‘We’ve heard Italians hate pineapple on their pizza – sorry for the following’

England fans will tell their Roman rivals to ‘get stuffed’ before Sunday’s big match by pigging out on most Italians’ pet hate – pineapple-topped pizza.

The Three Lions’ rival fans and pizza purists think pineapple toppings on their national dish is an “abomination”, making for the perfect wind up.

Tourists will struggle to find the controversial toppings of ham, bacon and pineapple in Italy because it was not invented in the home of pizza but 4,000 miles away in Canada – by a Greek!

Sam Panopoulos came up with the recipe at his restaurant in Ontario in 1962 inspired by his experience preparing Chinese dishes which mix sweet and savoury flavours.

But that’s only fuelling sales of the deep pan dish with an English twist because the age old debate ends now – at least until it comes home on Sunday.

As many as a third of all pizza diners this weekend will be adding pineapple on top in a cheeky dig at England’s fellow Euro 2020 finalists.

And delivery firms have seen a huge spike in pizza sales across fast food restaurants ahead of this Sunday’s epic football showdown at Wembley.

A Goodfellas spokesman said: “With tensions running so high, what could wind up an Italian more than putting pineapple on a pizza?

“Our survey shows that 34 percent of Brits will be sticking chunks of pineapple on their pizza today.”

The same poll revealed 49% of England fans would happily never eat pizza again in return for an England win.

A spokesman for Deliveroo added: “It’s no surprise pizza orders have skyrocketed by 1,680% as it’s a match day must-have.

“It’s great to see that no matter if we’re loyal to our national team, we’ll happily tuck into great food from around the world while we cheer on our England team.

“Whether you want crustless, cheeseless (who would do such a thing?) or opt for a divisive Hawaiian pizza, we have something for everyone.”

Fans have pledged their fruity vows on social media to eat their way into giving England an extra slice of luck.

On Thursday stand up comedian Kae Kurd took to Twitter to rally his followers for the cause. He wrote: “Pineapple on Pizza everyday till Sunday guys. Let the mind games begin.”

An England fan joked on Wednesday night that topping the pizza base with extra pineapple would be a sure fire way to rub salt in the wounds of defeat.

He tweeted: “Now England go for Italy! Win on sunday and put double pineapple on the pizza. That will really upset them!”

Another called their followers into action, she said: “Cut up your spaghetti, put pineapple on pizza, compare mac and cheese to a carbonara. it’s time.”

One Three Lions supporter taunted: “I’m gonna put some pineapple on pizza and there’s nothing you Italians can do to stop me.”

For England fans the age old debate of whether pineapple belongs on a pizza ends now, at least until Monday.

An Asda store, in Bedminster, went viral this week for its fun tribute to the England football team ahead of their cracking win in the Euros semi-final.

The supermarket pizza counter clearly backed the boys with its unique foodie creation, reports BristolLive.

Ahead of the England vs Denmark game last night the retail workers decided to spell out “It’s coming home” in pepperoni on the cheesy meal.

And, there was even a separate pizza topped with a mozzarella England shirt and the phrase “Kane 9” after caption Harry Kane.

An Italian man was filmed by his American partner last month, hilariously telling her she had to leave the country if she ordered pineapple on her pizza.

The woman on TikTok named Sarah captured the her fiancée’s disgust at the dinner table, The Mirror reports.

He says: “If somebody knows that you’re my fiancé and here you ask for pineapple I can’t live here.”

So England fans, if you were struggling to decide what to tuck into for dinner on Sunday night… you’re welcome.