UEFA Euro 2020 final

Italy qualified for the tournament as qualifying Group J winners, having won all ten of their games, and were drawn in Group A along with Switzerland, Turkey and Wales; being one of the host nations, Italy played all three group games at home at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy opened the tournament with a 3–0 win over Turkey, Turkish defender Merih Demiral scoring an own goal to give the Italians the lead in the 53rd minute, before Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne scored two further goals.[41][42] Italy then beat Switzerland with another 3–0 win, Manuel Locatelli scoring twice and Immobile scoring the last goal to seal a place into the round of 16 with a game to spare, despite captain Giorgio Chiellini suffering an injury.[43][44] In their third group game, Italy beat Wales 1–0 with Matteo Pessina scoring the only goal in the first half to ensure the side finished with a perfect record in the group stage.[45][46] The result meant Italy were the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding.[47]

In the round of 16 played at Wembley Stadium, Italy struggled against Austria, who had finished second in Group C. Austria's Marko Arnautović had a goal ruled out for offside in the 67th minute, and it was only in the first period of extra time that Italian substitutes Federico Chiesa and Pessina each scored a goal to give Italy a 2–0 lead. Despite Saša Kalajdžić, an Austrian substitute, salvaging a goal for his team in the second half of extra time (the first goal conceded by the Italians at the tournament), Italy held on to reach the quarter-finals.[48][49]

Italy's quarter-final match was against the top-ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings, Belgium, and was played at Munich's Allianz Arena. Nicolò Barella beat Thibaut Courtois to score in the 31st minute, before Insigne doubled their lead in the 44th minute with a powerful strike; Belgium's Romelu Lukaku then converted a successful penalty during injury time of the first half. Despite an Achilles tendon injury in the second half to Leonardo Spinazzola that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament,[50] Italy once again held the scoreline to eliminate the Belgians.[51][52] The victory set a new record for the longest European Championship winning streak at 15, including both qualifying and the final tournament.[53]

Italy returned to Wembley to face Spain in the semi-finals, the fourth consecutive European Championship in which the two sides met. In a tight game dominated by possession football, Italy got the breakthrough from Chiesa after 60 minutes; 20 minutes later Álvaro Morata equalised for Spain to make the score 1–1. No further goals were scored in extra time, resulting in a penalty shoot-out; both Locatelli and Dani Olmo failed to score the first penalties for their respective sides, before Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Spain's fourth kick from Morata. Jorginho then scored the subsequent penalty to take Italy to their first European final since 2012.[54][55]

England qualified by topping qualifying Group A, winning seven and losing just one of their eight qualification matches. They were drawn into Group D and also played their three group matches at their home stadium, Wembley. They were joined in the group by co-hosts and rivals Scotland, the Czech Republic and 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up Croatia, who had beaten England in the 2018 semi-finals. England started with a 1–0 win over Croatia, Raheem Sterling being the difference with his goal in the 57th minute giving England their first three points; it was the first time that England had won the opening game of the group stage at a European Championship.[56][57] In their second match, England held Scotland to a goalless draw despite plenty of opportunities from the Scots to finish the game; even with the draw, England were still guaranteed a place in the last 16 before their final group match due to other group results.[58][59] England then confirmed top spot in the group by beating the Czech Republic 1–0, with a goal from Sterling early in the game. In doing so, England became the first team in European Championship history to win their group after scoring only two goals.[60] Acquiring seven points in the process, England knew they would remain at Wembley for the round of 16 but would face the runners-up from Group F.[61]

England faced rivals Germany at Wembley in the round-of-16 where Sterling once again broke the deadlock, after 75 minutes. Germany's Thomas Müller then ran through on goal but shot inches wide, before Harry Kane became the second player to score for England in the tournament to seal a 2–0 win, the first for the team against a Germany national side in the knockout stages of an international tournament since the 1966 World Cup Final.[62][63]

