IT'S GONE ROME
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AFTER 55 years of hurt, the most painful blow - and the most heroic failure - of them all.
England’s most famous footballing anthem mentions ‘all those oh-so-nears’ but there had never been an oh-so-near as close as this one.
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Even after a national phobia of penalties had been overcome, defeat arrived in an agonising shoot-out - Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho both brought in the dying moments specifically to take penalties and both missing, then poor young Bukayo Saka failing with the decisive kick.
It was agonising especially as Gareth Southgate’s side had produced a first half of controlled aggression, to the soundtrack of unrestrained bearpit hostility from the terraces.
Especially as they had gone ahead within two minutes and then gone ahead in the shoot-out too.
But just as football had been battering on the door, desperate to complete its journey home, the Italians slammed it shut.
England led their first final since in 1966 for 65 long minutes - but Italy controlled possession, played most of the football and ultimately just about deserved their victory.
Wembley was wild, almost anarchic. As the tackles snapped, the atmosphere crackled and the concrete literally shook.
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But in the end it was a tale as old as time - England throwing it away, beaten by a better team.
We’ve heard so much about Southgate, the urbane, decent, intelligent statesman - but this performance, this whole night, had little to do with any of those qualities.
England relied on old-school qualities of grit and guts and graft and grind - but they were never quite enough.
There have been significant improvements from England since the last World Cup but ultimately there were too many similarities to that semi-final defeat by Croatia.
England ahead early, but sitting back too deep, allowing their opponents to control the midfield, conceding an equaliser midway through the second half and falling to a
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Before the tournament, at least three of Southgate’s squad were anointed as the new Gazza.
But this lot were the heirs to the toothless, ruthless Nobby Stiles and the bloodied, bandaged Terry Butcher and Paul Ince.
For an hour at least, there was an almost murderous intent about everything England did - an utter conviction in every challenge, every block, every run, every pass.
It felt as if Southgate’s men had made a pact to leave every drop of blood, every ounce of sweat, every last teardrop from 55 years of hurt out on that Wembley turf.
That they did but it ended up in glorious failure.
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The lie-ins will be long this morning, hangovers will be brutal and the memories of this night will ultimately be bitter.
Italy were unbeaten in 33 matches for a reason.
Theirs is a footballing nation renowned for defensive resilience and alley-cat cunning but this team of Roberto Mancini’s play with great attacking verve too.
Still, just 16 months from now, England will surely head to the World Cup in Qatar, with a respect they have not enjoyed for decades.
This has not been the most gifted England side of the last 55 years but it is undoubtedly the best team.
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Defenders who can all initiate attacks, forwards who all defend from the front and between them the extraordinary duo of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, the missing links from that near miss of Russia three years ago.
When the sting of defeat fades, we will remember the efficiency of that ground-breaking defeat of Germany, the dreamlike ease of a quarter-final romp against Ukraine and that joyous comeback victory over Denmark.
This march to the final was brilliantly engineered by Southgate, even after a chaotic build-up, with injuries to key players and no meaningful warm-up games.
But there is always a conspiracy of fates whenever a grand plan comes together.
It is eight years since Southgate was interviewed for the manager’s job at League One Sheffield United and was rejected for being ‘too nice’. The man who got the job, David Weir, was sacked after 13 games, winning just once.
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Sam Allardyce might not have been the victim of a sting, drinking pints of wine and Southgate may never have inherited the ‘impossible job’ in the first place, never mind redefining it as an entirely possible role.
Luke Shaw and John Stones were in long international exiles until the spring, Phillips had never played top-flight football last year, Rice might have stuck with Ireland...
Harry Maguire may not have been included in a standard 23-man squad after the ankle injury which kept him out of the previous two games.
Yet here they all were, as a perfectly-crafted unit, ready to embrace the game of their lives.
Southgate sprang a surprise by naming a back five - Kieran Trippier replacing Saka - but by this stage the England boss could have selected nine defenders and nobody would have doubted him.
Wembley Way had been a scene of anarchy and carnage hours before kick-off - the English undoubtedly proving themselves European champions of binge drinking and al-fresco urination.
Hundreds of ticketless fans were intent on storming the gates, which had to be locked for some time.
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It certainly wasn’t the decent, inclusive modern England which Southgate had been campaigning for.
But inside just 117 seconds England were ahead, Shaw’s half-volley from Trippier’s sweeping centre - who said five at the back was negative?
Italy passed and moved with speed and intelligence but until Leonardo Bonucci poked home after England failed to deal with a corner midway through the second half, it felt as if there was a steadfast belief inside Wembley that Southgate’s men would not be moved.
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They were ragged after the equaliser, they improved in extra-time, but after all of the practice, all of the psychology, all of the study, three penalty misses out of five sealed a familiar fate.
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