Penalty shoot-out at Wembley: saved penalties, post shots – ecstasy! Football god, what lust for sensation drove you today? England is on the verge of ending the national trauma. Then Italy strikes back and secures the European title in the most dramatic way.
What was going on at Wembley?
London was completely turning the bike: many hours before the kick-off, tens of thousands of English fans in London celebrated the first final of the Three Lions at a major tournament since 1966. All songs from “Football’s coming home” to “You’ll never walk alone” to “Sweet Caroline” are intoned. The Italians counter with “Football’s coming to Rome”.
Not only was there no distance and masks, in some places fireworks and bottles flew. Whole squares and streets were littered, alcohol flowed in huge quantities. According to virologists, the celebration should become Superspreader Sunday because people from all over the country came to London.
At Wembley itself, some fans (presumably without tickets) stormed the stadium, the police seemed to be too few and could not stop the spectators at first. A spokesman for Wembley Stadium confirmed “an incident” at the outer security ring, but no fans entered the stadium without tickets.
For Italy, who did not even qualify at the 2018 World Cup, it was more than one European title. The country had suffered from the corona pandemic like no other. Football legends like Dino Zoff wrote an open letter to the team before the final and thanked them for their courage and the confidence that spilled over into the country. Squadra Azzurra had only won one of three European Championship finals.
A little surprisingly, Gareth Southgate then brought on Kieran Trippier for Bukayo Saka. The trainer of the Three Lions switched to a 3-4-3 like against Germany (defensively this results in a chain of five). Italy took to the field with the winning team in the semi-finals against Spain.
After 90 minutes and intensive extra time, the score was 1-1 after goals from Luke Shaw and Leonardo Bonucci. So penalty shoot-out at Wembley. More is not possible. Nobody could have imagined more tension, more drama, more emotions beforehand.
And the way football plays, England missed their last three penalties and couldn’t beat their trauma. As the strongest team in the tournament, the almost invincible Italians earned their second European title after 1968.
Scheme
Italy: Donnarumma / AC Milan (22 years old / 33 internationals) – Di Lorenzo / SSC Napoli (27/13), Bonucci / Juventus Turin (34/109), Chiellini / Juventus Turin (36/112), Emerson / Chelsea FC ( 26/19) from 118. Florenzi / AS Roma (30/45) – Barella / Inter Milan (24/29) from 54. Cristante / AS Roma (26/17), Jorginho / Chelsea FC (29/35), Verratti / Paris St. Germain (28/45) from 96. Locatelli / Sassuolo Calcio (23/15) – Chiesa / Juventus Turin (23/32) from 86. Bernardeschi / Juventus Turin (27/34), Immobile / Lazio Rome ( 31/52) from 55th Beradi / Sassuolo Calcio (26/17), Insigne / SSC Napoli (30/47) from 91st Belotti / FC Turin (27/39); Coach: Mancini.
England: Pickford / Everton FC (27/38) – Walker / Manchester City (31/61) from 120.Sancho / Borussia Dortmund (21/22), Stones / Manchester City (27/49), Maguire / Manchester United (28 / 37) – Trippier / Atletico Madrid (30/33) from 70.Saka / Arsenal FC (19/9), Phillips / Leeds United (25/15), Rice / West Ham United (22/27) from 74. Henderson / Liverpool FC (31/64) from 120. Rashford / Manchester United (23/46), Shaw / Manchester United (25/16) – 19 Mount / Chelsea FC (22/21) from 99 / 12), Kane / Tottenham Hotspur (27/61), Sterling / Manchester City (26/68); Coach: Southgate.
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Goals: 0: 1 Shaw (2nd), 1: 1 Bonucci (67th)
Spectators: 67,173 (in London)
Penalty shoot-out: Beradi 1-0, Kane 1-1, Pickford saves Belotti, Maguire 1-2, Bonucci 2-2, Rashford shoots the post, Bernardeschi 3-2, Donnarumma saves against Sancho, Pickford saves Jorginho, Donnarumma saves against Saka
2. Minute: Toooooooooooooor for England: 1: 0 Luke Shaw.
What a start, now everyone is freaking out at Wembley! After an Italian corner, the Three Lions counter over Shaw and Harry Kane. The flank from the right then lands again at the moved up and left alone Shaw, who slams the ball dry with a dropkick into the left corner. Italy are 1-0 down at the European Championship for the first time.
8th minute: An Italian free kick from Lorenzo Insigne rushes just over the English goal.
15th Minute: The Squadra Azzurra is trying hard to get the game under control. But she can’t get through at all in the front.
22nd Minute: Italy’s puller Jorginho is treated for a long time on the knee, but can continue.
28th minute: Insigne tries it from about 30 meters. Completely harmless.
34th minute: Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling try a one-two, but in the end there is an Italian in between. The first offensive scene for the Three Lions in a few minutes.
35th Minute: The best chance for the Italians: Federico Chiesa prevails strongly against several opponents and moves towards the English goal. With his left he pulls from 20 meters, his shot rushes just past the right post.
45th minute: Italy is getting stronger and has good ball possession phases. But there is still no big chance because England is low and compact. There is four minutes of stoppage time.
Halftime
51st Minute: Sterling checks Insigne from behind. The fouled shoots the free kick from a promising position just over it. Italy comes out of the cabin stronger than before.
57th Minute: Really good chance for the Italians: Chiesa is initially blocked, but Insigne grabs the rebound and slams the ball against Pickford’s fists from the shortest distance and the most acute angle.
