After a long wait of 55 years, the football fans of England were cherishing again. Their team had finally made it to the final of any competition. The UEFA Euro, the tournament as gargantuan as FIFA World Cup is a pinnacle of Football accomplishment, the one every nation in Europe wants to win.
For England it was the struggle against the past missed chances and the redemption from all the failures they had to face ever. Be it losing against old rivals Germany in the semi final of 1996 or facing defeat against minnows Iceland in the 2016 edition. England fans, however, stood by their team. This time, they believed the team will finally bring it to ‘Home’. But Italians got the better of them and once again the ghosts of penalty shootouts haunted England.
England lost the game in the penalty shootout where Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed their penalties. England captain Harry Kane was devastated by the loss and admitted this is the worst feeling ever.
“Penalties is the worst feeling in the world when you lose. Anyone can miss a penalty. Penalties are penalties. We went through a process. The boys did everything they could, it just wasn’t our night.” said Kane to ITV.
England were playing their first ever final of a major tournament since 1966 where they beat West Germany 4-2 to lift the FIFA World Cup. This was the last time England ever won any major Football Tournament. Yet, Harry Kane, however, is proud of his team and is confident that his team will bounce back strongly.
“We win together, we lose together. We’ll learn and grow from it. Those boys will grow from it and it will give us more motivation for the World Cup next year.
“You’ve got to hold your heads high. It’s been a fantastic tournament.” further adds Tottenham Hotspur striker.
Though England may have lost the final, the positive they can take from this tournament is they have finally broken the jinx of not being able to reach the finals of any tournament. A victory certainly would have been the perfect cherry on top, but surely this team which is full of huge talent will learn from the tournament and achieve more success in years to come.
