Now England friendly with Italy set to be off over virus

England’s Euro 2020 preparations are set to be disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, with the Fa increasingly resigned to cancelling the friendly against Italy at Wembley on March 27.

England players have been told there is a possibility the game will be called off, and Wembley security staff have been informed their services may not be required.

The Fa are waiting for advice from the government — and will not take a unilateral decision to postpone the match — but there is a sense among officials at Wembley that it will not take place.

England’s six nations rugby match in Rome, scheduled for a week tomorrow, was postponed yesterday.

The government has updated advice for visitors from Italy, making it increasingly unlikely that Roberto Mancini’s squad will be permitted to fly to london to face England.

Under the new guidelines, anybody who has returned from anywhere in Italy over the last 14 days and is

showing symptoms is advised to self-isolate and call the NHS. Those coming back from northern Italy have been told to self-isolate even if they do not have symptoms. Cancelling the Italy game would leave England manager Gareth Southgate with just one game, against Denmark on March 31, before he names his Euro 2020 squad in May. There are fears the tournament will be postponed. Meanwhile, the Premier League have announced that the pre-match handshakes between the teams will not take place until further notice due to fears of spreading coronavirus. Players will line up and walk past each other instead. Liverpool have announced that mascots will not be allowed on the pitch at Anfield as part of their response to the virus.