As England fans, we should have prepared for this ending

It didn’t come home, after all, then? Instead, following a rollercoaster month of football, it was an ending we’ve known all too well before.

England’s hopes of winning a first major tournament for 55 years were ended in the most heart-wrenching fashion possible, with a penalty shootout as Italy triumphed at Wembley.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were the ones to miss the decisive spot-kicks this time around, just as Chris Waddle, David Batty and, of course, Gareth Southgate did before them. It ended what had been a magical run through the tournament – one that had captured the imagination of the whole nation.

The win over Croatia to avenge the defeat of three years ago in Russia was followed by the ecstasy of a first competitive win over Germany for almost two decades. The thrashing of Ukraine in Rome came before the extra-time semi-final victory over Denmark to set up a place in a final at long last.

Even the final itself started like a dream, with Luke Shaw slamming England ahead inside two minutes. But as the game advanced, so did Italy and, buoyed by far more of the ball and far more of the pressure, they broke through to equalise with Leonardo Bonucci’s far-post bundle in the second-half.

From then on, it always felt like penalties, and the pleasure and the pain that only a shootout from 12 yards can bring.

Penalty shootouts really are the worst possible end to a game that a journalist can imagine. The match will literally be won and lost by one kick of the ball. Any plans to prepare and pre-write go out the window as soon as the first player steps up.

In the heat of such a moment, you just have to adapt, react quickly and calmly, and keep your head – even if those on the pitch sometimes do not.

It’s a drama not quite like any other and something you can’t prepare for. Except, as England football fans, we probably all should have.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor