Euro 2020 final LIVE updates: Italy wins title after dramatic penalty shootout

Thank you for tuning in to our live blog of the final of the Euro 2020 and what a final it was! My heart rate is still soaring after that penalty shoot-out triumph for Italy that delivered their second ever European Championship title and first in 53 years.

I am going to leave you with this beautiful letter from Italy’s captain, Giorgio Chiellini, to the Italian public.

“in our hearts, is you.” Chiellini (middle) dedicates the title to those who have suffered. Credit: Getty

“Thanks to you. To all of you because in this incredible adventure, we have brought you inside. Before our eyes, is you. In our hearts, is you. The pain of those who have suffered. The efforts of those who have been brought to their knees by the pandemic. The desire to come back to life. The faces of women, men, old, young, children and those who saved our lives: doctors. You pushed us. You helped us You sang with us. The result is only part of the game but this result, this victory, these tears of joy are dedicated to you. We made history!“

Stay safe Sydney. Arrivederci e grazie.

A quarter of a century ago a Gareth Southgate penalty miss put England out of Euro ’96. Today the team he rebuilt will need to do so again with a World Cup just over a year away.Credit: EPA

Here’s an early take on proceedings from Reuters’ Mitch Phillips at Wembley.

What a tournament for England. They didn’t win the trophy but they won the hearts and minds of their country, something few other England teams have been able to do in the past. While the song “it’s coming home” became grating by the end, there was an undeniable turning of the tide with this team after so many years of unfulfilled potential.

Their team was the youngest on show and few countries have a brighter future than England. Some of their youngest stepped up in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka showing their confidence. The fact they missed, however, will be scrutinised by the English media as coach Gareth Southgate didn’t seek experienced players in the clutch moments.

So close: England fans applaud their team despite the defeat. Credit: Getty

There is an Australian link to this Italian team. Before he was an Olyroo, Reno Piscopo, was part of the Italian national youth team with Gianluigi Donnarumma and Manuele Locatelli, two of the stars of the Azzurri today.

Piscopo is preparing for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with Australia, who play a friendly against New Zealand later today, but the former Inter Milan youth player made 13 appearances with Italy’s youth team. He’s part of this golden generation of Italy which also includes Federico Chiesa, Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni.

Combing back to the match for a brief moment, Leonardo Bonucci has been awarded player of the match in the final. His goal squared the ledger but it was defensive work that was flawless. He kept Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling quiet and has been the best defender this tournament.

His partner in crime, Chiellini, was also very special today. Not only for his performances but his leadership and already the memes of this jovial character are flying in. Even if for the darker side of defending.

Il tricolori are tied around the trophy as it’s handed the great Giorgio Chiellini. What a moment this is for Italy. A nation ravaged by COVID-19, facing economic downturn and political turmoil and a team that has been as positive, attacking and simply endearing as this delivers so much joy to their people.

Italy has been the best team this tournament and one of their pillars has been recognised as the best of these Euros. Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalkeeper that made two heroic saves in the shoot out against England and two others against Spain has been crowned the player of the tournament.

Just to repeat, he is only 22! What a future this young man has.

Best on show: Gigio Donnarumma wins player of the tournament. Credit: Getty

Nerve shredding, exhilarating, painful, but in the end, it’s going Rome, not coming home, as Italy kept their cool and, thanks to their man mountain of a goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, win the European championships on penalties.

England only have themselves to blame, but you cannot take anything away from the Azzurri, who were able to pick themselves up off the ground after conceding a second minute opener to draw level and then tough it out to take the title.
It was, in the end, well deserved. England got the perfect platform to build on that early boost, but simply did not create enough nor put enough pressure on the streetwise, talented and smart Italians. Great credit goes to the winners. They showed character, grit and determination to claw their way back into the contest and, in the end, were worthy winners after dominating the second half.
How wonderful for those veteran defenders, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, the rugged, hard and competitive centre backs who have been the foundation upon which this Italian side has been built by Roberto Mancini. Now unbeaten after 34 matches, the Italians were breaking a 53 year drought in the European championships, having last won it in 1968. It is amazing to remember that they were not even good enough to qualify for the last World Cup in 2018 in Russia, and that disappointment was clearly the wake up call that the Azzurri needed.

Football is cruel at times, and it will be noted that two of the subs who Gareth Southgate brought on just for the shoot out - Marcus Rashford and Jaden Sancho - both missed. Donnarumma, who is such an imposing presence, must also take so much credit for the way he guessed correctly and saved two of England’s five penalties. Jordan Pickford also performed with credit for England, saving two, but it wasn’t enough. So for England, and English supporters like me, the wait goes on.

I am very used to disappointment in the pre dawn chill of a Melbourne winter, having watched the England team lose in a variety of circumstances in Euros and World Cups over the years, but this time there is not such a great feeling of let down. They played very well to get to the decider and in the end were just beaten by a better team on the night. There is no shame in that. Along the way this team, made up of so many players from immigrant backgrounds, cheered a nation that has suffered worse than most from the ravages of Covid 19 and gave them a cause to unify around.
Bring on the next World Cup...for both Italy and England, who should be amongst the favourites now..