England's quarter-final, played at Rome's Stadio Olimpico (their only match outside of Wembley in the entire tournament), saw the side outplay Ukraine in a 4–0 win, Kane scoring twice, and Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson (with his first international goal) scoring the others to give England their biggest ever victory at the European Championship finals.[64][65]

In the semi-finals, England hosted Denmark at Wembley and conceded their first goal of the tournament on the half-hour mark, when Mikkel Damsgaard scored with a free kick that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford failed to keep out. Efforts to equalise by England eventually paid off less than 10 minutes later with an own goal by Simon Kjær, but both sides failed to score another goal in normal time. In the first period of extra time, a penalty for a foul on Sterling was given to England. Kane took the spot kick, scoring his fourth goal of the tournament from the rebound after his initial effort was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, to put England in a 2–1 lead. His side held on for the remainder of extra time to qualify for the final.[66][67] Queen Elizabeth II, UK prime minister Boris Johnson and FA president Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, congratulated the England team on their run in the tournament, wishing them good luck in the final.[68]

Dutchman Björn Kuipers (pictured in 2018) was selected as the referee for the final.

On 8 July 2021, the UEFA Referees Committee announced the officiating team for the final, led by 48-year-old Dutch referee Björn Kuipers of the Royal Dutch Football Association. He was joined by three of his compatriots, Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as assistant referees, and Pol van Boekel as one of the assistant VAR officials. Carlos del Cerro Grande of Spain was chosen as the fourth official, and his fellow countryman Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez was the reserve assistant referee. Bastian Dankert of Germany was selected as the VAR for the match, the first use of the technology in the final of the European Championship, and was joined by fellow countrymen Christian Gittelmann and Marco Fritz as the remaining assistant VAR officials.[2]

Kuipers had been a FIFA referee since 2006 and was the first Dutch referee to officiate a European Championship final. UEFA Euro 2020 was his fifth major international tournament, after the European Championship in 2012 and 2016, and the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018. He officiated three matches earlier in the tournament: Denmark vs Belgium and Slovakia vs Spain in the group stage, and the quarter-final between the Czech Republic and Denmark. The 2020 final was Kuipers's ninth international final; he had officiated those of several UEFA youth competitions, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.[2] The final was the fourth time Kuipers had refereed Italy and the third for England, which includes the group stage meeting between the two sides at the 2014 World Cup, which Italy won 2–1.[69]

Italy had nearly all of their squad available with the exception of defender Spinazzola, following his injury in the quarter-final. Right-back Alessandro Florenzi, who had suffered a calf injury in Italy's opening match of the tournament, recovered before the final but lost his starting spot to Giovanni Di Lorenzo.[70][71] For England, midfielder Phil Foden was ruled out of the game due to a foot injury sustained during training.[72]

Italy remained unchanged from their semi-final victory against Spain, manager Roberto Mancini opting for a 4–3–3 formation.[73][74] England manager Gareth Southgate made one change from their semi-final win over Denmark, Kieran Trippier replacing Bukayo Saka. Southgate also made a tactical switch, replacing the 4–2–3–1 formation that he had primarily used during the tournament with a 3–4–3 formation similar to their round of 16 match against Germany, with Trippier and Luke Shaw as wing-backs.[75][76][77]

President of Italy Sergio Mattarella attending the final

Thousands of England fans gathered at Wembley Stadium throughout the morning and afternoon, which prompted the police to urge anyone without tickets not to travel there.[78] Footage from two hours before the final showed a few ticketless fans fighting with stewards and police as they attempted to force their way past barriers to get into the stadium.[79][80] Groups of people managed to gain access to the stadium without tickets, eyewitness reports saying the number of illegal entries might be in the hundreds.[81] Large crowds also gathered in Leicester Square in Central London, throwing bottles and other objects, and Trafalgar Square, where a ticketed fan zone was set up.[82] As a result of the violence and disorder, a total of 86 people were arrested by police, 53 of which were made at Wembley Stadium for offences that included public order breaches, assault, drunk and disorderly conduct, and criminal damage.[83][84][85] Nineteen police officers were injured, including one who lost a tooth and another who suffered a broken hand.[86] The father of England's Harry Maguire was also caught up in the disturbances at the stadium, suffering injuries to his ribs.[87]

