So Italy won the final on penalties.
Thank goodness for that. Because if England had won the Euros it would have been a travesty.
Winning the semi-final by being gifted a very soft penalty was bad enough. Very unfair on the Danish. I cannot imagine any smaller nation (e.g. Scotland) being granted that kind of generosity.
And let's face it. In the final, Italy played them off the park for the last 80 minutes of normal time.
But what was Southgate thinking? Putting the young lad Saka (19 years old) in the position of having to take that all-deciding penalty? Dumb, and not worthy of a knighthood for being that dumb.
And the last 3 penalties were rubbish anyway. Maguire showed everyone how to take a penalty. Just blast it hard anywhere to the side of the keeper. With keepers now having to keep their feet on the line, no keeper can possibly save a ball struck with pace to the side of him. Not unless they can defy the laws of physics.
So, in my book, England deserved to lose anyway for the way those last three penalties were taken. Stop all that hesitating and trying to put the keeper the wrong way, and just blast it. If England had done that with all their penalties, they would most likely have won.
But really, is there any glory on any nation winning on penalties?
Why can't teams believe in themselves and go all out to win? Win 3-0 or 4-1. Forget the tactics and just go for as many goals as possible. Now that's the real way to win a final, and have something to be proud of.
