Euro Cup 2020: Azzurri lifts the Cup; England denied history

Italy clinched European Champions trophy for second time. They had won the cup last time in 1968. And any major championship wins eluded England this time too since their last 1966 World Cup victory.

The classic final of Italy vs England was full of ups and downs. Striker Luke Shaw with a sizzling shot gave his team a flying start in the second minute and England went ahead with 1-0 lead. Significantly, this was the quickest ever goal in a Euro cup final. They hold their early lead till the first half. Italy found its rhythm after the break. Their strikers made several forays in search of equalizer.

Leonardo Bonucci found the target in 67th minute and Italy pounced back in the game with 1-1 score. This score line remained till the end of regular time and the game went into extra-time.

The rivals paced up with their renewed game plan in quest of winner but the extra-time game too could not able to break the deadlock. The pulsating match entered into the much- dreaded penalty shootout. Azzurri edged past England 3-2 on penalties. As a result, Italy won their 2 nd Euro Cup title after a pretty long gap of five decades. England’s long dream to put hand on the coveted trophy ended and their diehard fans left the stadia with tears in eyes.

Post-final match, England skipper Harry Kane said that his players gave their all in this European Championship. And despite losing the finals England team should hold their heads high. He further said that the Euro Cup loss will hurt for the rest of our careers but our team is on right track. They can hopefully go a step further next year for FIFA World Cup 2022.

So, we will meet again for another football bonanza next year November in Qatar’s capital Doha. Till then bye-bye football lovers.