On 12 July 2021, a day after the final, The Football Association said it would conduct a full review into how people without tickets were able to breach security and gain access to Wembley Stadium for the final.[88] Four days later, two men were arrested on suspicion of stealing items that helped ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium ahead of the final.[89] In August 2021, Baroness Casey was appointed to review the incident.[90] Her report, published in December, found that there had been a "collective failure" in preparing for the match and noted 17 mass breaches of entry to the stadium.[91]

Before the match started, a closing ceremony was organised by UEFA, which started at 19:45 local time (18:45 UTC).[92][93] An inflatable replica of the Henri Delaunay Trophy was brought onto the field as a light show and pyrotechnics got underway.[94] Soldiers in bearskin hats played trumpets and the Red Arrows performed a flypast above Wembley Stadium in support of the England team, before performers danced to music by Dutch DJ Martin Garrix.[95][96]

The national anthems of each country were played before kick-off; some England fans in the crowd booed during the Italian national anthem despite pleas from England manager Southgate and other former players not to do so.[97] The match ball was brought to the centre of the pitch on a remote-controlled car replica of a Volkswagen ID.4, as was the case throughout the tournament, in rainbow colours, symbolising the support of LGBT rights.[98] Both sides took the knee before the starting whistle, as the England team had done before all their games in the tournament.[99]

Distinguished visitors in the Wembley official gallery

The final was attended by politicians and royalty, including President of Italy Sergio Mattarella,[100] UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson,[101] Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall,[102] Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince George of Cambridge. There were also guests from the entertainment industry such as Tom Cruise and Kate Moss, as well as former football players and managers like David Beckham, Geoff Hurst and Fabio Capello.[103]

Luke Shaw (pictured in 2021) scored for England in the second minute, the fastest goal ever scored in a Euro final.[104]

The match kicked off at 20:00 local time, in cloudy and rainy conditions, in front of 67,173 spectators, with Italy playing in blue shirts, dark blue shorts and blue socks, and England playing in white shirts, white shorts and white socks. England's Maguire conceded a corner in the opening minute with a failed pass attempt back to goalkeeper Pickford, but Maguire himself was able to clear the danger. England then launched an attack of their own, when Kane passed the ball to Trippier, who ran down the right-hand side of the field. Trippier crossed the ball to the far side of the penalty area to Shaw, who scored his first goal for England with a low shot on the half-volley just inside the left post.[105] Timed at 1 minute and 56 seconds,[106] this was the earliest goal ever in a European Championship final.[104] In the 8th minute, Italy won a free kick just outside the penalty area, which was taken by Insigne; he shot, but it went over the crossbar.[107] The match had opened at a fast pace,[108] and England's Kyle Walker launched another attack in the 10th minute, when he passed to Trippier who had space to run forward. Trippier sent in a cross intended for Sterling, but it was intercepted and cleared by Italy's Chiellini.[107] England continued attacking, first through Trippier, who was given space to run down the right again and won a corner, which was caught by the Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma. In the 15th minute, Mason Mount won another corner when his run down the left forced Italy's Jorginho to clear the ball behind.[107]

Italy began to dominate possession from the 15-minute mark, The Guardian's Scott Murray commenting at the time that there were "signs that [Italy] are stirring after their nightmare start". In the 20th minute, they had a chance to break upfield through Marco Verratti and Insigne after Kane had lost the ball, but a foul by Chiellini on Kane ended the move.[107] Jorginho then sustained an injury and had to leave the field for five minutes, but was eventually able to continue.[105] In the 24th minute, Chiesa found himself in some space on the right-hand side, sending a cross into the penalty area, but it was defended by England.[107] An Italian attack in the 28th minute ended when Insigne shot wide.[105] He then had another chance to run into the England penalty area in the 32nd minute, after the team had advanced forward by passing the ball around on the left, but the England defence cleared once more.[107]

