Well, Italy have done it at long last after 53 years! As they denied England a maiden European Football Championship on penalties in the final at Wembley Stadium in London this morning New Zealand time (Just after Novak 'Djoker' Djokovic winning the men's singles final at Wimbeldon against Italian Matteo Berrettini on Italy's big day) by winning their 2nd title. But the match started when English player Luke Shaw scoring the a goal that put them in the lead after 3 minutes during the 1st half but in the 2nd half at the 57th minute, Italian defender Leonardo 'Leo' Bonucci (Who is heading on holiday with his teammate in both club & country, Italian captain Giorgio Chellini after the country's triumph at Euro 2020) equalized by silencing the English crowd, forcing to go into penalties, but it was Italy's night, as they triumphed to win on penalties to win Euro 2020 (And the England fans were shattered, they were completely devastated that they lost on penalties (Including errors from Marcus Rashford & Jadon Sancho as well as Bakayou Saka who attempted a shot saved by Italian goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma (Who may be considering a move to Paris St Germain which is worth 50 million euros) which proved to be the game changer/turning point in the final that let them down) resulting in a national mourning after letting them off the hook as they missed out on winning the Euros (And I mean what a disappointing end to England, what a match for our viewers right around the world) but I'm surprised that Italy won (& unfortunately for the English, football isn't coming home because football is coming in Rome instead after the Italian success in Euro 2020 but I wonder the headlines would say: FANTASTICO! ITALY BREAK ENGLISH HEARTS TO WIN THE EUROS or more like: MAMMA MIA! ENGLAND FALL TO THE ITALIANS ON PENALTIES AT EURO 2020) & I had to rewrite history tonight to play the PES 2021 Season Update game on the PS4 where I played as England against Italy & won (As well as I listened to both the late Luciano Pavarotti & Andrea Bocelli in honor of Italy's success in the Euros but I'll listen to Cafe de Paris if France win the Rugby World Cup in 2023) unlike the French were backing England while the Scottish were in favor of Italy from that perspective.
And finally my last thoughts after Euro 2020? It was heartbreaking for England (Who had blown the opportunity to win the Euros on penalties in the final but the drought of winning a major football tournament continues) on their home patch but it's Italy's joy at the end (First time since 1968 in which they triumphed at the Euros (Their 2nd European Championship title overall along with France (Champions in 1984 & 2000) but leading the all time list is both Germany (Champions in 1972, 1980 & 1996) & Spain at 3 (Champions in 1964, 2008 & 2012) & 1st time that they won a major football tournament in 15 years when they won the Football World Cup in 2006 (Their 4th overall (To add to their previous titles in 1934, 1938 & 1982) along with Germany (World champions in 1954, 1974, 1990 & 2014) as the most successful European country at the Football World Cup but leading the all time list is Brazil (Champions in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 & 2002) at 5) as well as a magnificent but tremendous turnaround for the Italians (Who came, saw & conquered the Euros in emphatic style) to change the nations fortunes around after missing the last Football World Cup in 2018 because they failed to qualify as I mentioned before in my previous blogs) so they'll be celebrating at places like Rome (Roma), Milan (Milano), Turin (Torino), Venice (Venezia), Naples (Napoli), Palermo, Bologna & Genoa but Italy's triumph at the Euros was a whole new meaning, sparking a revival in Italian football (3 years after France triumphed against Croatia in the final of the Football World Cup in 2018 (20 years after their last triumph in 1998 against the defending world champions at the time, Brazil on home turf) which marked the revival of French football, but the world champion French side were completely outplayed on penalties against Switzerland (Who coincidentally, the Italians beat in the group stages before losing to Spain (Italy's opponents in the semifinal in which the Italians prevailed on penalties) in the quarterfinal on penalties) in the round of 16 of Euro 2020).
So that is my 435th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 55th of this year.
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