere ahead of kick-off.

Supermarkets are also benefiting, as supporters will spend £348 million stocking up on match day essentials to consume at home.

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Those planning to watch the match outside will have to deal with the country’s famously changeable weather with both sunshine and thunderstorms forecast.

Trafalgar Square in central London is hosting an official fanzone with a limited capacity due to social distancing.

But many have decided to head to the iconic spot anyway, even if they didn’t have tickets.

Billy Cuming, and Billy Gibson, both 19, said they had come to the square for the atmosphere.

The pair, both from Sutton in Surrey, didn’t have a flag but had brought a traffic cone with them to their spot on the steps of St Martin in the Fields.

Sam Carlisle, 26, from Reading, had also headed to the square several hours early to enjoy the pre-match buzz.

He said: ‘I just wanted to get in the eye of the storm really – just before the match trying to soak a bit of atmosphere and try and see what it’s all about.’

When asked if he was nervous, he said: ‘Not as much as Tuesday, I think we should be able to do it – think of it as two friendlies before the final.’

Some have managed to make it to Rome because they live outside of the UK and have taken advantage of the EU’s more relaxed quarantine rules.

Luke Curner, originally from Folkestone, Kent, was able to avoid isolation as he travelled from Helmstedt, Germany, where he lives with his wife and children.

The 36-year-old bought tickets for the match in 2019 as it falls on his birthday weekend and he said: ‘I feel very privileged to be here, I’m usually on the wrong end of these kind of situations.’

Jack Francis, 20, from Southampton, travelled to Rome from France and said he feels ‘lucky’ to be able to go.

‘It feels very surreal, and hopefully it will be a memorable game which will be talked about for years to come if we go all the way,’ he added.

If England triumph over Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico, they will face either the Czech Republic or Denmark and be back on home soil at Wembley.

The team’s victory over old enemies Germany on Tuesday has significantly raised expectations.

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Association, said fans are disappointed about not being able to travel to Rome for the hotly anticipated clash, but added ‘we’ve got used to a bit of disappointment’.

He told Times Radio: ‘We haven’t been watching football live for a long time – club games and internationals (have) been missed, so to some extent, people got used to it.’

When asked if he was confident of victory, he replied: ‘I think it would be silly to be at all complacent, as one or two England fans now are – a bit too over confident – after the German game.’

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