England had done the unthinkable by reaching their first European Championships final, but failed their last test by losing to Italy in a penalty shootout.
Gareth Southgate’s side got off the kind of start every English fan had hoped for when Luke Shaw scored a brilliant goal after two minutes to give them a dream start.
However, it was a very familiar scenario that unfolded. It was like when England scored the first goal against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, when Kieran Trippier scored a free kick in the opening five minutes, but they couldn’t retain the advantage.
At the start of the second half against Italy on Sunday, England were poor all over the field and were unable to expand their slim lead. Italy got their deserved equalizer thanks to Leonardo Bonucci. Italy’s Federico Chiesa was the star man and was in great shape before his night was cut short due to injury.
Extra time went by without much interest and we headed for the penalty shootout. Both teams were under pressure and England had the advantage early on after Jordan Pickford turned down Andrea Belotti, but from there Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho missed their chances. Not everything was done when Jorginho was denied the decisive kick by Pickford but, in the end, youngster Bukayo Saka saw his shot saved from Gianluigi Donnaurma and Italy were the champions.
It can be debated all day long as to why a 19-year-old received the final kick, but every day even the best players can see their penalties saved, and England have come so close.
0 Yorumlar