Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford play ping pong
(Picture: The FA via Getty Images)England football stars tried to take their minds off tomorrow’s big Euro 2020 showdown with Scotland with some less high stakes sports at their training camp.
Raheem Sterling — the scorer in Sunday’s victory over Croatia — took on forward Marcus Rashford at table tennis, while 17-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham was shooting some hoops on a basketball court.
The squad were relaxing at their base at St George’s Park in Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire before returning to Wembley for their Group D game with England’s oldest footballing adversary.
An England win tomorrow would guarantee that Gareth Southgate’s men progress to the knockout phase. Scotland need at least a draw to maintain a realistic hope of staying in the competition following their defeat to the Czech Republic.
Thousands of Scottish fans are expected to descend on London for the game. Pubs and bars across the capital are fully booked for the clash, with social distancing restrictions requiring them to serve fans at tables.
However, viewing in pub gardens is likely to be a soggy experience as heavy rain is forecast to fall all day tomorrow. With pubs operating at below full capacity, supermarkets have been reporting strong sales of beer, snacks and barbecue food, despite the gloomy weather prospects.
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “With the nation immersing themselves in the excitement of the Euros, we’re expecting to see sales of beer increase by 14 per cent week on week.
“Sales of snacks such as crisps are predicted to see even bigger uplifts of 30 per cent, and following on from last week’s scorcher of a weekend, BBQ food sales will remain strong, at around double what they were two weeks ago.”
