A crime against the national anthem? The football world tackles the Italian singer’s mangling of the English anthem before a mutual duel

On Thursday, the qualification for the European Championship started and the biggest showpiece was the duel between Italy and England. The two countries met in Naples and there was already a lot to discuss before the game. There was a moment that spread like an avalanche on social media.

Italy and England were the biggest headliners of Thursday’s qualifying programme for next year’s European Championships in Germany. The clash took place in Naples.

The Italians went into the game as slight favourites, looking to make amends for their absence from the World Cup in Qatar. In addition, England has not been successful against the Italians for a long time, since 1977 they have not been able to beat the team from the Apennine Peninsula in a competitive match.

Otherwise, however, the English are sovereign in the qualifiers and they wanted to confirm this at the shrine named after the legendary Diego Maradona.

But before the match, there was a moment that was addressed by the general football public. Traditionally, the national anthems were sung, but the English one was perhaps the worst version in history.

The singer who sang the English national anthem messed up what she could and it was tragic. Some say it is a crime against the national anthem, others are ashamed of the singer as if they were in her shoes.

She may have been slightly confused by the recent change from singing God Save the Queen to God Save the King. But would she have been confused like that? Unlikely. It’s hard to say why it happened the way it did.

Either way, the English were obviously thoroughly kicked and wanted revenge in the match. They scored two goals in the first half and clearly outplayed the Italians.

Source: Twitter, UEFA