England’s wait for a major title was extended once again as Italy defeated the hosts 3-2 via penalty in the final of the Euro Championship on Monday.
After a grueling battle saw the title showdown ending in a 1-1 stalemate, Italy held their nerve to emerge winners after the game went into the penalties.
England have not won any major title since their triumph in the 1966 World Cup final.
Harry Kane runs with the ball during the Euro 2020 soccer final match. AP
Earlier, Luke Shaw tapped home the opener in the first two minute of the game. He received a cross from Kieran Trippier and slotted home the opener to put England 1-0 up with in the first two minutes of the kick-off.
After going down 1-0, Italy started trying hard to restore the parity but failed to penetrate the tight defence of England.
Italy’s midfielder Federico Chiesa runs with the ball during the UEFA EURO 2020 final football match. AFP
They came close to scoring many times but could not convert half chances into goal. In the 13th minute, Trippier took a corner kick, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was quick in action and thwarted the effort.
Italy spurned many chances to curtail the deficit. Ciro Immobile received a clear pass inside the box and thumped the ball towards the post he was denied by a defender.
Marco Verratti of Italy picked a pass and steered the ball into the goal but an agile Pickford parried the ball. But Leonardo Bonucci was quick to collect the rebound and tapped the equalizer in the 67th minute.
