Well, that was an anti-climax.
The long-awaited return of football to England has been put on hold as the Azzurri won on penalties.
It appeared like England were going to take home the European Championship when Luke Shaw connected onto a deflection, sending a half-volley in the net after only two minutes. Italian fans looked dejected until Bonucci gave his nation a breath of fresh air after also taking advantage of a deflection.
The game was then tied after 67 minutes and English fans were now the anxious base.
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Besides the early goal, Italy was the stronger of the two teams, with 65% possession to finish the game, and 19 shots with six on target, the Azzurri were dominant in the penalty shootout victory. For England, they had six shots with two on target and a mere 426 passes to Italy’s 820.
The Three Lions were outclassed to an extent, but with a squad full of young players, the possibility of football “coming home” is not a distant dream. With a squad featuring the likes of Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold (if we didn’t get injured in a friendly in the build-up to the tournament), all players under the age of 26, their future is bright.
Italy was the strongest team in the tournament and deserved winners, and while the English penalty takers were disappointing they stepped up for their country. The game finished at 1-1 with Italy scoring three penalties to England’s two and Saka missing the final penalty.
