England’s agony as Italians are spot on

Italians gain parity. Donnarumma, the hero of Italy’s shoot-out win over Spain in the semis, emerged as the hero again when he saved Jadon Sancho’s kick. There was hope for Southgate’s men when Pickford saved a Jorginho’s effort, but the pressure transferred to young Arsenal star Saka and his shot was saved by Donnarumma to send the Italians into ecstasy. On Rashford and Sancho missing penalties after their late introductions, BBC pundit Alan Shearer said: ‘It’s a big ask to put players on with a minute to go and say: “Go and take a penalty” when they’ve had no feel of the ball. You’re put in a position.’ Rio Ferdinand added: ‘That’s happened for years, the last five, four, three minutes, players go on as takers. Marcus Rashford is a recognised taker. It happens. We look down the years, the biggest and best players miss penalties.’ Frank Lampard said: You can’t over-analyse’, with Ferdinand adding: ‘I’ve seen seasoned players with hundreds of games under their belts turn away.’ It had all seemed so positive for England when Shaw sent Wembley wild after just two minutes when he rammed home Kieran Trippier’s cross. Pickford superbly denied Federico Chiesa in the 61st minute. But Italy’s deserved leveller arrived six minutes later as Bonucci pounced after Pickford had tipped Marco Verratti’s header on to the post. The occasion was marred by violent scenes before kick-off as hundreds of ticketless fans broke through security barriers, with some gaining entry to the stadium.