Italy defeats England in emotional battle for the European Football Championship: NPR

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Italian players embrace goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after his recent victory over England’s Bukayo Saka on Sunday evening. They pass England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (bottom left) in reaction to the loss. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images Hide caption

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Italian players embrace goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after his recent victory over England’s Bukayo Saka on Sunday evening. They pass England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (bottom left) in reaction to the loss.

Lawrence Griffiths/Getty Images

Italy won the 2020 European Men’s Soccer Championship against England, ending a strong season and preventing England from achieving a potentially historic international win for the first time in more than half a century.

Italy reached victory during the penalty shootout, scoring three goals against two for England. The match was held at Wembley Stadium in London, a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the postponement of the tournament.

The penalty shootout came after an already long 30 minutes of time and a 90-minute match left the game tied 1-1.

England advanced throughout the first half of the match, after an early goal scored by Luke Shaw, although the team lost their lead in the 67th minute after a decisive goal scored by Italian Leonardo Bonucci.

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 22, received the Player of the Tournament award, the first time a goalkeeper has won the title. Donnarumma’s final save against England’s rising star, 19-year-old Bukayo Saka, led to Italy’s victory.

Italy’s performance on Sunday highlighted the team’s strong real-time record, having avoided a single loss in 34 consecutive games.

This win also marks the first time that Italy has won the European Championship since 1968. However, the team has reached the finals three times in the past two decades and won four World Cups.

For England, Sunday’s match involved much greater risks; Their progression to the finals sent shockwaves around the country as the first time in team history to qualify.

After decades of losses and the inability to secure an international championship since the 1966 World Cup, the country has rallied around its team’s closest chance of victory.

English leaders and fans alike have brought back the popularity of 1996’s “Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)”, making it to the top of British music charts.

The song celebrates England while starkly mocking their repeated losses, co-writer David Badel told NPR’s All Things Consigned.

“It’s a song about breaking your sense of disappointment with the prayer that all sports fans are saying at this time. You know, we’re going to do it,” Badial said, “and so I think that’s why it really resonates with sports fans.”

The cultural movement sparked a reaction from some Italian fans before Sunday’s game and after Italy’s victory, with many paraphrasing the phrase, “Football is coming to Rome”.

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