Gareth Southgate, England coach, ran over to Roberto Mancini, his Italian colleague. To congratulate him. It was his first trip, having just met his own ghost again, so no one would have blamed Southgate for running away screaming from Wembley Stadium in London. In 1996, as a professional, he missed the decisive penalty at the European Championship in the semi-finals against Germany, and now he was the coach of a team that had dramatically missed the European Championship title. Also after Shoot out.
How many traumas can a nation defeat in just one tournament? Maybe just one. First the English threw Germany out in the round of 16 – but now it was over. The English fans fell silent around Southgate. Can an entire stadium go into paralysis? The camera caught Prince William, staring into the air. Next to him his son, George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, 7 years old. The little prince was crying. One day the whole British Empire may be subject to him, but that was no consolation. Only the Queen, she wasn’t there at all.
It seems that the monarch is not overtaken by the greatest trials until the autumn of her reign. First the Brexit, then the Megxit of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan from the royal family. Now also this final lost on penalties in the Corona Temple at Wembley, in which not only the droplets flew, but the madness of 60,000 mostly half-naked danced. Even before the kick-off, there were worrying reports that hundreds of fans had pushed past the security forces into the arena. The Queen also passed this test by skipping the final, instead taking care of her health.
Elizabeth II was 40 years old when she presented the World Cup trophy to English captain Bobby Moore at the same location in Wembley 55 years ago. And back then it probably didn’t even notice that the German Helmut Haller, despite defeat after the final whistle, snatched the ball, smuggled it home and only gave it back 30 years later. A finale like that, especially one at Wembley, it just writes more stories than there would be in a book.
Roberto Mancini didn’t grab a ball on Sunday, it wouldn’t have fit under his tailor-made white shirt, execution: slim fit. But now he stood there in the confetti rain, had the wardrobe ruined and cried tears of happiness.
England with an attack that the Queen is sure to be proud of
In the absence of a queen, Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin presented the trophy to Italy’s captain Giorgio Chiellini. And England had lost the second major final in its history: World Champion in 1966, but now only runner-up at the European Championships in 2021. 55 years of humiliation and disappointment, which often had something to do with penalty shoot-outs against Germany, went into a bombastic on Sunday Fanal into extra time.
Berardi met. Kane met. Pickford held against Belotti. Maguire met. In the corner. Bonucci met. Rashford waited, delayed, tripped, shot into the post. Bernadeschi met. Donnarumma held against Sancho. Pickford and the post held against Jorginho. Donnarumma held against Saka. And England was stranded in a valley of tears. Especially since Southgate had replaced Sancho and Rashford as supposed specialists for the penalty shoot-out. Football’s not coming home. It’s going to Rome.
There were two hits in regular time. The first was the fastest ever in the history of the final: Luke Shaw scored after two minutes. Leonardo Bonucci equalized after 67 minutes, and this was also steeped in history: At 34 years and 71 days he was now the oldest goalscorer in a European Championship final, he surpassed Bernd Hölzenbein’s record (30 years, 103 days) from 1976.
Two very different halves
On Sunday the two best teams of the tournament played a mediocre final with very different halves. The English started off as if they had each read three times the letter the Queen had sent the team to the literary edification final: “I send my best wishes for Sunday in the hope that the story will not only celebrate your success but also the spirit, dedication and pride with which you presented yourself. “
With dedication, but without exaggerated spirit, Harry Maguire, who let himself be harassed in his own penalty area, first shot the ball over his own goal line after 60 seconds. A little bit of stage fright. The corner kick of the Italians fizzled out – but then there was an attack that made the Queen proud in front of the TV. Harry Kane carried the ball through the center, played on the right flank to Kieran Trippier. The crossed to the left, where the incoming Shaw courageously executed a dropkick from a few meters. In the stands, Prince William hugged his son, Prince George grinned and clapped. Everything went according to plan.
Coach Gareth Southgate offered for the first time the three-man chain with which he had paralyzed the DFB-Elf in the round of 16. The goalscorer Shaw was the far advanced left-back, while the flanker Trippier was the right-back in his system, which initially worked brilliantly. The Italians didn’t change anything, they probably thought: If you are unbeaten in 33 games in a row, you don’t have to think about anything crazy for a European Championship final.
This duel between the two defensively best teams in the tournament began as a joyful spectacle. Because Italy was condemned to score goals, but did too little to do so, but the fiery English did not wall, but pushed for a second goal for their part. As if playing it safe and devoted to making an entry in the encyclopedia of British football. And their coach, Southgate, was initially not keen on informing the players that a dirty win would be enough for that.
Italy played patiently, as if they were following a secret plan based on the concept of two times 180 minutes. The only chance in the first half was achieved by the fast Federico Chiesa all by himself when he broke through the center and put the ball next to the post from 20 meters. The English then calmly drew two lines of defense in and in front of their penalty area. It looked like an homage to the tradition of their guests, the good old ones Catenaccio, with which Italy had previously bricked itself to four world championship titles. And Mancini’s modern Italy could not find an answer to this out of the game; all attempts to send a pass steeply through the British ranks failed.
Mancini’s team remained the more active team in extra time
The game had just started again when Sterling fell after a bump from Bonucci in the penalty area. In the semifinals against Denmark, Sterling won the decisive penalty with a somewhat exaggerated theatrical case. This time there was no whistle.
Mancini brought in striker Domenico Berardi for the completely inconspicuous Ciro Immobile. But the game remained true to itself: a lot of running, few chances. Maguire’s header flew over the crossbar, on the other hand Lorenzo Insigne shot the British goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from an extremely acute angle. It only became dangerous for Pickford when Chiesa once again rummaged through the penalty area all by herself and found the end.
Italy’s equalization was not undeserved given the increasingly defensive Englishmen: After a corner Pickford steered a header from Verratti to the post. From behind, however, the central defender Leonardo Bonucci rushed up and dusted off (67th).
The 1: 1 by Leonardo Bonucci.
(Photo: CARL RECINE / REUTERS)
Southgate’s Catenaccio now seemed to be taking revenge. The Italians sensed that the English had removed the risk from their game too soon. Perhaps Southgate should have recited the Queen’s lines again in the cabin, now there was little sign of devotion. Italy pushed, after a fabulous through pass from Bonucci, who spoke of self-confidence, Berardi shot over the bar. Italy suffered the greatest possible misfortune in the regular season: The tireless Chiesa was injured in a running duel and had to leave the field. At least the ailing Jorginho could continue.
Mancini’s team remained the more active team in extra time; Substitute for Chiesa, Federico Bernardeschi jumped just past a flank that almost reached him on the goal line. On the other hand, John Stones just missed out on Italy goalkeeper Donnarumma. This game had long since deserved a winner.
The English ran a little more now, they wanted to prevent the penalty shoot-out, they ran against their trauma. It was too late.