Initially it was allowed to hold 22,000+ people, now there’s green light for as many as 60,000+ fans inside, as long as they’re from the UK. This setting surely promotes England as the home side, doesn’t it?

On June 22 both the British government and UEFA confirmed the capacity of Wembley National Stadium will exceed 60,000 for the final three games (both semifinals and the final of Euro 2020). That’s almost three times as many fans as were allowed during the group stage and almost 50% more than was suggested in mid-June, when the tournament was just a few days in.

The increase is particularly great news for England, who are out of the group stage. Having topped Group D, the Three Lions will play their Round of 16 fixture in London, just like all group games. Had they finished second, England would have landed in Amsterdam, where English fans would not be allowed at all (unless they somehow managed a 10-day quarantine before attending the game).

© Jaanus Jagomägi

Judging by football odds at BoyleSports, teams playing at home have a major edge over their opponents, of course as long as they’re evenly paired. So imagine playing at home also in the knock-out phase, especially when talking about a side as disciplined as England, without even one goal lost in all games so far.

Provided England win their Round of 16 tie, they will have to leave London for one game, as quarterfinals are already set to take place in Baku, Munich, Rome and Saint Petersburg. But, should they prevail, the Three Lions will be back triumphantly, cheered on by 60,000 fans, almost all of whom will likely be English.

Although UEFA generally has a rule that sees roughly a fourth of the stadium dedicated to fans of each team, it seems this won’t be the case. The United Kingdom has so far refused to ease restrictions on travelling supporters. This means all fans entering from other competing countries would first have to spend 10 days in quarantine, thus not being able to see the actual game, unless they enter the UK well before their team reaches the desired stage.

While the issue was subject to UEFA’s lobbying, so far there’s no consensus regarding any fans being exempt from overall entry regulations. The problem is already well known in countries whose fans see an opening for their teams to reach the final. Italian authorities have even demanded for the three final games to be relocated from London to a place like Budapest, where entry regulations are very lax in comparison. As of writing this, it seems unlikely to go through, however.