FINAL - Italy (p) 1-1 England - Sunday 11th July, 2021

[Dan+]

I find myself saying this virtually every time we get knocked out but I really think our failure to produce a midfielder who can truly dictate comes to bite us every time. Some of the sustained periods of Italy possession and pressure meant their equaliser was an inevitability and I'm quite surprised we even got to extra time.

Phillips and Rice are both good players, and Rice in-fact as somebody who has never been overly convinced by him, I thought he was very good tonight (although still not a 'dictator'), but neither get near that Italian midfield, or that Croatia midfield in 2018.

Bellingham might prove to be that but I'm not sure that's really his game, I've not watched a tonne of him if I'm honest.

[Viva la FCB+]

Pretty fair result by the end of it all. Not much between the two at the end of the day though. England's got a bright future core to be looking forward to anyways. Enjoyable watch again for a neutral but I swear to god every knockout match was 2+ hours

[JoshBRFC+]

Just woke up nursing a very Surprisingly easy hangover.
 

Called it a night the minute they won, and I’m Avoiding all social media because it’s still too raw and emotional and cba  arguing with Steaming roses. 
 

For me this has been about more than football. It’s United a nation. White, Black, Chinese, Asian, Yellow, Green. It’s United us all after a very dark year or 2.

We will be back and I’m proud to be English. It fucking hurts right now, but I’m proud. And this squad will win something, I know it. 
 

Edit steaming roses Hahahaha

[Smiley Culture]

The lip service of a statement about condemning racist abuse released already, then. Give it a month and when the Premier League returns, racism will be back too. 

Between that and the videos of idiots we’ve seen the past twenty four hours and it’s really one step forward, fifteen steps back with these Neanderthals and it’s actually really easy to not be that arsed by the England team as a result. 

[Dave]

Social media this morning appears to be 50% supporting the players and the other 50% questioning why Saka was the fifth penalty taker.

[MUFC]

I think if Chiesa never got injured they would have won it in normal time. Am wondering how far England would gave got if they were on the other side of the draw.

[Andronico Remarco]

Guys for those who think British Holigans are monkeys they have to remember that Italians are pretty much the same...watch what happen after winning against Spain:

Anyway Italy play a bit better, sad for England but happy for Italy.

[Devil]

Heartbreaking wasn't it, just can't see the logic of asking two lads that weren't in tune with the game to take pens, surely that's even more added pressure to know that's the only reason your coming on. 

I also think the decision to have the youngest player on the pitch take the fifth penalty was a heavy burden to carry as well, it was always likely to be the key penalty so why didn't we put someone with more experience on it.

[Danny]

Very sad to wake up to a barrage of racism on social media this morning, earlier in the tournament Johnson and Patel were undermining the players taking the knee and now they’re condoning the racism they’ve helped harbour.

[Tommy]

[Dr. Gonzo]

I blame that t-rex fucker for the equaliser. If that dangerous roided out little twat hadn’t fucked up we’d maybe have hung on.

[carefreeluke]

7 hours ago, ASF said:

England was just too happy to get the goal and sit back the rest of the match.

Italy was struggling in the first 30 minutes and if England had kept pushing forward, I think they would have got a second one.

Bonucci was immense and, despite Donnarumma being decisive in the final, I think Bonucci was the best player this tournament.

@Carnivore Chris to answer your question, I'm just not that much into football anymore. Sure, I still enjoy watching the Euros and World Cups (these will always be special tournaments), but club football just isn't the same anymore. And by taking a step back from it, you can give a more objective analysis of what's happening, without your emotions getting in the way of your judgment.

Yeah mate, this was our undoing and what frustrated me most. I think with the whole atmosphere and occasion, we were riding a wave of adrenaline for the first 30 minutes and after that, we didn't play intelligently enough. After seeing us play with so much energy and passion, I was thinking that at some point there's going to be a comedown and it would be a question of how well we manage that. The Italians were great in the second half with their mentality and just keeping the ball and as I often end up saying at these tournaments that was a lesson for us in itself. Fair enough, dropping deeper like we did but we had no outlet and no way of relieving that pressure. It wasn't effective football and in typical fashion when you sit back like that the goal always comes from something that you should have easily avoided.

At the end of the day, we were penalties away from winning the whole thing but within the context of the way the game panned out from the second half onwards, there was only going to be one winner. Penalties aren't a lottery, perhaps when it comes to the shootout, it can put inferior teams on a more level playing field but the whole process is a massive mental test and examination of technique under pressure. We did have a little good period in extra time but it was too late and looking at the mentality of the Italians in that second half and their experience, penalties was always going to be difficult for us.

I'm proud of England for what they've done this tournament regardless.

[internationalsfan]

Quite a few folk watching apparently. 

 

29.5m avg between 8pm and 11pm with 30.95m watching the penalty shoot out. 

 

Highest average since Diana's funeral. 

[RandoEFC+]

19 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I blame that t-rex fucker for the equaliser. If that dangerous roided out little twat hadn’t fucked up we’d maybe have hung on.

Did you watch the game? 

