Drinking for England: 9.7m pints could be sold on Euro 2020 semi-final day

England football fans will be piling into pubs across the country today as the Three Lions take on Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final.

It’s estimated that 27.5m people will watch the live coverage on ITV while there will also be 60,000 inside Wembley Stadium for the Euro encounter.

Even though the match doesn’t start until 8pm, fans were already flocking to boozers nine hours ahead of kick-off, the Daily Mail reports. Supporters have been eagerly queuing at bars to calm their nerves with a pint, says The Sun.

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Bar staff are set for a busy day and night behind the beer pumps. According to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) it’s predicted that 9.7m pints could be sold today overall. During the semi-final itself 6.8m pints will be poured while fans will buy 50,000 pints a minute over the course of the match.

“With England fans’ support, we hope that pubs will sell 6.8m pints during the semi-final match,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of BBPA. “If the team goes on to win, a final at Wembley awaits, which would be a huge boost to our pubs and the nation.”

Win or lose, there will be a few hangovers tomorrow morning…

Stock up on hangover cures...

With sore heads expected fans will be stocking up on cures to get rid of the dreaded hangover. After England’s previous Euro wins Superdrug said hangover cures had flown off its shelves, The Telegraph reports. And the chain is expecting a similar boost following the semi-finals.

When England beat Germany last week sales of ibuprofen and migraine tablets at Superdrug were up by about 35%. After the win over Ukraine 20% more energy tablets were also sold.

“Historically we’ve seen sales increases in hangover-related products after major sporting events,” said Michael Henry of Superdrug. “However, it’s been exceptional during Euro 2020.”