It's the kind of excitement that's hard to ignore, even in New Zealand.
Now the Beautiful Game will be played in what is possibly the world's first football travel bubble.
Beyond the fever pitch and chants of "Forza Azzurri" and "In-ger-land", there is a more important competition:
Which country makes for the better holiday destination?
England vs Italy
Pre-pandemic Italy accounted for 2.2 million tourists to the UK per year. It was the sixth biggest by visitors and spending, dropping $2 billion on holidays to the British Isles.
However 3.5 million Brits - around 3 million of whom were 'Inglese', to be precise - visited Italy. Looking at the total international visitor numbers, it is more clear cut.
Scores on the doors for total international visitors in 2019: England 40 million, Italy 92 million.
England as a holiday destination is not for everyone.
On matters of food and weather, it's hardly a fair match. However, there are some big draw cards for Italians - beyond Wembley.
According to Visit Britain, the second most sought-after experiences for Italian holiday makers is to take a narrow-boat tour of the canals of England.
Surprisingly, the Digbeth waterways are more popular with Italian tourists than the Canale Grande in Venice.
Pop culture is also the UK's secret weapon. Italians are 14 per cent more interested in seeing the castle where Harry and Meghan got married. Harry Potter is also a big draw, as well as a Beatles tour of Liverpool.
Almost half - 49 per cent - of visits by Italian tourists are to London. No doubt that'll be where the attention of most Italians will be come kick-off on Monday morning.
Three quarters of Italian visitors plan to return and with only 12 hours to explore they'll probably be back for more.
