Guwahati News Desk: Beating England with 3-2 on penalties on Sunday, Italy has won the European Championship.
Infact, it was Italy’s second continental title after 1968, to add to the country’s four World Cups.
England was playing in its first major final in 55 years. But the match turned out to be England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout in front of its own fans at Wembley Stadium.
Nearly four years ago, the Italians had plunged to the lowest moment of its soccer history by failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades. But now, they are the best team in Europe and maintain a national-record of 34-match unbeaten run, under their dedicated coach, Roberto Mancini.
Regarding some of the highlights of the 2021 match – Donnarumma was in tears as he was embraced by his teammates as they sprinted towards him from the halfway line, where they watched the second penalty shootout in a European Championship final. The match then went to extra time, like three of the six European finals before it. In fact, Italy’s famously robust defense was only really opened up once in the entire 90 minutes and that resulted in Shaw’s goal, a half-volley, that went in off the near post from Kieran Trippier’s cross. It was Shaw’s first goal for England, after which, England barely saw the ball for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, Italy’s midfielders dominated possession and started playing their pretty passing routines.
According to sources, it was reminiscent of the 2018 World Cup semifinals, when England also scored early against Croatia then spent most of the game chasing its opponent’s midfield.
