this is bbc news. the headlines at 5pm — england's footballers are on their way to their hotel near london ahead of tomorrow's final against italy in the final of euro 2020. england captain harry kane says he's desperate to win it for the fans. yeah, i know they'll all be there cheering us on around the country, and we just can't wait to, hopefully, yeah, try and win the game for them. and i'm here at the england squad's hotel in watford, where we're expecting the players to arrive shortly. the build—up reaches fever pitch — millions of fans around the country preparing to watch the game tomorrow night at 8pm. italy, unbeaten in 33 games, have arrived in the uk. the italian manager, roberto mancini, is expected to hold

a press conference shortly. applause. and at wimbledon, world number one ashleigh barty has won herfirst ladies singles title. she beat the eighth seed karolina pliskova in three sets. fully vaccinated nhs staff could be let off having to self—isolate after contact with someone with covid to try to tackle staff shortages. coming up at 5:30pm, hardtalk with the writer lionel shriver.

good afternoon. england are on their way to the team hotel near watford just over 2a hours before they take on italy in the european championship final at wembley. victory tomorrow night would be the first major tournament win for the team since the 1966 world cup. the italian side has landed in the uk. their manager, robert mancini, is due to speak to journalists in the next hour. our sports correspondent john watson reports. england train for the final time at their base in burton today, ahead of the biggest game of their professional lives. standing between them and a first major trophy in over half a century, former winners italy, who arrive in london this afternoon. it's a great occasion, you know, for the country to be involved in, and the lads have done the whole country proud. yeah, we'rejust... i think everybody�*s got that sort of butterfly feeling in the belly that we can obviously win a first major trophy for a very long time. ending england's drought in major tournaments has been

a plan long in the making. the opening of england's state—of—the—art training centre at st george's park nine years ago sowing the seeds for the future. in 2017, signs of progress. a young phil foden, the player of the tournament, as england lifted the under—17s world cup. the under—20s winning their equivalent. with gareth southgate�*s promotion to england manager, continuity in the england set—up, bringing with it results. reaching the semi—finals at the last world cup, hope superseded by belief. but are england ready to take the toughest step of all? there is no doubt england have begun to reshape the history that has weighed them down in major tournaments of the past. now, they will have to be at their very best if they're to topple a tough italian side and they're to go on and realise their euro dream. italy are on a record 33—match unbeaten run, edging out spain on penalties in the last four.

in what will be their fourth european championship final, this is england's first. captain harry kane with the goal that ended that run of major championship semi—final defeats. tomorrow evening, the focus of millions will fall on wembley. the question on everyone�*s lips — can england complete their euro dream? john watson, bbc news, wembley. tens of millions of football fans will be getting ready to watch the match tomorrow night on television. for those lucky enough to have tickets, some are being offered thousands of pounds for their tickets to the game. here's daniela relph. if you sell england merchandise, this weekend is boom time. two for a fiver. face paints for two quid. at romford market in essex, the early trade was brisk. but if you're lucky enough to have tickets for the game, there was no business to be done.

i've had a guy come up, who wanted to give... he said, "i will give you eight grand for the four tickets." i said, "mate, no money buys these tickets. no chance. we're going." for those who taught harry kane at chingford foundation school in essex, there is obvious pride at his success. clearly very gifted, i a talented footballer from a very early age, - right from the very beginning, it was clear to see that he had a special gift as far— as football is concerned. generally speaking, a really nice, all—round, very humble _ and well— behaved young lad. has he kind of credited you with some of his... yeah, it's all down to me, - it's all down to my management! sheldon edwards has become the go—to barber for many england players. i've got the likes of jadon sancho, raheem sterling, phil foden, jude bellingham. those are my most prominent clients in the england team. his work on phil foden�*s hair went viral and is now much in demand. there is a clamourfor some of the stardust of this group of players. 10 downing street has nailed its colours to the front door.

across england, whether you're at home or the pub watching tomorrow, football is proving good for business. we've seen sharp increases in sales before matches of things like frozen stone—baked pizzas, our barbecue range, of course, booze and alcohol, a whole different range of stuff, as people stock up and celebrate these big tournaments. but some households will be conflicted. chef giuseppe is italian. his wife, sarah, is english. half the family english, half the family italian. i i'm thinking, after all these years, i maybe england deserve to win, but, obviously, inside me, i want italy to win. i at the end of this, one of us is going to be really sad. and i want it to be you. it is now a tense countdown for england fans, as they manage the nerves and the hope ahead of kick—off tomorrow night. daniela relph, bbc news.

