‘Coming home to Rome’: England’s Italians eye Euro 2020 victory

Bedford’s Italian community rooting for their home country to overcome England in today’s Euro final’s match at Wembley.

Were it not for the grey skies and threat of rain as they sip espressos and talk football outside La Piazza Caffe, Luciano Lambiase and his friends could be in Naples or Rome. But the retired factory engineer, 66, and his boyhood friends Pasquale Spadaccino and Franco Bulzis, both 73, are discussing the upcoming Euro 2020 final in the southern English town of Bedford, home to one of the country’s largest Italian communities. “It’s coming home to Rome,” Lambiase said, predicting that his national team would beat England in the final at Wembley on Sunday.