Agony for England
Heartache after penalties loss hands trophy to Italy
ENGLAND were haunted by another penalty shootout horror show last night as they lost to Italy in a thrilling Euro 2020 final.
Around 70,000 fans at Wembley watched as Gareth Southgate’s men saw their dreams shattered with yet another lastgasp defeat.
Three missed spot kicks in a row, after the match finished 1-1 after extra time, handed the trophy to the Azzurri and saw England forced to wait for their first major tournament win since 1966.
An estimated TV audience of 35million had barely switched on when Luke Shaw scored for England after two minutes.
But Italy equalised in the second half and the game moved into a nail-biting extra 30 minutes.
Both teams had scant chances to win the game before penalties, as the anguished crowd tried to urge both sides on to victory.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford pulled off a brilliant save to give England the advantage before Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho missed their kicks to give Italy the lead in the shoot-out.
Pickford then pulled off more heroics to deny Chelsea midfielder Jorginho from 12 yards. But England teenage star Bukayo Saka had his penalty saved to dash the hopes of millions.
Battling Italian captain Giorgio Chiellini, whose infectious character has lit up the tournament, held the Henri Delaunay Cup aloft after his team’s victory.
In a tweet from the Kensington-Royal account, the Duke of Cambridge congratulated the Italian football team on their win. He said: ‘Heartbreaking. Congratulations @azzurri on a great victory.
‘@England, you’ve all come so far, but sadly this time it wasn’t our day. You can all hold your heads high, and be so proud of yourselves – I know there’s more to come. W.’
At the final whistle, Southgate put his arm around Arsenal attacker Saka, 19, and offered words of comfort.
Ex-England striker Alan Shearer said: ‘Football is a cruel, cruel game. It is such a shame that it has to come down to a situation like this. I just feel for Rashford, Sancho and Saka.
‘It is a lot for young players to take on for the future.’
Former England midfielder Frank Lampard added: ‘If there’s one man who can put his arm around them and support them it’s Southgate because he’s been there. It’s going to hurt. There is nothing you can say.’
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: ‘Tonight’s result is a disappointment but huge congratulations to England for performances that filled the nation with pride.’
Last night tearful fans expressed their pride in a team which has achieved so much.
Dave Geytenbeek, 50, who had travelled to the game with his wife Liz, 45, and son Ryan, ten, said: ‘I’m heartbroken but we still got to the finals and that’s an achievement in itself. It’s further than we’ve ever got before.’
Dave Massen had travelled to the game with girlfriend Lena Cleall from Essex.
Mr Massen, 39, said: ‘We’ve got this far. It’s the furthest we’ve been for absolutely ages. For me I’m already proud, it’s just a bonus to have been in the final and come so close to winning the trophy.’
After a positive start by England, the tension in the stadium was palpable as Italy dominated the second half of the match.
Pickford pulled off a brilliant save from a close range header, but the ball rebounded off the post and Leonardo Bonucci reacted the quickest to stab the ball into the net. The goal saw the 9,000 Italian fans inside Wembley scream and leap with delight.
Most of the pre-match festivities were good-natured, with England and Italy fans posing for photos together.
But there were pockets of disorder. Fans threw glass bottles into the air, which resulted in several head injuries. Some fans could be seen swearing and getting aggressive with each other. Others were seen kicking and smashing the fences around the fan zone.