62nd Minute: Chiesa with a strong individual action. The young striker delayed several times in the penalty area, then finished precisely with the right. Pickford can just dive down and clear.
67th Minute: Toooooooooooooooor for Italy: 1: 1 Bonucci.
Corner Italy on the first post, then there is chaos. Chiellini throws himself in and misses. Verratti’s header lands on the post. Then Bonucci reacts quickest from a very short distance. The compensation that has now been earned.
73rd Minute: The Italians sniff at the turn. Bonucci sends Berardi a long pass. With a jumped in karate kick, the substitute is on the ball in front of the hesitant Pickford, but shoots over the goal.
87th Minute: A speedster makes it to the square without upper body and escapes several folders until he is led away.
90th minute: Both teams hardly take any risks. There are six minutes of stoppage time.
Final whistle, extra time
96th Minute: After a bad pass from the Italians, Sterling takes off. Chiellini grabs him at the last moment and celebrates. After the next corner, a long-range shot from Philips whizzes past the right post.
104th Minute: Best chance of extra time: Emerson asserts himself well on the left and crosses sharply into the middle, where Pickford clarifies a little uncertainly in front of Bernadeschi. That was damn close.
107th Minute: Bernadeschi pulls from a distance, Pickford lets the ball ricochet forward, but has it in the follow-up.
108th Minute: Double chance: Grealish is initially blocked. Then Donnarumma can just punch away a dangerous England flank. There is a little more fire in the final. The tension is palpable. Wembley is crackling.
Final whistle, penalty shoot-out
Berardi, 1-0. Kane, 1: 1.
Pickford saves Belotti’s penalty
Maguire, 2-1. Bonucci, 2: 2.
Rashford hits the post with the penalty kick
Bernadeschi, 3: 2.
Donnarumma saves Sancho’s penalty
Pickford deflects Jorginho’s penalty against the post
Donnarumma saves Saka’s penalty
ITALY IS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
What was good at halftime I?
England. The system changeover works extremely well. The opening and shaping of the game via the high full-backs presents Italy with major problems, especially at the beginning. The moved up left-back Shaw symbolically scores the 1-0 because no one feels responsible for him at the Italians. In addition, Kane lets himself fall cleverly and distributes the balls on the outer lanes, which gives them plenty of space. The historic opportunity seems to inspire rather than burden the young Three Lions.
Particularly good: the English defensive. In the entire tournament she had to concede only one goal and England also managed to get behind the ball quickly with the entire team and build pressure on the playing equipment against Italy if they lost their own ball. Then they defend very hard with a five-man chain and three defensive midfielders around the strong Declan Rice. If the Squadra Azzurra plays the ball out of their own goal, England stands tall and man-oriented. The game design in Italy is effectively disrupted again and again.
What was bad at halftime I?
Italy. The Squadra Azzurra cannot access the converted 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 from England. Trippier and Shaw have way too much space on the outside lanes and Roberto Mancini’s team is too easy to outplay, especially in the first 20 minutes.
The Italian counter-attacks do not work at all. England managed to outnumber them immediately. The Squadra Azzurra lacks the punch, the pace and the depth. Without the switching moments, the Italians hardly have a chance against the compact English defensive.
What was good, halftime II?
Italy. The team is finally showing what it was all about in the tournament. Italy is picking up speed after the break and is much more powerful and reliable from the start. The variable positional play that made the Italians strong throughout the European Championship is now bringing the team back onto the pitch. The strong offensive forces, the courage and the will to play football are back.
Small changes in the system and changes shortly after the break have an immediate big effect: The Squadra Azzurra is now building up with three people, stands higher and positions more players around the English penalty area. Above all, the Italians put a lot of heart into every ball and fight their way back into the game. The team spirit of the team is once again impressive. “The chemistry of the team has to be right,” says Mancini of his team. The second half provides him with proof that his team has heard him.
What was bad, half time II?
After the break, England are acting far too passively and are too low. Offensive actions or impulses no longer take place at all. The batteries seem empty. Only after the Italian equalization do the Three Lions wake up again.
What was good, extension?
The voltage. The fight. The absolute drama.
What was good, penalty shootout?
The goalkeepers and the football god who loves emotions and sensations. England’s years of pain continue because of a penalty shootout, of all things. Italy weeps tears of joy.
What was the referee like, Mr. Feuerherdt?
In his ninth (!) International final, Björn Kuipers showed an outstanding performance. Appropriately generous in the duel evaluation, so completely in line with the tournament. The 48-year-old Dutchman did not let himself be ripped off by various light fallers, especially Sterling, and remained unimpressed with his interpretation. That was particularly strong in the 48th minute, when Sterling was held slightly by Bonucci and Chiellini in the Italian penalty area, got caught on Bonucci’s leg and fell to the ground. A situation that probably reminded many of the England-Denmark semi-final, when Sterling was awarded a highly controversial penalty in a very similar situation. Kuipers decided differently and was spot on, because the physical contact with Sterling in this situation was not the cause of Sterling’s fall.
Straightforward and consistent in personal penalties, also yellow instead of red against Jorginho in the 113th minute is okay: Because the Italian slipped off the ball in his tackle, the subsequent kick on Grealish’s thigh was more of an accident than a brutal physical effort. Very focused and with clear body language, was right in a demanding and intense game in all game-critical situations. The culmination of a great career.
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