Sunday 11th July 2021
Penalty drama at Wembley
Italy is European champion, England mourns
The Squadra Azzurra does not find its way into the game for long. Italy saved themselves on penalties. Keeper Donnarumma is the hero there. Gareth Southgate’s late move prolong the title trauma.
Roberto Mancini and the Italian heroes wept sweet tears of triumph, while Prince William comforted his young son George in the VIP gallery amidst terrified Englishmen. When Italy’s indomitable gladiators conquered the throne room of English football and crowned themselves the kings of Europe, all dams broke on both sides. The injured Leonardo Spinazzola threw away his crutches and put himself in the winning photo.
“The players were simply wonderful,” said national coach Mancini: “We played well and won. I hope that the Tifosi will now celebrate all over Italy. The Italians satisfied a 53-year-old longing for the continental title with a 3-2 penalty shoot-out at the Wembley sanctuary – and they started a huge party in green, white and red. In the gripping final with a dramatic end, the Italians also let the air out of the Three Lions euphoria, which was rampant far beyond London: The much-cited “55 years of pain” since the 1966 World Cup triumph continue.
Prince William quickly gave consolation to his deeply sad compatriots through his Twitter account. “You have all come this far, but sadly this day was not ours. You can all walk with your heads held high, be proud of yourselves,” he wrote.
England shock Italy early
It took the Italians one half to shake off the shock of Luke Shaw’s final record goal for England (2nd). Leonardo Bonucci (67th) brought the Azzurri back into play in front of 67,500 spectators, Gianluigi Donnarumma put the whole country into ecstasy with the decisive parade against Bukayo Saka for the second European Championship triumph after 1968. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, who were substituted on for the penalty shoot-out, had previously missed for England. In the official gallery at Wembley, President Sergio Mattarella threw his arms up, the 67,173 English fans fell into agony.
At 9 p.m. it was time for the showdown, the 51st and final game of a European Championship that was complicated in many ways. At 9:02 p.m. Wembley was boiling over: Left-back Shaw had scored the fastest final goal in European Championship history with a dropkick on the inside post after 116 seconds, Gareth Southgate’s return to 3-4-3 of the last 16 win against Germany paid off immediately. Italy, now unbeaten in 34 international matches, was taken by surprise and had to sort out.
All of England was with them
The whole of England was behind his national team, and after the acclaimed arrival Southgate enjoyed the many people “of every origin, every religion, every community”. Even Queen Elizabeth II remembered the ’66 World Cup in a personal message – at that time the Queen presented the golden trophy to Captain Bobby Moore. This time her grandson William, President of the FA Football Association, was, along with Duchess Kate, the highest-ranking representative of the royal family.
He was still euphoric at the 1-0 and saw how the opponent struggled to recover. The scoured Italians with their routine central defense Giorgio Chiellini / Bonucci wobbled, England ran with adrenaline. Again and again the ball flew dangerously into the penalty area from the outside positions – once the scene was defended, there was little to see of the highly praised Italian joy of playing. The way to the English gate was cleverly blocked.
Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of fans in London had got in the mood for the first European Championship final with English participation with plenty of beer, chants and white and red knight costumes. It did not remain peaceful everywhere: Dozens of people without tickets tore down barriers at the stadium and streamed into the stands. About 7,000 fans supported Italy and ended up partying for at least 20,000.
But the way there was rocky. England played purposefully forward, were physically superior and quickly closed everything after losing the ball. Only Federico Chiesa shook off his guard – his crashing long-range shot rushed just past the post on a rain-soaked lawn (35th). Striker Ciro Immobile, on the other hand, was not involved at all. The final was very expandable at the break.
After that, Italy got better into the duels, after a sharp free kick from Lorenzo Insigne Mancini threw Bryan Cristante and Domenico Berardi into play. The weak property had to go down. Italy pushed the English back, but the usual dangerous advances from outside were still lacking. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford parried a concealed shot from Chiesa (62.).
Five minutes later, Pickford’s hand twitched sensationally to the ball after a Marco Verratti header, but Bonucci rooted, pressed, and fought the ball into the goal to equalize. Wembley fell silent – and again after the Italian victory. England had fought their way back at eye level in the last 20 minutes plus extra time.
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