The consensus among many was that Gareth Southgate had been too cautious with his starting lineup against Italy on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final. The England manager made one change from the semifinal, bringing in Kieran Trippier and adopting a back-five while winger Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench.
Steve McManaman called it a mistake on ESPN during the pregame show. It took all of one minute and 57 seconds to see that McManaman had been mistaken.
It was the wide defenders who combined on England’s record-breaking opener. Trippier received the ball out wide and Italy’s defense failed to close the Atlético Madrid fullback down. You can’t give the “Bury Beckham” this much space and time on the edge of your area.
Trippier picked out Shaw at the far post, and the Manchester United defender struck it like a man experiencing the best form of his life. It's the fastest goal in Euro final history.
¡Goooooooooool de Inglaterra! ⚽
Luke Shaw le pega espectacular a un balón perfectamente puesto para que la empujara. It's coming home! #ITA 0-1 #ENG#EuroTUDN I #VeranoDeCampeones I #EURO2020¡En vivo!
TUDN y @univisión
https://t.co/XDoOV4f8iI pic.twitter.com/Zd2Glw52a8— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) July 11, 2021
Wembley, which had been a cauldron of noise during “God Save the Queen” and after the opening whistle, some how managed to find another octave, as did the rest of the country.
Absolute SCENES at England’s first goal, courtesy of our partners at @skysports. pic.twitter.com/db7Th3jh8M
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) July 11, 2021