For some time, England were unable to retain the ball whenever they won it back, but in the 34th minute they had a good chance to double their lead when Kane passed a ball towards Sterling, who was in an attacking position. Sterling passed to Mount, who attempted to pass back to Sterling, but Italy were able to intercept and prevent a likely goal. Italy then had a chance of their own a minute later, when Chiesa beat England's Shaw and Declan Rice before running at the goal and shooting from 25 yards (23 m) out. His shot had Pickford beaten, but it went slightly to the side of the goalpost.[105] Shortly before half-time, Italy had what Murray described as their "best move of the match", Di Lorenzo crossing to Immobile, 12 yards (11 m) from goal, but John Stones blocked his shot and then Verratti's follow-up was claimed by Pickford. Italy had one more chance, Leonardo Bonucci having a long-range shot, but it was high and wide.[107] The referee then blew the half-time whistle, with the score at 1–0 to England. Italy had dominated possession in the first half, but England's defence had limited their attack to just one shot on target.[108]

Italy's Leonardo Bonucci (pictured in 2015) scored in the 67th minute, tying the match and making him the oldest person to score a goal in a Euro final.[109]

England kicked off the second half.[107] Italy's Barella received the first yellow card of the match in the 47th minute for a foul on Kane. Sterling then ran with the ball into the Italian penalty area, taking it between Bonucci and Chiellini before falling to the ground. Sterling wanted a penalty, but the referee decided on no foul.[110] Italy won a free kick on the edge of the England penalty area in the 50th minute, when Sterling fouled Insigne; the Italian took the kick himself, but it went high and wide once again. Two minutes later, Chiesa ran down the right-hand side before sending a long cross towards Insigne. Walker intercepted, heading back to Pickford, then Insigne had another run into the England penalty area from the left, before hitting a shot wide of the goal. Italy made the first substitutions of the game in the 54th minute, bringing on Bryan Cristante and Domenico Berardi for Immobile and Barella.[107]

In the 55th minute, Bonucci fouled Sterling from behind and was booked by the referee. England's free kick reached Maguire 8 yards (7 m) from goal, but his header went over the crossbar. Italy then attacked at the other end; a long-range shot from Chiesa was deflected into the path of Insigne, who fired a powerful shot at goal, but Pickford saved it. As they had in the first half, Italy began to dominate possession.[107] Just after the hour mark, Chiesa dribbled the ball across the edge of the England penalty area, before getting space to fire a shot at goal, which was once again saved by Pickford.[110] England managed to retain the ball for a few minutes after this, Shaw launching an attack up the left that ended when his pass failed to reach Mount. Italy were on the attack again in the 66th minute, when Chiesa sent a curling cross in from the left. Insigne had the chance to score from 6 yards (5 m) but was not able to jump high enough to head the ball.[107] A minute later, Italy won a corner, which was flicked on by Cristante to Verratti, who headed the ball towards goal; it was turned onto the post by Pickford, but Bonucci was able to react quickest and hit the ball into the goal from close range for Italy's equaliser.[111] At the age of 34 years and 71 days, Bonucci became the oldest scorer in the final of a European Championship.[109]

