- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
FOUR-TIME world champions Italy on Sunday (11) bagged their second Euro title by defeating England 3-2 in a shoot-out at the Wembley Stadium. It was yet another heartbreak for the hosts in the penalty shoot-outs as Bukayo Saka missed the decisive kick after the game ended 1-1 through extra time.
Saka’s kick was stopped short of the target by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and it have the Azzurris the Henry Delaunay Cup for the second time after a gap of 53 years. England scored in their first two penalty shots but Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho failed with theirs.
Jorginho could have sealed the game in Italy’s favour but England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept his team’s hopes alive by saving his penalty. But Saka’s failed attempt shattered the home team’s supporters’ dream to see their favourite team win the prestigious title for the first time.
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The nerve-shredding climax in the game could not be foreseen when the match started with Luke Shaw putting England ahead just after a minute and 57 seconds, the fastest goal ever scored in a European Championship final, stunning the Italians who were on a 33-match unbeaten record till the title clash started.
Italy were shell-shocked with the early goal and struggled to overcome the initial setback at a venue where more England fans entered after shocking scenes were witnessed at the gates with supporters storming the gates without tickets. Security concerns were also raised as the pitch also saw an invasion later on stopping the game. But the English fans were desperate to see the Three Lions winning a major football tournament for the first time since they won the 1966 World Cup.
Italy though had most of the possession after conceding the early goal, ultimately drew level when Leonardo Bonucci scored midway through the second half.
The game saw no more goals and became the first European Championship final to be decided on penalties since 1976 when the former Czechoslovakia beat the erstwhile West Germany 5-3.
But England’s poor run in shoot-out contests in Euro continued. They had lost to the same opposition in shoot-outs in the 2012 Euro and also against Germany in the semi-final of the 1996 edition which was also played at their home.
Donnarumma was adjudged the 2020 edition’s (postponed by a year because of Covid-19 pandemic) best player while two players – Czech Republic’s Patrick Schick and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo – were the highest scorers with five goals each.