let's get more on this from our sports reporter alex howell. he is the england team hotel. they have had their last training session and i gathered phil foden had to sit it out. is it a worry for england? it may be a worry. in the last session before a majorfinal, it cannot be a good thing for him or the team that he missed it. but we heard it is a minor knock and he missed training as a precaution. so 25 of the other players all trained today without incident. it is only phil foden who missed out. we expect the team to be here within the next couple of hours travelling down after the final session. the manager at gareth southgate and captain harry kane are speaking in the press conference this evening and they should arrive before the rest of the team to set up and to get into that. it is just over 2a our fee for the biggest game in the men's football

team history. 455 years building up to it. they are here trying to win the seventh game in tomorrow and it is tomorrow and everyone is ready for it. roberto mancini is the italian manager and we are just getting ready to hear what their manager has to say. talks about his team news, his tactics. he surprised everyone at the permit for the selections he is maybe definitely has got it right and people will be asking about the news about phil foden or whether he is in line for selection tamara.— foden or whether he is in line for selection tamara. good to talk to ou and selection tamara. good to talk to you and we _ selection tamara. good to talk to you and we will— selection tamara. good to talk to you and we will leave _ selection tamara. good to talk to you and we will leave it _ selection tamara. good to talk to you and we will leave it there - you and we will leave it there because the line is putting up a little bit with alex there, our sports correspondent. just a reminder that we will bring you the england press conference later this evening. that will be held by gareth southgate and harry kane, and we expect that at about 7:15pm. also hearing we think in the next few minutes from the italian manager at roberto mancini and we will bring

you some of that as well. the latest government data shows that in the past 24 hours, there were 32,367 new covid infections recorded across the uk and 34 deaths. 45.7 million people have had their first coronavirus vaccine. that's nearly 87% of the uk adult population. and 34.5 million have received both doses. that's 65.6% of uk adults. ministers are considering lifting the need for fully vaccinated nhs staff in england to self isolate if they've been in close contact with someone who's tested positive for the coronavirus. hospital trusts have warned of staff shortages unless action is taken. it comes as medical leaders says case numbers are rising dramatically and that people should continue to act with care. here's our health correspondent katharine da costa. some hospitals in england and scotland are extremely busy with record numbers of patients in a&e. several have already had to postpone planned operations.

and with a sharp rise in covid infections, growing numbers of doctors and nurses are self—isolating after coming into contact with people infected with the virus. the bma and the royal college of nursing has backed calls to allow fully vaccinated staff to continue working with appropriate testing and ppe. the nhs is incredibly busy at the moment. it's going full pelt recovering care backlogs. we've got record levels in many places we've lost a lot of capacity due to infection control and we've now got large numbers of staff who are effectively having to self—isolate. infections are spreading across england, with oxford the latest area to see cases spike to their highest level in the pandemic. from monday, the city will get extra government support for surge testing and to help boost vaccine take—up. it is about getting on with your lives in a sensible way, in a pragmatic way, and exercising personal responsibility.

and i think if people do that and get themselves tested, and have their vaccinations, we can certainly address this steep rise in covid cases that we have seen in the city. medical leaders say people should remain cautious after restrictions are lifted in england injust over a week's time, including wearing facemasks in crowded indoor areas. they warn things are likely to get worse before they get better. many people have just had . or are about to have their first dose of the vaccine, and this virus is rampaging through society. - and although far fewer people are ending up i in hospital and dying at present than have previously, _ because the vaccine's helping, - actually many of the people who get covid will go on to get long covid. the government says its decision to delay reopening by four weeks has bought more time to allow many more people to get their second doses, which will help strengthen the wall of immunity once restrictions end on the 19th.

