England’s search for their first major trophy since 1966 continued, losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night.
The Three Lions took the lead at Wembley Stadium in London early on, but Italy drew in the second half.
The match ended 1-1 in extra time, and Italy won 3-2 on penalties.
This is what we learned from England’s Euro 2020 campaign this summer:
England are a real contender for the World Cup
England have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final at Euro 2020. The next step: win the 2022 World Cup. Will the Three Lions succeed? Betfair evaluates the chances of the 1966 World Cup winners to clinch the trophy again in 2022 at 15/2. England has a very good and young squad. In a year and a half, 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 in their prime. England should be seen as a real contender 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 manager Gareth Southgate can’t always count on the 27-year-old. The # 10 Spurs scored four goals in seven European Championship appearances this summer. In the match, Kane failed to score, didn’t really play well and didn’t contribute much. Sure, Kane remains a world-class striker, but England need someone who can replace him on the squad when needed.
Penalties
Bukayo Saka took what turned out to be the decisive penalty. Arsenal winger failed to convert him. He is only 19 years old. Jack Grealish has publicly stated that he wants to take a penalty. It was Southgate’s decision not to use the Aston Villa star. The England manager also brought in Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho for the shooting. They missed. It is not easy for any player to arrive and score from the spot. Southgate should have brought them onto the pitch sooner just to give them a run on the pitch and get some touches of the ball.
