The Euro 2020 finals ended in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out yesterday night with the Italian side re-claiming the title from defending champions Portugal. The Azzurri squad led by skipper Giorgio Chiellini posted a 3-2 penalty shootout score against England, thereby claiming the Euro title for the second time since 1968.
Quickest Goal in any Euro Cup Final
26 years old English left-back Luke Shaw created history as he left-footed an early cross from right-back Keiran Trippier into the Italian nets in less than 2 minutes. Shaw’s opening goal came in at a reported 1 minute 57 seconds – the fastest ever goal scored in the Euro Cup Finals.
No Opponent Dribbled Past Bonucci & Chiellini in Euro 2020
Italian defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are now the epitome of the saying “standing one’s ground” as they ended the tournament undefeated. ESPN FC has confirmed on Twitter that no opponent in the Euro 2020 tournament could dribble past the Italian defenders in any given instance.
England in Euro Finals – Denied Euro Champion’s Title
Even with an early lead, the initial intensity of the English side did not sustain long enough to hold the Italians back. Defender Leonardo Bonucci converted a corner in the 67th minute into the equalizer against the Englishmen. Little did Harry Kane’s side know that the equalized score will see them through to a penalty shoot-out which evidently did not go well for England.
England has never come so much close to winning an international title in the last 55 years. The English national football team won their last international title by defeating Portugal in the finals of the 1966 FIFA World Cup finals. The English team defeated Denmark in the semi-finals of the tournament this year to make it to the Euro 2020 finals.
Italy Beats England 3-2 in Penalty Shootout
With both teams failing to score a winning goal even as the match went into a seven minutes extra time, the referees called in a penalty shoot-out to decide the fate of the finals. Italian right-winger Domenico Berardi opened the books for the Azzuri squad by taking the first penalty and netting the ball past English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
English skipper Harry Kane took the first penalty for the Britishers and levelled the scores as he easily sent the ball to the back of the Italian nets way past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Tensions heightened in the next few minutes when English goalkeeper Pickford saved Belotti’s attempt and English centre-back Harry Maguire’s penalty gave England the lead in the penalty for the first time in the match.
Italian centre-back Bonucci made no mistake in netting the next one for Italy as he paused a bit before sending the ball into the English nets. The English dreams started shattering as a little too cautious Marcus Rashford hit the post and misses, thereby levelling the penalty scores once again to 2-2.
Federico Bernardeschi gave Italians the lead as he scored past the English goalkeeper while England missed again as Jadon Sancho’s shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. England was still in the match when Pickford saved the next shot by Italian defensive midfielder Jorginho. However, 19 years old midfielder Bukayo Saka missed England’s chance to score the penalty and finally giving away the cup to the Italians.
