England’s search for their first major trophy since 1966 continued, as they lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday evening.
The Three Lions took the lead at Wembley Stadium in London early on, but Italy equalised in the second half.
The match finished 1-1 in extra time, and Italy won the penalty shootout 3-2.
This is what we learned from England’s Euro 2020 campaign this summer:
England are genuine World Cup contenders
England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final at Euro 2020. Next step winning the 2022 World Cup. Can the Three Lions do it? rates the 1966 World Cup winners chances of clinching the trophy again in 2022 at 15/2. England have a very good and young squad. In one-and-a-half year’s time, the likes of Mason Mount, Declan Rice and Jadon Sancho will be more experienced and mature. Harry Kane, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson will still be at their peak. England should be considered as genuine contenders for the World Cup in Qatar.
England need another world-class striker
Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world. The Tottenham Hotspur star is world class. However, England head coach Gareth Southgate cannot rely on the 27-year-old all the time. The Spurs no.10 scored four goals in seven European Championship appearances this summer. In the match, Kane could not score, he really did not play well and did not contribute much. Of course, Kane remains a world-class striker, but England need someone who can replace him in the side when need be.
Penalty-takers
Bukayo Saka took what proved to be the decisive penalty. The Arsenal winger could not convert it. He is only 19. Jack Grealish has publicly said that he wanted to take a penalty. It was Southgate’s decision not to use the Aston Villa star. The England boss also brought on Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho for the shootout. They missed. It is not easy for any player to just come and score from the spot. Southgate should have brought them on earlier just to give them a run on the pitch and get some touches of the ball.