ministers in scotland, wales and northern ireland will announce their plans for easing soon. katharine da costa, bbc news. there's concern that volunteers who took part in the clinical trails for the covid vaccine novavax could be unable to travel abroad as restrictions ease and more countries are added to the green list. whilst the jab was shown to be highly effective in protecting against the virus, it's not currently included in so—called vaccine passports. gill dummigan has this report. hi, love! hi, mum. hiya, how are you doing? jo wiggins' daughter and two small grandchildren live abroad. in two days' time, she should be meeting them in france for the first time in a year, but she's not. i'm upset. it's a long, long time since we've seen them. they're just little children, and i love them to bits, like any grandmother does. and i'm angry, really, because i volunteered for something

in good faith, and now i am seriously disadvantaged. that something was the clinical trial for novavax. 15,000 people in the uk did the same last autumn, keen to help the global race for a vaccine against covid at a time when there were very few. the trials found novavax to be highly effective, but the company hasn't yet finished their licensing process in the uk and the eu, and that means people who are double—jabbed with novavax don't get the same recognition as people who've had other vaccines through the normal nhs programme. france currently only accepts vaccines already licensed for use there. the nhs app is being internationally accepted as proof in many countries, but it's not on there either. jo is not impressed, and neither�*s her daughter. we've all been really proud of her that she took part in this, that she did it without any questions, she just wanted to help. and now it feels like she's being punished, and it'sjust really unfair. in a statement to us, the government said they'll take

any action available to make sure trial volunteers don't lose out. everyone can currently get a confirmation letter and they're urgently working to upgrade the nhs app to allow those trial vaccines to be registered. novavax says they're working with all agencies to see the app updated by the end of the month. i don't regret taking part. it was the right thing to do at the time. i regret the way that we've been treated since. take care, i'll let you get back to work. gill dummigan, bbc news. lots of love, sweetheart, lots of love. bye, mum. bye. labour have... labour have called for the former downing street director of communications, sir robbie gibb, to be sacked from the bbc board after he reportedly tried to block a senior editorial appointment at the corporation.

the financial times reports that gibb warned that relations with the government would be "shattered" if the preferred candidate for the role of executive news editor overseeing the bbc�*s news channels was appointed. labour's shadow culture secretary, jo stevens, said the allegations "raise very serious questions about conservative cronyism at the heart of the bbc". a spokesperson for the bbc said it didn't comment on ongoing recruitment processes, but added, "for the record, no recruitment process has been blocked," and that, "as a general principle, board members are able to discuss issues with other board members or senior executives." former boxer chris eubank says he is devastated at the death of his son, sebastian, who has died just days before his 30th birthday. sebastian had followed his father's footsteps and become a professional boxer himself. he died yesterday morning in dubai, where he was based. the headlines on bbc news — preperations for tomorrow night at wembley — a clash between england and italy to crown the winners of euro 2020. italy are unbeaten after 33 matches.

their manager, roberto mancini, is expected to hold a press conference shortly. fully vaccinated nhs staff could be let off having to self—isolate after contact with someone with covid to try to tackle staff shortages. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's ben croucher. dramatic stop at wimbledon. ashleigh barty said a packed centre court made her dream so special as she became wimbledon champion for the very first time. it looked like she would cruise to victory at one stage against karolina pliskova, but as is often the case in these huge matches, it's never quite that simple. chetan pathak has been at wimbledon for us for the last fortnight. chetan, a popular winner and a final fitting for the occasion, too.

absolutely. and a real release of emotion from ashley barty at the end, winning herfirst wimbledon title. it is not easy playing in a grand slam during a pandemic as this will then has felt different for obvious reasons and the players are in this tight bubble. they get busted in and bust out of here and he stop your release from ashleigh barty at the end. we don't often see that from her. she won the french open back in 2019 and is the world 0pen back in 2019 and is the world number one but she wants more grand slams and out half the one she really wanted. and carolyn up please give up please give a better work hard for it. barty had an explosive start as she is a disrupter on the court but the eight c know blake talked about before thejb ship fought back and had it once it all before barty took that trophy and this is a popular winter here. the erection to the hill displayed just a love and affection there is —— the

disruption. actually barty pulled up the biggest win of her career as she called it. lydia campbell reports. this is the walk of would be champions. actually barty and karolina pliskova taking the stage in front of royalty. but in front of a royalty on and off the court, nerves took over the first step with five breaks in total and ashleigh barty the player getting over the line. and when she went i break up in the second, things were looking plain sailing for the world number one. a former coach of police give up one. a former coach of police give up once said that she had a champion sleeping within her but now it was a time for that champion to awaken and awaken she did it. into a second set tie—breaker we went, with pliskova showing why she is a former world number one and forcing the decider. applause. in the third, ashleigh barty did what she had done in the previous

