Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Rien
It's coming Rome. Donnarumma Incredibile. Complimenti Italia.
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I'm devastated. Not because England lost or Italy won, I have no real connection to either place. But Saka's penalty miss at the end was hard to watch as an Arsenal fan.
I don't know what the process was to elect Saka as the 5th penalty taker, whether he stepped up first, Southgate picked him, maybe the other players backed down, I'm not sure. Regardless it just doesn't feel right for a 19 year old who's never taken a penalty for his club to be given that responsibility, especially given the much older and more experienced players in the line-up.
But from what he's shown at Arsenal he appears as someone with a strong mind who is prepared to face adversity head on when others around him aren't up to the task. I believe he can recover from this and continue being a star for club and country, it would be such a shame if in some way this event holds back his immense talent and hard work, he's still got so much playing ahead of him. The guy is the best young talent the club's seen for maybe a decade or more.
As for the teams in general I would've been content either way. There's a lot to like about this Italian team from the mix of their veteran defenders in Bonucci and Chiellini to their younger players in Donnarumma and Chiesa. All of those mentioned were very good on the night, Chiesa especially took my attention and I was a bit sad when he had to come off. It felt a tight game but I think Italy were the more threatening side in regular time and deserved their win.
England just can't catch a break I guess, though the next tournament is only in a year and a half. France lost in the final of the Euros in 2016 and won the World Cup 2 years later, perhaps England will repeat that this time 'round.