Simply put, football chose Italy! Right from their first match against Turkey, Italy showed how good they were. They played like they wanted to make amends for not qualifying for the last world cup. From the Round of 16 till the final, they needed extra time to advance, except the quarter final match against Belgium. They needed two penalty shootouts to become the Champions of Europe. Given that penalty shoot-outs give both teams equal chances, Italy showed how clinical they can be from the spot. The Italian team showed character, resilience and compactness. They played for each other and covered each other’s lapses and weaknesses.
Gareth Southgate has put together a very good side with some bits of better man-management, better relationships with the players. All departments of the team are well blended and he gets all the credits for this feat. No English team in recent decades has been this classical. A mixture of young and old players, a blend of experience and strength, a combo of tactics and skill. It was a dark, long night for England as the country was totally ready to bring down the heavens if the trophy had gone ‘home’. Football can be cruel at times, teaching hard lessons. Football, as an art, is totally against over-confidence. The English fans, not the players, were so sure Wembley would have been lit up with more ‘home’ decors and fireworks.
The Azzurri claimed their second Euro title after Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho with Marcus Rashford hitting the post in an ensuing penalty shoot-out. An explosive 120 minutes of complete soccer brought fans on tensed edges as both teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
The Three Lions had a fantastic start on the night going up within two minutes when Luke Shaw thumped in from a Kieran Trippier cross. The shocked Azzurri showed resilience as they regrouped and took control of the game. Before the break, the impressive Federico Chiesa blew a shot just wide off the post after series of concatenations from the middle of the pack.
After the restart, the dogfight continued as the Azzurri continued with their quest to level up. With Domenico Berardi’s corner kick putting the Three Lions’ vital area under fire, Jordan Pickford was able to push out Marco Verratti’s header, but sadly, just in front of the goal line for the onrushing Bonucci to tap in. Italy continued piling pressure but the English defence rose to the occasion.
The match went into extra time, yet ended on the deadlock leading to penalty shoot-outs. Pickford saved from Andrea Belotti and Jorginho. Rashford hit the crossbar while Donnarumma saved from Sancho. 19-year-old Saka, the youngest player in the pitch who has never taken a penalty kick in his professional career, had the opportunity of taking the shoot-out to sudden death when he took England’s last kick. Donnarumma took a benign gamble, took a leap to the ‘right side’ and saved Saka’s kick to send the Azzurri and the whole of Italy into wide jubilation. They have been crowned the Champions of Europe.
We said it here in our preview that the match will be lost and won in both the midfield and the defence. Roberto Mancini built his team around the midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti. They were class acts on the night stringing passes left, right and centre, and making the English players run around to reclaim possession for most part of the game. Mason Mount, was clearly not on the party. He was less creative for England meaning the strikers had to fall deep to pick up the ball.
We also said it here that if you neutralize Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, the English scoring chances are totally blunted. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini were so good on the job that English strikers was struggling for most of the time. Italy could have created more chances upfront but they could not because the Three Lions also have a rock-solid defence having conceded just two goals throughout the 700 minutes of tournament’s playing time.
And with Donnarumma at goal, a shoot-out is more likely to go Italy’s way. Little wonder why he won the Player of the Tournament Award. He came in with the confidence of his exploits against Spain, the remembrance of which would play some negative tricks on the minds of English players. He uses his height to full advantage and this may have scared the experienced players of England to shy away from taking the spot kicks. The rookies took over and England has to wait yet again.
Football chose Italy. Luck was on their side. Fortune blessed their hard work, their dedication. Spain could have edged them on penalties at the semi-final. England could have edged them in the final, though the Three Lions do not have a good history on spot-kicks in major tournaments.
In all, Rome is home to Euro and England would rue missed chances for the next four years. Forza Italia!
Azuka Edokobi is a Writer , a Farmer, a Supply Chain Expert and an Entrepreneur
