Harbhajan Singh congratulates Euro 2020 winners Italy, lauds great game of football

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh came forward and congratulated Italy after they edged past England 3-2 on penalties in the Euro 2020 final at the iconic Wembley Stadium on Sunday. 

What made this win more interesting is that the four-time world champions got the better of their English rivals in their own backyard and that too in front of 60,000 fans.

Euro 2020: Harbhajan Singh congratulates new champions Italy

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Harbhajan Singh congratulated Italy on being crowned the new champions of Europe. Bhajji also lauded a great game of football and signed off by offering his commiserations to the vanquished England team. 

By the virtue of this win, the 'Azurri' won their second Euro Cup title. Their first and only European Championships triumph was in the 1968 edition and after that, they did succeed in reaching the finals in 2000 & 2012 respectively only to end up as the second-best team. Their last title win was in 2006 when they lifted the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Meanwhile, this win also extended Italy's unbeaten streak to 34 matches. Roberto Mancini's side have not lost a single international fixture since September 2018 and their hard work has borne fruits as they are now the proud holders of the Euro Cup. 

England vs Italy: Harry Kane & Co.'s quest for a major international silverware continues

Coming back to the contest, the match started with England taking the lead early in the second minute through a wonderful Luke Shaw half volley after a pinpoint Kieran Trippier cross to send Wembley into raptures. They dominated the initial 20 minutes of the game with the change of formation for England tough for the Italians to read.

However, the Italians soon found their rhythm that they had throughout the tournament. The Azzurri dominated the proceedings after that and in the 67th minute, Bonnuci found the back of the net owing to a goalmouth scramble following a dangerous corner.

Italy carried on dominating the game but unable to find a way past the English defence. 

After extra time the Italians won the toss and chose to shoot first. Domenico Berardi and Harry Kane both converted their respective penalties. Andrea Belotti then had his penalty saved by Jordan Pickford and Harry Maguire put the Three Lions ahead 2-1. The goal scorer Bonucci out his spot-kick in the back of the net but after that England missed all three of their penalties with Marcus Rashford missing his penalty and Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka having theirs saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma to give the Italians the well-deserved victory.