ITALY manager Roberto Mancini celebrated his side's Euro 2020 final victory against England with a copy of Scotland's only pro-independence newspaper.

The Azzurri came away winners and lifted the trophy after defeating Gareth Southgate's men on penalties.

Following a night of fierce celebrations – among the Italy team in England and in Scotland – the Italian side caught their flight home.

One eagle-eyed social media user spotted something very interesting on the plane, however.

In a video released by the Italian national team, a copy of The National can be seen sitting under the Euro 2020 trophy by Mancini's side.

The champions of Europe were willed on by this paper on Saturday, with our front page mocking up their manager as William Wallace in Braveheart.

We wrote: "Save us Roberto, you're our FINAL HOPE! (We can't take another 55 years of them banging on about this)"

While European media outlets saw our front page as tongue-in-cheek, debate in the UK raged over whether it was bitterness or banter.

The National:

However, asked at a pre-match press conference about our front page, Mancini said: "The front page of the newspaper is nice.

"We'll have to play our game. We'll have to have a great match, this must be our only thought. It's a football match after all."

He later added that it "did make me chuckle".

Italy's captain Giorgio Chiellini was a fan too, adding: "The front page of the National made me smile for Scotland's rivalry with England."

The largest sports paper in the country, La Gazzetta dello Sport, pinned the image of Mancini as Braveheart to the top of their live Euro 2020 blog.​

Meanwhile, Vanity Fair in Italy wrote: “The final of the Euros, of course, is just further evidence of a battle that Scotland has waged for centuries to try to disengage from English authority and live independently: a need already seen during Brexit and which continues today, extending to all forms.”