Goodbye Euro, the Gold Cup has returned to Rome

That is not to say that England have not performed well in what is arguably the toughest and most exciting tournament in the world.

How could they not have gone all the way from the group stage to the final, conceding only two goals in their last two matches and scoring 11 goals, including a resounding 2-0 win over Germany in the round of 16 and a 4-0 win over Ukraine in the quarter-finals? England are definitely the team with the most solid defense.Euro 2020, is where top scorers like Sterling (4 goals), Kean (4 goals) shine, along with the breakthrough of talents Shaw, Saka...

The England team could not bring the Championship Cup home as the English fans had hoped. Photo: vietnamnet

But to reach the final victory, that achievement is not enough when the coaches do not have real courage and the young players are too inexperienced against experienced opponents. Coach Southgate appeared confused in choosing personnel and substituting players at key moments, especially in the 2 semi-finals and the final. The fact that in 2 consecutive matches, he put Grealish on the field at the end of the match and then substituted him, similar to Henderson in the final, proved that.

Not to mention many people were surprised when the players assigned to take the penalty kicks were young players, meaning the defeat was already known from the miscalculation of the England team's coaching staff.

Congratulations to Italy for their victory of bravery and reasonable tactics. Photo: vietnamnet

Looking back at the past Euros, it is not difficult for fans to realize that the English have long been "young and naive" before decisive moments. As a player, it was Southgate who made a fatal mistake in the final penalty kick at Euro 1996 that led to England's defeat. Nine years ago, it was Young and Cole's terrible penalty kick in Ukraine against the Italians, and this time, Sancho and Saka's "old habits" continued, causing everything to end up in a very unfortunate mess.

In top football, there are strange, unwritten things that have been happening for a long time, so everyone often sees it as a rule, must accept. That is, very, very few teams can win 2 consecutive matches from 11m penalty kicks. At Euro 2020, that was answered by Switzerland's excellent victory over France from penalty kicks in the round of 16 but was extremely bad in front of Spain's goal in the quarter-finals. In turn, Spain was confident in the penalty kicks in the quarter-finals against Switzerland but then lost miserably to Italy in the semi-finals. At Copa America 2021, Colombia beat Preu in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, but in the semi-finals, they were terrible in front of Argentina's goal and had to accept having to play the third-place match afterwards.

Denmark, the most impressive team in the tournament. Photo: Vietnamnet

But strangely, that was not the case for the Azzurri, as they defeated Spain and England on fateful penalty shootouts in two consecutive matches to become champions in the sweetest way possible! Then, fans and the press had the opportunity to play with words to change the word "It's coming home" to "It's coming Rome".

Of course, to finally be confident in front of the penalty spot, the Italians had a streak of more than 30 consecutive wins against all opponents with the belief that was "planned" and quietly implemented 3 years ago, in a context where very few people thought it could be done. There was an Italian team that fell to the bottom of disappointment when it failed to reach the final round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and immediately after that, under the hands of R. Mancini, a different image was gradually created for the team.

There are still veterans in the world-famous defenders Chiellini, Bonucci... but the team will play with a fiery attacking spirit, imposing the playing style with the cohesion of the three most brilliant midfielders in the world today including Jorginho, Verratti and Barella. Rest assured with the defense, rest assured with goalkeeper Donnarumma and the mobile midfield, strikers like Chiesa, Insigne... can freely roam in front of the opponent's goal. They impose the game but are never in a hurry and always have enough manpower for counter-attack situations. They are flexible and adaptable when surrounding the opponent but are also extremely sensitive when being pushed back and then change state, ready to punish the opponent whenever there is an opportunity.

Italy brought the Cup home. Photo: Vietnamnet

More than anyone else, the Italian team was born to overcome pressure, from the spirit of solidarity, from the will to constantly improve. Let's look back at the way the most important midfielder Jorginho plays at Chelsea and the Italian team (and also the full-back Emerson) to see how similar and different they are, especially when they play in the Azzurri team with outstanding fighting spirit and dedication.

Of course, no team is truly perfect, including Italy who just won the Gold Cup on the home soil of the English. The case of Jorginho is a vivid example when this player was strangely calm in the last kick as if it were nothing to put an end to the team that played better than Spain in the semi-final. This player also skipped as usual before placing the ball gently into the right corner of the judgment of the English goalkeeper Pickford, seemingly putting an end to the home team's chance of winning the championship when kicking the last 5 kicks.

The closing ceremony was concise with the message of a borderless Europe. Photo: Vietnamnet

But when the Italians encountered a mistake and lack of courage, the English were even worse when they continued to miss the final penalty. Saka's weak shot further highlighted the talent of the Italian goalkeeper before the penalty spot and helped the world to say that Dino Zoff and Buffon had another great successor in Donnarumma in goal...

At that point, there is no other way but to admit with all our hearts and mouths that the Italians are truly great in every way, singing well, playing wordplay admirably and playing football superbly, especially after the event of bringing the European Football Cup from England's home ground to display in the ancient and charming city of Rome...