Roberto Mancini hailed his “extraordinary” Italy players after their Euro 2020 triumph while insisting that they “dominated” England in the final.
Italy clinched their second European Championship crown by beating England on penalties in the showpiece event at Wembley on Sunday night.
The two sides were locked at 1-1 after extra time, but the Azzurri held their nerve to win the trophy 3-2 on spot-kicks, leaving Mancini beaming with pride.
What’s been said?
The Italy boss felt his team deserved their luck after outplaying the Three Lions over 120 minutes, as he told Sky Italia post-match: “It was impossible to even think about it, but the lads were extraordinary.
“I have no words for them, this is a wonderful group. It wasn’t an easy game and this one developed to become very difficult, but then we dominated it.
“On penalties you need to have a bit of luck and I’m also a bit sorry for the English.
“This team has grown a lot, I think we can still improve. We are happy for the Italians, I have no words for these guys.”
Italy leave England heartbroken again
All the pre-match build-up was dominated by talk of ‘football coming home’ for England after 55 years of hurt, and they made the best possible start when Luke Shaw hammered a half-volley past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Italy net after just two minutes.
However, instead of trying to push forward and extend their lead, the Three Lions then sat back and invited pressure, with the Azzurri eventually finding an equaliser through Leonardo Bonucci mid-way through the second half.
Neither side could find a winner in normal time or the 30-minute additional period, but Italy emerged with their sixth international trophy thanks to successful penalties from Domenico Berardi, Bonucci and Federico Bernardeschi, with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukyao Saka all missing in the shootout for England.
