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Updated September 2nd, 2021 at 17:00 IST

'Win a World Cup final': Southgate sets England's target after Euros heartbreak vs Italy

England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties and Gareth Southgate believes that they need to win the World Cup to rid that painful memory.

Reported by: Prithvi Virmani
England
Image Credits: @England - Twitter | Image:self
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England coach Gareth Southgate has said that they will need to win the World Cup to be able to shake off the demons of their Euro 2020 final loss. Italy ended hosts England's dream to win the Euro 2020 at the Wembley Stadium earlier in the summer. The Azzurri defeated England 3-2 on penalties after extra-time finished 1-1 and in the penalties, Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka stepped up to take the spot-kicks, with the latter three missing theirs to hand the title to Italy.

The England boss told in his pre-match press conference as quoted by Goal.com,

"We probably need to win a World Cup final. Nothing else is really going to compare to the level of the game we were involved in and the unique circumstance that being involved in a final brings. We had two years of having to reflect on a World Cup semi-final and whatever we do in the next 18 months has got to be towards leading us towards challenging in a World Cup."

Maguire echoes his coach's words

Harry Maguire echoed his manager, admitting that the pain of the loss to Italy was still fresh in everyone's mind. He added that it hurts the fans just as much as it hurts the players and staff. He said,

"It hurts and it always will hurt. Will you ever get over losing a penalty shoot-out to become European champions? Probably only if you win one of these major tournaments will you overcome that. Of course, it hurts and it probably hurts every fan as well, not just us players and staff. It will hurt everyone."

The final was a night to forget for the Three Lions as they just could not do enough to get past the Italian defence after the second-minute goal by Luke Shaw. They had done really well in the buildup to the tournament, having conceded just one goal up until the final. However, they just couldn’t come up with enough to get their hands on the European trophy.

England's 12-match unbeaten run came to an end. They had reached their first-ever European Championship final. Their wait for a major tournament trophy continues as they haven't won anything since the 1966 World Cup triumph.

(Image Credits: @England - Twitter)

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Published September 2nd, 2021 at 17:01 IST

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