Italy wins the European championship for the first time, beat England in a Penalty shootout by 3-2

Italy EURO 2020 champions

Samriddhi Sakunia

Italy finally won the European championship for the first time since 1968. It came as a major setback for England’s desired to win the first major title since the 1966 World Cup. The EURO 2020 championship culminated in a dramatic penalty shootout following a 1-1 tie that led the match to overtime. The Italian team beat out England 3-2 on penalties.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s goalkeeper blocked a final attempt by England’s Buyako Saka to snatch the victory, leading the entire stadium to erupt in mass celebration along with emotional displays from players of the respective teams, according to the New York Times. “After so much suffering you give us this great joy: guys we are proud, very proud of you!”, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted.

The video was doing rounds on Twitter that showed the streets of Milan filled with chanting and smoke as the Italian people celebrated the win.

Keeping up the sportsmen spirit, England also conceded Italy’s victory on Sunday, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge congratulating the winning team on “a great victory” while grieving over England’s loss “heartbreaking” through a tweet on Sunday.