[Reluctant Striker]

Quote

 

 

[JoshBRFC+]

Fuckoff Roy Keane. Attention seeking whore.

[Smiley Culture]

50 arrested on Wembley Way post match, 19 police injured and Italian cafes and Italian made cars attacked across London. 

[Smiley Culture]

Just now, JoshBRFC said:

Fuckoff Roy Keane. Attention seeking whore.

I’m fairness, I’m sure I saw the huddle and Southgate going round to everyone with the order and I’m pretty certain Grealish was 6th. 

[DeadLinesman]

Just now, Smiley Culture said:

50 arrested on Wembley Way post match, 19 police injured and Italian cafes and Italian made cars attacked across London. 

Italian made cars . Fucking Neanderthals.

[Honey Honey]

The section on policing for the 2030 bid is going to have to be 1000 pages long after that. 

 

[carefreeluke]

45 minutes ago, Smiley Culture said:

50 arrested on Wembley Way post match, 19 police injured and Italian cafes and Italian made cars attacked across London. 

Every country or team has its minority of knob heads but for us, our minority is far bigger than anyone else's. Pre-match this topic was filled with debate about how nobody likes the English and in this way, you have to fully understand why. 

I've very recently got back to England for the first time in about 18 months. Went out yesterday for the first time around Leicester Square to watch the game and before the match it was crazy but I was also quickly reminded of how many wankers we have in this country. The problem is with English people is that we can have a laugh and whatnot but with occasions like that, there's always this underlying tension in the air and the atmosphere is never a fully enjoyable one because of it. One moment there's everyone singing and enjoying themselves, the next there are people launching glass bottles into crowds as if the bottles were balloons. Yesterday in parts, was just an escalated and heightened version of everything we see can see on Friday and Saturday nights up and down the country. It's not just because it's football, it's what this country is. It's friendly and fun in most parts, talking to random people, people singing, and having a laugh but at the same time, it's one little moment away from just completely kicking off. I was really excited about the game beforehand, really excited to see my mates for the first time in so long as well but the whole atmosphere up there dampened everything a little for me. Don't get me wrong the majority probably behaved well, it's just our minority of troublemakers are a lot more noticeable than anyone else's. I don't want to come off as if I'm generalizing too much but the English can be the politest people you'd ever meet but as soon as they have a drink down them or whatever else, it can be the complete opposite.

[Smiley Culture]

24 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

Every country or team has its minority of knob heads but for us, our minority is far bigger than anyone else's. Pre-match this topic was filled with debate about how nobody likes the English and in this way, you have to fully understand why. 

I've very recently got back to England for the first time in about 18 months. Went out yesterday for the first time around Leicester Square to watch the game and before the match it was crazy but I was also quickly reminded of how many wankers we have in this country. The problem is with English people is that we can have a laugh and whatnot but with occasions like that, there's always this underlying tension in the air and the atmosphere is never a fully enjoyable one because of it. One moment there's everyone singing and enjoying themselves, the next there are people launching glass bottles into crowds as if the bottles were balloons. Yesterday in parts, was just an escalated and heightened version of everything we see can see on Friday and Saturday nights up and down the country. It's not just because it's football, it's what this country is. It's friendly and fun in most parts, talking to random people, people singing, and having a laugh but at the same time, it's one little moment away from just completely kicking off. I was really excited about the game beforehand, really excited to see my mates for the first time in so long as well but the whole atmosphere up there dampened everything a little for me. Don't get me wrong the majority probably behaved well, it's just our minority of troublemakers are a lot more noticeable than anyone else's. I don't want to come off as if I'm generalizing too much but the English can be the politest people you'd ever meet but as soon as they have a drink down them or whatever else, it can be the complete opposite.

I think what has come home is the harsh reality that England does have a societal problem whether it’s racism, drink and drugs and being a dick and smashing things up 

[LFCMike]

6 hours ago, JoshBRFC said:

Just woke up nursing a very Surprisingly easy hangover.
 

 

Oooh look at me, I'm not hungover, pathetic.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I'm fucking hanging

[internationalsfan]

38 minutes ago, The Premier Steve's said:

The section on policing for the 2030 bid is going to have to be 1000 pages long after that. 

  

I was writing an assessment of the 2030 bids before I saw that arrest figure. Tbh for a big match in the UK 50 ain't a massive number but I don't think 'Only 50 chavs got pissed up enough to requiring arrest from the police, and only 19 fans were injured. Whilst this sounds bad it is comparative to some club derby days throughout a regular season in the past decade, and mostly driven by excess alcohol consumption rather than hooliganism/gang warfare' will look great in the application. 

 

13 minutes ago, Smiley Culture said:

 I think what has come home is the harsh reality that England does have a societal problem whether it’s racism, drink and drinks and being a dick and smashing things up 

 

So do many other European countries. The issue we have is trying to make out we're an open, liberal western European country to the rest of the world, when culturally with have far more in common with Poland or Hungary than Italy, Belgium or Norway, although we do seem to increasingly be willing to own that fact in the past decade. 

[Stan]

Doesn't surprise me Grealish wanted to take one.