At the end of the suspense, Italy wins the second Euro in its history against England

A 34^e consecutive match without defeat and a Euro won at the end of the suspense, and on penalties, for Italy (1-1, 3 tab 2), Sunday 11 July. Roberto Mancini’s players managed to overthrow England, who were yet playing the final at home, in their den at Wembley, London, in front of more than 65,000 supporters. With this victory, Italy won its second Euro, after that of 1968.

However, it was the English who started this final the best. While chasing a trophy since 1966 – and a World Cup won at home – Gareth Southgate’s players were not annihilated by the stake and opened the scoring in the 2^e minute of play, after a cross at the second post from Kieran Trippier well received by Luke Shaw.

For their part, the Italians have a series of technical errors. Too busy controlling (a little) the offensives of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling or Mason Mount, the Squadra Azzurra players failed to be dangerous for much of the first period. Far from being sated after this introduction, the English then pushed to score a second goal but lacked realism, before slowing down at the end of the period.

The face of this meeting is quite different after returning to the locker room. More incisive and more domineering in the midfield, Italy regains its level of play glimpsed during this Euro. Under the impetus of a very good Federico Chiesa, the Italians chained the occasions, without however managing to deceive Jordan Pickford. The light will come from a defender, Leonardo Bonucci, who manages to equalize in the 67^e. On a corner, Marco Verratti placed a header superbly deflected by Pickford, but the defender of Juve drags in the area and only has to push the ball with his left foot into the net. 1-1, center ball.

Southgate’s Heavily Contested Choices

After this equalization, the Italians clearly take the upper hand against the English who have become very wait-and-see, like coach Gareth Southgate, who made few changes. But as the minutes go by, Italy slows down and even sees their best player, Chiesa, come out with an injury. Head for extra time. As the supporters wake up, England move forward and get a few chances, without necessarily endangering Gianluigi Donnarumma. In the end, the Three Lions will have shot only six times, against 19 Italian side. Extra time came to nothing, just serving Southgate to bring in Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in the dying minutes to prepare for penalties.

During this stifling session, it was England who took the lead after the missed shot from Andrea Belotti (2-1). But behind, it is the berezina for the Three Lions and for Southgate: Raschford and Sancho, returned precisely for this session, see their shots repelled by Donnarumma, which allows the Italians to take the lead. The Italian goalkeeper is the great hero this evening because after Jorginho’s failed shot, he will push back that of the young Englishman Bukayo Saka, allowing his team to win this Euro (3 tab to 2).

This is yet another setback for England, who have played six of their seven games in the competition at home. And the choices of Southgate at the end of the match are likely to be very discussed Monday in the English media. On the side of Italy, who arrived in this competition with a lot of certainty in his game, it is the consecration for the coach, Roberto Mancini. After taking over a team that had not qualified for the 2018 World Cup, he led it, three years later, to the roof of Europe.