An unforgettable tournament ended in tears of joy for Italy, but tears of bitter disappointment for England. Euro 2020 was a year late but well worth waiting for. Here’s a look back at some of its stars and memorable moments.
Best Team: Italy
From Andrea Bocelli belting out “Nessun Dorma” at the opening ceremony to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s giant paws grabbing England’s penalties, it was Italy’s tournament.
Starting as dark horses, they finished as thoroughbreds. Spain and England took them to penalties, but Italy had the class, team spirit and mettle to prevail at a hostile Wembley.
With their two aging gladiators, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, providing the backbone, they had an ideal mix of experience and youth.
And with the likes of Donnarumma, Federico Chiesa, Leonardo Spinazzola and Manuel Locatelli, they look set to create more history.
Best Player: Gianluigi Donnarumma
“Make yourself big” is what all goalkeepers are told. At 1.96m, the 22-year-old already is, but he still managed to fill the goal.
It was fitting that he had the touch that clinched the trophy with his second penalty save in the final shootout.
He was officially named Player of the Tournament and looks a worthy heir to the dynasty of Dino Zoff and Gigi Buffon.
Best Match: France 3 Switzerland 3 (Switzerland won on pens)
The best match so far had only just finished: Spain 5 Croatia 3. No one expected much when the Swiss took on the world champions in Bucharest, having not won a knockout round tie for 83 years.
And they had already clocked up most of their tournament with 15,545km of travels.
But the team that was supposed to be weary looked anything but and soon went in front.
But a missed penalty began to look costly when France came back to lead 3-1.
With 10 minutes to go, it looked all over but the Swiss never gave up. And in an incredible finale, they scored twice, levelling in the last minute.
And after an extra-time stalemate, they held their nerve to come through 5-4 on penalties.
Keeper Yann Sommer was the hero as he saved from Kylian Mbappe.
Best Goal: Patrik Schick (Czech Republic v Scotland)
There appeared no danger when a long-range shot from Scotland’s Jack Hendry rebounded off a Czech defender. But Schick had other ideas.
Picking up the ball from just inside his own half, the striker spotted Scotland keeper David Marshall so far off his line he might have been playing in midfield.
From the halfway line, 45m from goal, Schick let fly. The ball soared into the Glasgow sky like a perfectly executed golf shot.
The crowd followed its trajectory as Marshall, like a man trying to catch the last train to freedom, gave frantic chase.
But the train was already pulling away. Three seconds after lift-off, the ball hit the back of the net with a despairing goalkeeper throwing himself after it.
Long-range missile, last train or hole-in-one, it was the goal of the tournament and one of the greatest of all time.
Breakout Players:
Pedri (Spain)
Named Young Player of the tournament, the 18-year-old kid from the Canary Islands is one reason Lionel Messi is staying at Barcelona on half wages.
And if anyone is thinking of buying “the new Iniesta”, they can forget it – the release clause in Pedri’s contract is a cool £340,000.
Mikel Damsgaard (Denmark)
We may not have heard of him but for the unfortunate collapse of Christian Eriksen.
But the 21-year-old Sampdoria starlet certainly took his unexpected opportunity in style.
His stunning freekick against England was one of the goals of the tournament and with dynamite in his boots, pace and great vision, he looks set for a big future.
Renato Sanches (Portugal)
Yes, again! Breakout player in 2016 at 18, the powerhouse midfielder is on his second coming at 23.
He loves this tournament and looked like his old (teenage) self before a “too much, too soon” £25m switch to Bayern Munich.
Also flopped at Swansea but has reinvented himself at Lille to attract the attention of Liverpool and Arsenal.
Best Survivor: Christian Eriksen
How different the tournament may have been had the Danish playmaker not received medical attention within 30 seconds of his on-field cardiac arrest.
Happily, he came through and was out of hospital in days. The whole episode inspired Denmark all the way to the semifinals. Alas, no fairytale but Eriksen will take it.
Biggest Own Goal: England
Under the calm, collected Gareth Southgate, a young and diverse England squad had gradually united an initially sceptical nation.
Each win added millions of converts, the defeat of Germany seemingly removing an old hex.
Making the most of home advantage in six of seven games, England looked all set to end 55 years of hurt since their last major triumph.
With a joint bid between Britain and Ireland to stage the 2030 World Cup just announced and 2,500 Uefa VIPs allowed in without quarantine, they were ready to show they could play host and win matches.
Alas, what began to unfold before kickoff turned into England’s worst-case scenario.
Not even a flying start with a goal inside two minutes could help.
After an epic struggle, they lost the match on penalties, there was violence before and after the game, and an outburst of unforgivable racist bile.
They hadn’t just lost the 2020 Euros, they may have lost the 2030 World Cup as well.
Uefa is investigating the trouble, everyone has condemned it as well as the racism, but the day of the final had turned into a disaster on three counts.
After reaching a semi-final (2018 World Cup) and final in successive major tournaments, the team is heading in the right direction.
But with a coach too cautious to commit his attacking strength and fans all too ready to go on the offensive, England still seemed blighted. And the old penalty curse came back to haunt them.
After an inspiring run, it could hardly have ended any worse.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.