Italy wins Euro 2020 final, beating England in penalty shootout

Italian soccer’s redemption story is complete. England’s painful half-century wait for a major title goes on.

And it just had to be because of a penalty shootout.

Italy won the European Championship for the second time by beating England 3-2 on penalties on Sunday. The match finished 1-1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium, which was filled mostly with English fans hoping to celebrate the team’s first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Instead, just utter dejection again – they know the feeling so well – after Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s imposing goalkeeper, dived to his left and saved the decisive spot kick by 19-year-old Londoner Bukayo Saka, one of the youngest players in England’s squad.

It was England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho – players brought on late in extra time seemingly as specialist penalty-takers – also missing.

As Saka and Sancho cried, Donnarumma was mobbed by his teammates as they sprinted toward him from the halfway line after the second penalty shootout in a European Championship final.

They then headed to the other end of the field and ran as one, diving to the ground in front of the Italian fans who have witnessed a rebirth of their national team.

It was less than four years ago that Italy plunged to the lowest moment of its soccer history by failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades. Now, they are the best team in Europe and on a national-record 34-match unbeaten run under Roberto Mancini, their suave coach who has won an international trophy in the first attempt to add to the country’s other European title – in 1968 – and its four World Cups.

For England, it’s the latest heartache in shootouts at major tournaments, after defeats in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012. They ended that losing streak by beating Colombia on penalties in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, but the pain has quickly returned.

“The boys couldn’t have given more,” England captain Harry Kane said. “Penalties are the worst feeling in the world when you lose. It’s been a fantastic tournament – we should be proud, hold our heads up high. It’s going to hurt now, it’s going to hurt for a while.”

It had all started so well for England, too, with Luke Shaw scoring the fastest goal in a European Championship final by meeting a cross from opposite wing back Kieran Trippier with a half-volley that went in off the post in the second minute.

It was Shaw’s first goal for England and it prompted a fist-pump between David Beckham and Tom Cruise in the VIP box amid an explosion of joy around Wembley, which had at least 67,000 fans inside. Maybe more, given dozens of ticketless England fans managed to barge their way past stewards and police and into the stadium in unsettling scenes before kickoff.

That was the only time Italy’s famously robust defense was really opened up in the entire 120 minutes.

Indeed, after Shaw’s goal, England barely saw the ball for the rest of the game.

Italy’s midfielders dominated possession, as widely predicted before the match, and England simply resorted to dropping deep and getting nine or even all 10 outfield players behind the ball. It was reminiscent of the 2018 World Cup semifinals, when England also scored early against Croatia then spent most of the game chasing its opponent’s midfield before losing in extra time.

Italy’s equalizer was merited and Leonardo Bonucci was the unlikely scorer. He put the ball in from close range after a right-wing corner was flicked on to Marco Verratti, whose stooping header was tipped onto the post by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

England managed to hold on for extra time – the way three of the last six European finals went – and actually had the better of the final stages.

Just not the shootout, again.

After the misses of Rashford – he stuttered up to the ball and then hit the post – and Sancho, whose shot was saved by Donnarumma again down to his left, Jorginho had the chance to win it for Italy.

Incredibly, the midfielder who converted the decisive penalty in a shootout win over Spain in the semifinals also failed to score as Pickford tipped the effort off the post.

Instead, it was Donnarumma who made the crucial saves and within minutes he had also been named player of the tournament, the first goalkeeper to be so honored.

The three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England – Saka, Rashford and Sancho – were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players.

The FA said it was “appalled” by the abuse of the three players. The team had taken a knee before games at the Euros to signal its support for an end to racial inequality, and the young, multi-ethnic squad won the hearts of the soccer-mad country before the shootout failure brought out all-too-familiar messages of hate.

“We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the FA statement said. “We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences.”

London’s Metropolitan Police also said it was investigating “offensive and racist” messages on social media.

Rashford, who plays for Manchester United, noted the racial abuse he received on social media in May after the team lost the Europa League final.

At a fan zone in Croydon, south London, friends hugged one another in consolation as a DJ played Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”

Hundreds who had gathered for hours in London’s Trafalgar Square filed off dejectedly, broken glass from beer bottles crunching underfoot.

In Newcastle, northern England, the crowd watching at a fan zone applauded the dejected team.

“We have come so far, winning would have topped it all off,” said 18-year-old student Millie Carson. “The team has brought the country together. Everyone has been loving life in these hard times.”

But one fan expressed a widespread sense of frustration, shouting: “I cannot do this anymore.”

The team’s surprising success at the Euros has been a balm for many in England after decades of dashed hopes, more than a year of pandemic restrictions and more than 128,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.K..

On Sunday queues formed outside pubs before opening time at noon as people sought a big screen and company for the evening match.

Some started the party too soon, and a minority caused drunken mayhem. Hours before the game, fans packed pubs, clubs and outdoor fan zones in towns and cities across England. Central London’s Leicester Square became a sea of discarded food wrappers, plastic bags and beer bottles as hundreds of fans sang and partied; some threw bottles and set off flares.

Thousands of fans without tickets descended on Wembley Stadium, some scrambling up trees and traffic lights to fly the England flag. There were chaotic scenes as security staff and police scuffled with hundreds who tried to storm barriers and enter the stadium.

Wembley officials initially insisted no one without tickets had got inside, but London’s Metropolitan Police said “a small number” of ticketless fans had entered the 90,000-seat stadium, where capacity was supposed to be limited to a pandemic-restricted 67,000.

Bottles were thrown as fans left Wembley after the game, and police in riot gear stood by. Some fans in London’s Trafalgar Square lashed out after the defeat by kicking fences, smashing bottles, overturning garbage bins and fighting with one another.

The Metropolitan Police said 45 people had been arrested across London throughout the day.

As they absorbed Sunday’s defeat, some fans were already looking toward next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

“I’m gutted,” said 19-year-old Jake Shepherd in Newcastle. “But this sets us for the World Cup – who says we cannot win it?”