two and broke her leg. but this time, it led herto two and broke her leg. but this time, it led her to this moment. applause. ten years since eightjunior title here and 15 since her idol�*s victory. ashleigh barty had done it. i did not sleep well last not the king of all the what if but when i come out on this court, i felt at home and away and being able to share that with everyone here and with my team is incredible. today, ashlei . h with my team is incredible. today, ashleigh barty _ with my team is incredible. today, ashleigh barty took _ with my team is incredible. today, ashleigh barty took on _ with my team is incredible. today, ashleigh barty took on tennis's - ashleigh barty took on tennis's everest and it was a battle she won. 0livia campbell, bbc news. what a story for ashleigh barty there. before i go i want to talk to you about some british success, more british success. in the men's wiltshire doubles final as we have seen gordon reid and alfie hewitt when yet another wimbledon title. this their fourth, when yet another wimbledon title. this theirfourth, it

when yet another wimbledon title. this their fourth, it makes it 12 grand slam final wins for them now. the british top seeds beating the dutchman and belgian 7—5, 6—2. another fantastic win and there is a wheelchair singles final to come as well. and we've got the men's final between novak djokovic and matteo berrettini tomorrow, too. plenty more build up to the final and the european championship and back to you, ben. and a bit more on the build up now because there is the build up now because there is the italian news conference ahead of the italian news conference ahead of the big game tomorrow. this is the captain alongside the manager and let's have a listen. translation: . ., ~ ., translation: topic and will know what a big robbery _ translation: topic and will know what a big robbery but _ translation: topic and will know what a big robbery but there - translation: topic and will know what a big robbery but there is - what a big robbery but there is between scotland and england. we will need both attributes tomorrow because you cannot survive a final

at wembley against england without all hearts and nor can you do so without cool heads because there will come times when we need to be a bit more daring and need to go for it and they're also going to be times when we need to be a bit cooler and try and keep the situation under control. it's thinkable to think we can dominate proceedings for 90 minutes. so tomorrow night we will need to shut both of those attributes to the greatest possible extent because it is a final and in order to come away with the victory, we need to make sure that we have every single last detail perfect. translation: my , detail perfect. translation: , ., ., translation: maybe i should not even ask ou this translation: maybe i should not even ask you this because _ translation: maybe i should not even ask you this because you _ translation: maybe i should not even ask you this because you have _ translation: maybe i should not even ask you this because you have been - ask you this because you have been with the _ ask you this because you have been with the national team for 16 or 17 years— with the national team for 16 or 17 years now. — with the national team for 16 or 17 years now, but i game against england — years now, but i game against england at wembley stadium and we all hope _ england at wembley stadium and we all hope that you will still be

starring _ all hope that you will still be starring for us next year, this is still_ starring for us next year, this is still eight — starring for us next year, this is still eight unique, one of for everyone _ still eight unique, one of for everyone but certainly for you. how do you _ everyone but certainly for you. how do you feel— everyone but certainly for you. how do you feel on the eve of this big match? — do you feel on the eve of this big match? and at the end of your great careen _ match? and at the end of your great careen and — match? and at the end of your great career. and what is the difference between — career. and what is the difference between- - -— career. and what is the difference between... , ~ ., ., ., between... matches like tomorrow ni . ht's are between... matches like tomorrow night's are games _ between... matches like tomorrow night's are games that _ between... matches like tomorrow night's are games that might - between... matches like tomorrow night's are games that might not l night's are games that might not come around again in the career of a player so we are very fortunate to be involved in matches like these. and even before the semi final, the head coach has tried to really take the sting out of things in terms of our nerves because of course we are very tense going into a match like this. we are all well aware of what an important game this is. there is no need to necessarily highlight that, but you need to just try and dampen some of the enthusiasm. when you go into a final. that goes for

us and the same goes for england. it's only natural that that will be the situation. we need to really thrive and savour this occasion. and when we met up at the village before the competition, i said we needed just that hint of madness and cool heads and that has brought us this far. and hopefully it can take us to win the competition. coming back to harry kane and lukaku. they are world class structure. the first time i came up against harry kane it was a friendly in terror and against england and he immediately impressed and for how many different attributes he has. he is very technical and he shoots well from distance and he is good in the air intakes free kicks. he is a player who really impressed me right from day one. i played against him during

his time with tottenham. and i am a really big fan of him. you can ask fabiola because he will confirm that because we spoke about harry kane so many times over the years and how he had the chance to work with them at tottenham and i will have the good fortune to come up against him at tomorrow night. it is always nice to play a structure such as this and it will be a tough battle but unexciting one. translation: _, ., so what is the message that you would _ so what is the message that you would like — so what is the message that you would like to _