With the score tied at 1–1, England manager Southgate made a tactical substitution, bringing on the attacking player Bukayo Saka in place of Trippier, and switched to a 4–3–3 formation.[112] After another Italian attack in the 73rd minute, which ended when Berardi failed to control the ball in the England penalty area having run behind the England defence, Southgate made a second switch, bringing on Henderson for Rice.[110] Italy continued to dominate, almost all the play taking place in England's half of the field. Chiesa ran down the left in the 80th minute, beating Walker and Saka, before being dispossessed by Phillips and falling to the ground. The referee deemed the challenge to have been a legal one; however, Chiesa was injured and limped off the field. He attempted to continue but eventually had to be replaced by Federico Bernardeschi in the 86th minute. Meanwhile, England had a chance when Mount dribbled into the Italy penalty area and passed to Saka, but he was unable to control the ball. Insigne was then booked for a foul on Phillips; England's free kick was cleared by Italy as far as Shaw, whose shot was then fired over the crossbar. In the 87th minute, the match was briefly halted when a pitch invader ran onto the field.[113][114] Sterling made a run down the left into the penalty area in the 89th minute, but the ball went behind for a goal kick under pressure from Bonucci and Chiellini. An England free kick in injury time reached Stones, but he was unable to score. After Italy had advanced down the right through Cristante, Walker chested the ball to Pickford. In the last act of normal time, Saka broke free from Chiellini on the right-hand side. Chiellini grabbed Saka's shirt from behind, hauling him to the ground. Chiellini received a yellow card for the professional foul, but the attack was halted, the resulting free kick was cleared and the game went to extra time.[107]

Italy manager Mancini made a substitution early in extra time, bringing on Andrea Belotti for Insigne, the last of Italy's three starting attackers.[110] He then replaced Verratti with Locatelli.[107] In the 96th minute, Sterling ran in from the left, following a pass by Henderson. In what the Sky Sports live commentary team described as a "big, big chance for England", Sterling tried to find Kane or Saka in the middle, but Italy's Chiellini cleared for a corner.[105] The corner led to a chance for England through Phillips, but his low shot went wide and Donnarumma had it covered. In the 99th minute, Jack Grealish came on for England, replacing Mount. Phillips was then fouled just outside the area, but the referee chose to play advantage instead of giving England a free kick and the attack broke down.[107] Grealish had his first chance to attack in the 101st minute, taking the ball into the penalty area and passing to Saka, but it was deflected and failed to reach him. Italy then had a chance in the 103rd minute, when Emerson Palmieri beat Walker and crossed to Bernardeschi. The Italy winger failed to make contact with the ball and Pickford was able to punch the ball clear. The first half of extra time finished with the score still at 1–1.[105]

Maguire earned England's first yellow card of the match for a foul on Belotti in the 106th minute.[105] The resulting free kick was fired through England's wall by Bernardeschi, but Pickford saved before retrieving the rebound himself to end the danger.[105] In the 108th minute, Walker sent a long throw-in into the Italian penalty area, which was cleared by Italy as far as Kane; England's captain crossed the ball in, but Donnarumma was able to put Stones off enough to prevent him heading in the winning goal.[107] Sterling beat Chiellini close to the Italian by-line in the 111th minute, but the Italian then won the ball back and was able to clear. Two minutes later, Jorginho fouled Grealish as the two of them challenged for the ball, stamping on his thigh and receiving a booking. With the end of extra time approaching, both teams made late substitutions; Florenzi came on for Italy in place of Emerson, while Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford replaced Walker and Henderson for England. With no further significant attacks, the game finished 1–1 after extra time and went to a penalty shoot-out.[110]

A coin toss was held to determine which order the kicks would be taken in the penalty-shootout, which was won by Italy, and they chose to kick first. The shoot-out took place at the goal behind which many England fans were situated. Both sides' first penalties (from Berardi and Kane) were successful. England goalkeeper Pickford then saved from Belotti, before Maguire converted his kick to give England a 2–1 advantage. Bonucci scored to level the shoot-out at 2–2, before late substitute Rashford hit the left-hand post with England's third penalty. Bernardeschi gave Italy the lead again with a low shot down the middle, before England's other late substitute Sancho had his shot to the right saved by Donnarumma. Jorginho stepped up to take the possible match-winning penalty for Italy, looking to repeat his feat from the semi-final shoot-out victory over Spain, but had his shot to the left of the goal saved by Pickford. With the score 3–2 to Italy, Saka took England's fifth penalty looking to equalise and send the shoot-out to sudden death, but Donnarumma dived to his left and saved it to secure Italy's second European Championship.[107]

England's Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho (pictured in 2018, 2022, and 2020 respectively) were all subjected to online racial abuse after missing their penalties in the shootout.

