Roy Keane said England teenager Bukayo Saka should not have been given the task of taking their crucial fifth penalty in Sunday's shootout defeat by Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Saka, 19, had to score to send the shootout to sudden death but his kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian goalkeeper had also saved from Jadon Sancho after Marcus Rashford had hit the post.
DONNARUMMA SAVES THE PENALTY!
Surrounded by a reported 200,000 raucous fans in the Wembley area (and far more than the stated 60,000 inside the ground), Italy played spoiler in the Euro 2020 final at a level unseen since the Spartans pushed back the Persians at the Hot Gates.
"Inglaterra realmente juega un fútbol increíblemente asustado. Si eso es lo que hacen con el plantel que tienen, creo que es miserable". La frase la dijo el ex-futbolista neerlandés, Pierre van Hooijdonk, en la previa de la final de la Euro entre los Tres Leones e Italia y ahora vuelven a resonar, luego de que los ingleses comenzaran ganando la definición, pero terminarán con el corazón roto al caer en los penales ante la Azzurra.
The consensus among many was that Gareth Southgate had been too cautious with his starting lineup against Italy on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final. The England manager made one change from the semifinal, bringing in Kieran Trippier and adopting a back-five while winger Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench.
Steve McManaman called it a mistake on ESPN during the pregame show. It took all of one minute and 57 seconds to see that McManaman had been mistaken.
LONDON - Tens of thousands of supporters descended on London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday, kick-starting an alcohol-fueled party hours before England play Italy in the final of Euro 2020.
By lunchtime the pavements around England's national stadium were slick with beer, while supporters sang, chanted and hurled drinks while police looked on. Some climbed on top of buses.
Around two hours before the game, security staff told Reuters that some fans had run past stewards to get into the ground without tickets, forcing officials to halt arrivals briefly.
LONDON — Britain's Queen Elizabeth has sent a message to the England soccer manager to wish the team luck ahead of the country's most anticipated game since the 1966 World Cup final.
England are due to play Italy on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final at London's Wembley Stadium, prompting excitement across the country, with beer sales soaring and special permission for children to start school late on Monday.
England and Italy — two giants of the game — face off to be crowned champion of Europe on Sunday. Two nations soccer fans either love or love to hate will make for an epic finale the entire football world will be watching. But in case you want to rope in your friends who are filthy casuals, we’ve got a Euro 2020 Final drinking game just for you.
LONDON — For all the differences in style and approach, there is a remarkable symmetry to the journeys taken by England and Italy towards Sunday's Euro 2020 final.
Both nations found themselves at historic low points with fans despairing at their decline and then discovered men who could bring change and quickly lead them on a path to success.
For England, that nadir was elimination from Euro 2016 in the last 16 at the hands of Iceland while Italy's despair came two years later when the four-times world champions failed to even qualify for the World Cup in Russia.
Days before a highly anticipated England-Italy final, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin admitted the Euro 2020 format was unfair and said he wouldn’t do it again in the future.
Obviously. How else would England have reached a major final for the first time since 1966? (Kidding, maybe.)
RIO DE JANEIRO — Europe might be waiting for England against Italy in Sunday's Euro 2020 showpiece, but there is an even bigger match to look forward to in South America as an older rivalry between two more successful teams kicks off in Saturday's Copa América final.
Brazil against Argentina is a true clasico. The teams first met in 1914 and in the years since have established themselves as two of the most storied sides in world soccer. Together they have won seven World Cups.