so what is the message that you would like to send _ so what is the message that you would like to send out? - so what is the message that you would like to send out? in - so what is the message that you| would like to send out? in terms so what is the message that you i would like to send out? in terms of your exuerience. _ would like to send out? in terms of your experience, how— would like to send out? in terms of your experience, how do _ would like to send out? in terms of your experience, how do you - would like to send out? in terms of. your experience, how do you approach the game? _ your experience, how do you approach the game? hie — your experience, how do you approach the name? ~ . ., the game? we have never even thought about that before _ the game? we have never even thought about that before today, _ the game? we have never even thought about that before today, just _ the game? we have never even thought about that before today, just like - about that before today, just like we did before spain and belgium and even less so in the previous rounds. we are really enjoying this adventure, and it is a very different feeling to the one that we had at the start of the competition. i have been saying so for a long while now. ever since i decided to continue with the national team... that is the captain of italy speaking at their press conference ahead of the final of euro 2020

tomorrow evening. an 8pm kick—off and we will hear from the england camp around 7:45pm here in bbc news. john watson is at wembley stadium for us. the excitement in the italy can and we are getting a sense of it there from the captain, nervous excitement you suspect that many of those england players will be feeling tonight ahead of what will be probably the biggest match of most of their careers. £3.35. be probably the biggest match of most of their careers.— be probably the biggest match of most of their careers. gas, a huge moment for— most of their careers. gas, a huge moment for england _ most of their careers. gas, a huge moment for england and - most of their careers. gas, a huge moment for england and for - most of their careers. gas, a huge moment for england and for italy. most of their careers. gas, a huge i moment for england and for italy as we know. both with so much history of course when you consider that england have not faired too well in major tournaments and this is their first final in a men's major tournament in 55 years but italy as well. so much history for them coming and following the low point of their failure to qualify for the most recent world cup. it is going to hear him talking about coming up against harry kane and how he is a player he ranks very highly having played against him internationally before and for his club as well,

juventus against tottenham. calling for cool heads tomorrow at wembley when they will have been coming up against some 50,000 fans into the stadium here. very interesting as well to know one particular line coming out of the england camp today is phil foden is a real doubt for the game tomorrow. gareth southgate has been speaking to the bbc and he said that he will have to wait to see whether he will recover in time from this minor knock, the split problem which could potentially keep them out of the game tomorrow. we will hear of course more on that as gareth southgate has his last media conference tonight at the hotel before the game tomorrow. john watson at wembley, thank you very much. time to bring you up—to—date on the cricket as it looks like a cracking second one day international between england and pakistan with 247. fill salt and james vince both made half

centuries. pakistan currently 53—4 after 14 overs. gregory and overton have both picked up a wicket and it is the first one date to be played at lords since the world cup final backin at lords since the world cup final back in 2019. and to tell you if the british and irish lions in action against the sale sharks and there will not match with the sharks leading 19—17 and that is all the support for now. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. the cloudy, damp weather we've had in the south east of england is moving away. as we head into the evening, we've still got some heavy showers across northern england, scotland, perhaps north wales. those will gradually fade away overnight. so, it's becoming dry overnight. there's a lot of cloud, quite low cloud, so quite misty by the morning, and temperatures typically down to 11—12 degrees. so, sunday will start on a fairly cloudy note. again it'll brighten up, get some sunshine coming through. we trigger some more heavy, perhaps thundery, showers.

mainly northern england, scotland, perhaps northern ireland. more cloud comes back into wales and the south west, bringing with it some rain mainly in the afternoon, so a bit cooler here than today. ahead of that towards the south east, with some drier, brighter weather, temperatures should be a bit higher than today. heading into monday, hopefully we're celebrating the victory in the euros. it's going to be a wet picture across many parts of the country. heavy, perhaps thundery downpours developing, threatening some localised flooding, and top temperatures around 21 celsius.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. preperations for tomorrow night at wembley — a clash between england and italy to crown the winners of euro 2020. the build up reaches fever pitch — millions of fans around the country preparing to watch the game tomorrow night at eight o'clock. italy are unbeaten in 33 games — they've now flown to luton from their training base near florence hoping to win their second euros trophy. and, at wimbledon, world number one ashleigh barty has won her first ladies singles title — she beat the eighth seed karolina pliskova in three sets. fully vaccinated nhs staff could be let off having to self—isolate after contact with someone with covid to try to tackle staff shortages.