Prince William consoles England in dressing room as Gareth Southgate accepts responsibility for shootout loss

Gareth Southgate accepted the responsibility for England’s European Championship final penalty shootout defeat to Italy and revealed that Prince William the Duke of Cambridge consoled the players in the dressing-room afterwards.

Watched by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from the Wembley stands, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho both missed from the spot before 19-year-old Bukayo Saka’s effort, the crucial fifth for England, was saved by Italy’s heroic goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

England manager Southgate, who famously missed the decisive penalty in the 1996 semi-final shootout defeat to Germany, consoled Saka, Rashford and Saka.

On the shootout defeat and the fact it was Saka who stepped up to take the crucial fifth kick, Southgate said: “That is my responsibility. I chose the guys to take the kicks. I told the players that nobody is on their own in that situation. We win and lose together as a team. They have been tight throughout and that’s how it needs to stay.

“It is my decision to give him [Saka] that penalty. That is totally my responsibility. It is not him or Marcus or Jadon. We worked through them in training. That is the order we came to.

“The players have given absolutely everything and I’m very proud of them. They can hold their heads up high. The Duke has been down to see them. He thanked them for what they have done and was fulsome in his praise.”

Having sent on Rashford and Sancho with just 90 seconds of extra time remaining, Southgate added: “Marcus and Jadon have been by far the best in the lead in [to the game]. It was a gamble [to bring them on], but if we gamble earlier we maybe lose the game in extra time.”

Southgate said his side’s lack of composure on the ball was their major problem in the second half, when Italy came back into the match. Luke Shaw had given England the perfect start by opening the scoring in just the second minute, before Leonardo Bonucci equalised in the second half.

Southgate had reverted to a back three by bringing back Kieran Trippier and it was the right wing-back who set-up Shaw for the opener.

“We did start well,” said Southgate. “Our system worked really well against theirs. They were bound to have a spell where they came into the game. We didn't keep the ball well enough in that initial period in that second half. That was the area of the game. It was our lack of composure in possession that turned the game.

“We’re hugely disappointed. The players have been an absolute credit, they’ve given everything they possibly could. They’ve run themselves into the ground. 

“At times they played really well, at times we didn’t keep the ball quite well enough, especially at the start of the second half, but we can’t have any recriminations, they’ve been a joy to work with. They’ve gone further than we’ve gone for so long, but tonight it’s incredibly painful in that dressing room. 

“It’s down to me. I decided on the penalty-takers based on what they’ve done in training, and nobody is on their own. We won together as a team, and it’s on all of us for not being able to win the game tonight. But in terms of the penalties, that’s my call. It totally rests with me.

“Our players have done themselves proud, every one of them has been exceptional. It’s the first time we’ve got to a final and we’re obviously unbelievably disappointed not to go one step further.”

Asked about the positives he can take from the tournament, Southgate said: “I’m sure in a few days that will be more possible than it is right now really, but at the moment the pain of the defeat is huge. We wanted to give our nation one more special night and a first European Championship and we haven’t quite been able to do it.”

And on the prospect of the 2022 World Cup, he added: “Well, again, personally I can’t really talk about that tonight, that feels a million miles away and, for certain I think this team can be better and can improve, you can see the number of young players that we’ve blooded in this tournament have been absolutely fantastic. But, the future, I need a bit of time to reflect on that.”

Southgate substitution gamble questioned as Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford both miss penalties

by Jeremy Wilson

It was a decision which summed up how Gareth Southgate had approached the entire tournament. Perhaps even his life in the aftermath of missing in England’s penalty shoot out defeat against Germany at Euro ’96.

He would not take the conventional route. He would not be swayed by what people might say if it did not work.

He would follow his instinct, as well as what had been months of meticulous work with the England players. And so he rolled the dice in the 120th minute. Off came Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson. On came Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

The change had clearly been made for one reason and one reason only. Penalties were looming and, in the extensive practice that the England players had undergone, Rashford and Sancho were evidently among his five best penalty takers.

It made for a particularly tense finale even in extra-time when three minutes went up on the fourth official’s board and Rashford, temporarily playing at right-back, was forced to track back and make an important tackle.

He duly did his job and Southgate had two men he wanted still on the pitch.

Hindsight, at this point, is a wonderful tool. And we will never know what would have happened if Southgate had left the team as it was and instead turned to two players who were already on the pitch.

We do know that what followed will be the subject of endless debate. Harry Kane had scored. Harry Maguire had scored. But Rashford stepped up and, having performed an unconvincing shuffle, sent goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way but pulled his penalty against the post.

Sancho followed Rashford and, although he did force a save, hit his penalty with limited conviction. The momentum had swung and, with Bukayo Saka then also missing, Southgate’s England had been defeated. Alan Shearer, Southgate’s team-mate at Euro ‘96 and a BBC pundit, tackled the issue head on. 

“It’s a big, big ask...a big ask to put two players on with a minute to go to say you are going to go and take a penalty,” said Shearer. “You are under enough pressure as a player but the extra pressure that you are putting on these two individuals when you have had no feel of a football, you are not involved in the game at all, and then you are put in that situation. You’ve not kicked a football, you’ve been sat on your backside.”

Rio Ferdinand pointed out the precedents of tactical substitutes - “that’s been happening for years...players come on with three, four, five minutes to go as penalty takers” - and there can be little doubt that Southgate would have been hailed a genius had it come off. As it is, in what felt like an unspeakably cruel twist, a life story that ITV had earlier predicted should make a film now contains penalty heartache as both player and manager.