- Jose Mourinho baffled by Bukayo Saka call,
- Grealish hits back,
- Players receive sickening abuse
- Tears flow after penalty heartbreak vs Italy
England’s heartache at major tournaments continued as they lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties.
The Three Lions’ European Championship dreams may not have come true on a night that just didn’t go our way, but what a tournament from Gareth Southgate and his team.
Those boys did us proud, and there’s certainly more to come from a talented and young group.
We’ll bring you all the latest reaction to the heartbreaking defeat, with Jose Mourinho giving his analysis on Monday morning and questioning why Bukayo Saka took the fifth penalty for England over more experienced players.
Euro 2020 have revealed their ‘power ranking’ of players at the tournament, with two England stars in the top five.
Tournament sponsors ‘FedEx Performance Zone’ were tracking players’ performances and form throughout the Euros, and the final ranking has been revealed.
Italy’s champion midfielder Marco Verratti was top, with Three Lions defenders Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire in second and third.
Despite ultimately losing the final, England only conceded two goals in the entire tournament in a solid showing from the back five.
Joint leading goalscorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick [five goals] are fourth and fifth, but there are more England stars high in the ranking with six overall in the top 20.
Captain Harry Kane came home in seventh, with Raheem Sterling 11th, Jordan Pickford in 12th and John Stones in 17th.
Harry Kane has reacted to England’s devastating Euro 2020 final defeat.
The more the heartbreak of last night wears off, the more our pride for this team shines through. What a tournament from the boys! Last night hurts. It’ll hurt for a long time. But we’ve come so far and broken down so many barriers that this is not the end. We win together, lose together and will regroup together for the World Cup. Thanks for all your support this summer.
The PFA has released a statement condemning the racial abuse aimed at England stars Saka, Sancho and Rashford after their penalty misses in last night’s heartbreaking Euro 2020 final.
The footballers’ union say ‘when you abuse players, you abuse all of us’ and demanded social networks such as Twitter and Instagram to ‘do better’.
“Over the past few weeks, our England team have demonstrated courage and class, on and off the pitch.
“They have been principled and dignified, and their determination to succeed and their performance got us to the final. Most importantly though, they have shown us what the best of England can be.
“If you watch a football match, see players – who have stepped up to try and win the match for their
country – miss a penalty, and you feel compelled to go on social media and racially abuse those
players, you represent the worst of us.
“When you abuse any of our players, you abuse all of us.
“Racist abuse causes trauma. It will impact the targeted players, their teammates, and we know it will also affect their peers. It causes hurt to all the other fans who view online hate, and it will inevitably live with the next aspiring generation of young players.
“Unfortunately, the abusive messages were all too predictable. However, the intervention from social media companies is insufficient, and it is allowing racist abuse to thrive on the platforms.
“Social platforms must permanently ban all offending accounts and proactively compile evidence to give to the police to pursue prosecution.
“We have collectively called out unsatisfactory policies and action around racist abuse for years – and still, it continues.
“There has been talk of strong commitments and tough measures from the social networks. Based on the evidence so far, we’re not buying it.
“Social networks, we need you to do better.”
Italy win Euro 2020
Across what has proven to be a crazy month of international action around the continent, Italy proved themselves to be the best in the land by lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy at Wembley.
The Azzurri have stood head and shoulders have the rest with their dynamic and spritely brand of football under Roberto Mancini, extending their astonishing unbeaten run to 34 matches.
However, the new European champions were certainly given a stern test in the form of England during Sunday’s final with the faux host nation coming within a whisker of bringing football home.
A final full of drama
Luke Shaw had fired the Three Lions into the lead in record-breaking time, but Leonardo Bonucci sent the Euro 2020 climax all the way to a penalty shootout with a second-half equaliser.
We dare suggest that you all know what happened from that point onwards, but amidst all the chaos and drama of the final, it’s only understandable that certain details must have flown under the radar.
Five things you probably missed
If you’re an Italy fan bathing in the glory, an England supporter drowning in their tears or a neutral who’s munching away at popcorn, we’ve got everything for your taste, so get stuck in down below:
- Italy’s class towards Leonardo Spinazzola
Let’s make one thing very clear: Italy might never have won Euro 2020 if it wasn’t for the downright sensational performances of Spinazzola, who sadly tore his Achilles tendon during the Belgium win.
However, his Italy teammates ensured that he enjoyed the credit and celebrations that he deserved at Wembley by lifting him out of his crutches and allowing him to collect his winners’ medal first.
- Frank Lampard: Jorginho should have been sent off
We’ve all seen the controversial moment that Jorginho stamped Jack Grealish in the crown jewels, but Lampard banging the drum for the tackle to be given a red card might have missed your gaze.
“There’s been a lot of good things about VAR, but I’m pretty sure in the Premier League that gets looked at on the monitor and it’s a red card.
“It’s not always easy to nail them straight away. But I think it’s a red card when you see it there.”
- Daniele De Rossi living his best life
There’s no two ways about it: De Rossi looks like a guy who knows how to party and video footage of Italy’s dressing room celebrations did nothing to suggest the contrary.
Even the odd England fan must have smiled as clips emerged of the Azzurri’s assistance coach sliding across a beer-soaked table on his belly while still decked in Italy’s classy suits. Madness.
- Football fan predicted Euro 2020 final in 2013
Did you hear that Mystic Meg and Nostradamus had a love child together? Neither did we, but there can be no other explanation for a truly wild Euro 2020 prediction that went viral on Sunday night.
A Twitter user @lawseyitfc casually proved that they have superpowers by declaring that England were going to lose the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties back in February 2013.
- Prince George’s viral reaction to Luke Shaw goal
Life pretty much peaked for England fans at 20:02 when Shaw volleyed home the fastest goal in the history of Euros finals matches, sparking scenes of delirium in Wembley’s 60,000 strong crowd.
However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more adorable reaction to England flirting with European glory than the future King, Prince George, sharing a heart-warming moment with his dad.
It’s been a pleasure, Euro 2020
Ok, cool, so can we just restart Euro 2020 and relive the magic all over again?
Sadly, the European Championships are now on ice until 2024 when the continental carnival of football will set sail for Germany and we can’t wait to discover how that tournament will play out.
