Euro 2020 final: Italy end England's dream in penalty shootout
The 2020 European champion was decided in the most dramatic fashion possible — a penalty shootout.
With the game tied 1-1 after extra time, Italy and England went to penalty kicks to decide the Euro 2020 champion at the iconic Wembley Stadium in northwest London.
In a tense shootout, it was the Italians who prevailed 3-2 on penalties, spearheaded by a heroic performance from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
After weeks of singing "It's Coming Home," turns out that it's headed to Rome, instead.
The victory pushed Italy's unbeaten run to 34 consecutive matches, one shy of tying Brazil and Spain for the men's international record for consecutive unbeaten matches.
But snaring victory Sunday was worth even more, as Italy lifted their second European Championship in team history and first since 1968.
Here are the biggest moments from the Euro 2020 final:
Hours before the match even began, the atmosphere around Wembley was in high gear.
As for lineups, Italy's Robert Mancini stuck with the same XI that led the Azzurri through the semis again Spain.
England boss Gareth Southgate did switch things up, however, recalling Kieran Trippier in place of Bukayo Saka and reverting back to a 3-4-3 formation.
That switch paid dividends in the opening minutes, as Trippier, playing at right wing-back, floated a perfect cross onto the feet of Luke Shaw.
The left wing-back drilled his half-volley into Donnarumma's net, giving England a dream start in the second minute.
England captain Harry Kane sprung the attack, finding Trippier with a long pass as the Three Lions mounted a deadly counter.
To say the goal blindsided Italy wouldn't be an exaggeration. At one minute, 56 seconds on the button, it was the fastest goal ever scored in a European Championship final.
Previously, the record was held by Chus Pereda's sixth-minute goal for Spain in 1964.
The bad news continued for the Azzurri as the first half carried on.
Jorginho, one of Italy's midfield maestros, picked up a knock and required treatment around the 22-minute mark.
Much to the delight of Italy fans, the 29-year-old was able to continue, though he didn't appear to be 100% in the immediate aftermath.
In the 35th minute, Federico Chiesa had Italy's first real chance of the first half, but his left-footed blast skipped past the outside of Jordan Pickford's post.
Aside from a Ciro Immobile attempt that was blocked by John Stones, the Italians didn't muster much else to trouble Pickford in the first half.
They did look better later in the half than they did to start, however, setting the stage for an enthralling second half.
The drama rolled on early in the second half after Raheem Sterling went down in Italy's box in the 48th minute.
However, referee Björn Kuipers, who allowed for a lot of contact from both sides throughout the match, waved for Sterling to get up and for play to carry on.
Lorenzo Insigne had a look at England's goal on a free kick on the fringes of the penalty area, but his shot didn't quite have the curl necessary to tuck into the corner of the net.
In the 55th minute, Mancini went to his bench to shake up his XI. On came Bryan Cristante for Nicolò Barella, who picked up a yellow card in the 47th minute, and Domenico Berardi for Immobile.
Italy kept dialing up the pressure as the second half continued, and Chiesa nearly leveled if not for a brilliant save from Pickford in the 62nd minute.
The Italians finally got their breakthrough five minutes later, as Leonardo Bonucci smacked home the equalizer after a scramble in the English box on the heels of a corner kick.
Pickford pushed Marco Verratti's header onto the post, but the 34-year-old Bonucci was there to poke in the rebound and make it 1-1.
With the game tied, Southgate brought Saka on for Trippier and changed the formation to a four-man backline at the 70-minute mark. Another sub, Jordan Henderson for Declan Rice in the midfield, was made at the 74th minute.
Chiesa continued to cause England problems, but the midfielder had to come off in the 86th minute after picking up an apparent injury.
Another Federico, Federico Bernardeschi, came on in his place.
After neither team could find a winner in the opening 90 minutes plus six minutes of stoppage time, the final went to a nerve-wracking period extra time.
It became the seventh Euro final — and the second consecutive final — to go to extra time. Drama, indeed!
To start off extra time, Mancini called upon Andrea Belotti to replace Insigne at the front of Italy's attack. Marco Veratti gave way to Manuel Locatelli soon after, as Mancini used five of his six total subs. (Reminder: Managers are allotted an extra substitute in extra time).
Southgate countered in the 99th minute with a switch that brought a roar from the throng of English supporters at Wembley, bringing on Jack Grealish for Mason Mount.
A tense opening 15 minutes of extra time still didn't produce a deadlock-breaking goal, as both teams kept grinding with penalties looming.
With a shootout becoming more and more of a reality, both managers made changes to bring on players presumably more comfortable from the spot.
For Italy, that meant Alessandro Florenzi on for Emerson. For England, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho came on for Henderson and Kyle Walker, respectively.
After two-plus hours of play, the match went to penalties to decide a winner.
Berardi scored Italy's first, but Kane responded with a laser inside the side netting of Donnarumma's goal.
Pickford came up aces on Italy's second attempt, denying Belotti to put England in the driver's seat. Harry Maguire stepped up next for England and blasted a missile into the top of the net, making it 2-1 in England's favor.
Bonucci responded with a well-taken shot, evening things back up. Then, heartbreak struck for Rashford, who sent Donnarumma the wrong way but rolled his shot off the post.
Bernardeschi fired his penalty straight down the middle, giving Italy a 3-2 advantage. Donnarumma dove to push Sancho's effort away, leaving Jorginho to step up and seal the deal.
However, Pickford came up huge yet again, keeping his composure to get a fingertip to the shot and make the save.
All the pressure then fell to the 19-year-old Saka, with England's hopes in the balance.
Donnarumma delivered the dagger, though, thwarting Saka with another save and sending Italy's team into rapture.
For Italy, it's their first European championship after a 53-year wait. And no story is complete without the trophy lift:
For England, their 55-year wait to win a major tournament will continue, but the Three Lions lifted the nation they represent with a dramatic run to the final.
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