New Delhi: Italy became the European Champions for the first time since 1968 when it defeated England at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday, lifting the prestigious UEFA Euro Cup 2020 of the football championship.
The 4-time Euro finalists finally won the European Championship by defeating England 3-2 in penalty shootouts.
The match began with England in the lead as Luke Shaw scored in the 2nd minute, which was the quickest goal ever in a Euro final. England had a strong defense, much to Italy’s frustration, visible through Leonardo Bonucci’s 35m long kick in the first half.
The Italian team started pushing their opponents backward after England’s Jordan Pickford blocked Lorenzo Insigne’s shot in the 57th minute. The pressure was intense as Italy gradually leveled up with a goal by Bonucci at the 67th minute in the first half.
The score remained 1-1 even at the 90th minute, leading to extra time. However, when both teams failed to score again, penalty shootouts were conducted.
The shootouts were shocking for English fans as Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tactfully prevented 2 English penalties from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after a goal from Marcus Rashford.
On the other hand, Bonucci, Federico Bernardeschi, and Domenico Berardi successfully scored for the Italian team and won the Euro Cup.
It was the first Euro final where a winner emerged through penalties since the 1976 match between Czechoslovakia and West Germany.
UEFA football matches were postponed in 2020 due to the global pandemic.
(Avya Mathur)
