From The Archive: The Euro 20 Final, Part Two; During & After

For paid subscribers, the second part of the two-part that I wrote after the last European Championships final.

The binary nature of football results and the polarised nature of social media make for a toxic couple, especially when invited to join a menage-a-trois with that favouriet pastime of the English public, scapegoating, but the fact that England lost last night shouldn’t mask how far they’ve come, as a team. Some might argue that there have been parallels with the 2018 World Cup, right up to leading and losing at a critical point, but reaching the final and taking it to penalty kicks in the first place is a huge achievement in itself.

Italy’s narrow margin of victory – taking they were behind for an hour and didn’t create very much themselves until after half-time – shouldn’t mask the fact that mistakes were made, on the England side. The lack of substitutions earlier in the game seemed odd, and the choices made for the final three penalty takers odder still. Gareth Southgate has already acknowledged that this was his mistake and his reposibility.

Others have criticised Southgate’s tactical set-up as too defensive. Considering how effective Italy’s experienced central defence have been throughout the entire tournament, though, there seemed little point in committing to anything more attacking, especially if it meant the possibility of leaving gaps at the back. It certainly made sense after a couple of minutes, when some Kane and Trippier trickery on the right led to a deep cross, from which Luke Shaw half-volleyed England into the lead.