After the game, England players Saka, Sancho and Rashford were subjected to racist abuse online after missing penalties in the shoot-out.[137] The three were immediately targeted with racist language and emojis on their social media accounts.[137] Sancho and Rashford were the last substitutions England made, brought on in the last minute to be able to take part in the penalty shoot-out.[138]

The Football Association "strongly condemned" the racist abuse and said it was "appalled by the online racism" aimed at some players on social media.[139][140] In a statement, it said: "We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible. We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences. Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse."[141] The Metropolitan Police began investigating the abuse and said on Twitter that the abuse was "totally unacceptable" and would not be tolerated.[142]

England manager Southgate said that "a lot of that has come from abroad, people who track these things are able to explain that, but not all of it." The BBC, the New Statesman and Reuters said that the global nature of the abuse could impede investigations and prosecutions;[143] the latter two publications pointed out a study from anti-racism group Kick It Out, which found that 70% of online abuse of English-based players in the last two years came from abroad.[144][145] The police received 600 reports of racist comments after the match and judged 207 to be criminal offences. Of these, 34 were from the UK and 123 from other countries; the remainder were unidentified as of 5 August. Details on the foreign accounts were passed on to the police in other countries.[146]

Boris Johnson, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer and the President of The Football Association, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, also condemned the racist abuse.[147][148] A mural in Manchester honouring Rashford was defaced soon after the match. The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham condemned the vandalism, calling it a "despicable, shameful act", and a police investigation was launched into the incident.[149] The mural was later decorated with hearts, flags and supportive messages by members of the public,[150] and was restored two days later.[151] Greater Manchester Police later said they thought the vandalism of the Rashford mural was "not racial".[152] During Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in Westminster on 14 July 2021, Johnson vowed to ban those responsible for online racial abuse from attending live football matches at stadiums.[153] Johnson also hoped that the Britain and Ireland's proposed bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup had not been derailed by the scenes of crowd trouble at the final.[154] On 15 July, police arrested four people in connection to the online abuse.[155]

Over the period of three days after the game, Saka, Sancho and Rashford expressed their gratitude for the support they received on their social media accounts.[156] Rashford apologised for his penalty miss but said he "won't apologise" for who he is and where he came from.[157] Sancho said "hate will never win" and "as a society we need to do better and hold these people accountable",[158] and Saka said he "knew instantly the kind of hate" he was going to receive.[159]

On 13 July 2021, a mural by street artist MurWalls depicting Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling was unveiled in Vinegar Yard, London Bridge, London.[160] A digital mural in Manchester featuring the three players that were racially abused (Saka, Sancho and Rashford) was also unveiled.[161]

Following the chaotic scenes, UEFA opened a disciplinary case against The Football Association for the invasion of the pitch by an England supporter, throwing of objects by supporters, booing during the Italian national anthem and the lighting of a firework.[162] On 3 August, UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against The Football Association for the behaviour of fans at the final.[163]

On 18 October, UEFA punished the Football Association for the unrest at the final by ordering England to play their next UEFA competition home match behind closed doors.[164] In addition, UEFA imposed a ban for a second game, suspended for two years and fined the FA £84,560 (€100,000).[165]

In mid-August, data emerged that showed 2,295 people in or around the stadium on the day of the final were likely infectious with COVID-19, with another 3,404 people in and around the ground potentially being infectious. Data from NHS Test and Trace showed that more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases were linked to Euro 2020 as a whole.[166]

In September 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL announced the winners of the European Championship and Copa América would face each other in an intercontinental match, beginning in 2022, as a revival of the former Artemio Franchi Cup.[167] Italy later played 2021 Copa América winners Argentina, in the "Finalissima", at Wembley in June 2022,[168] a match Italy lost 3–0.[169]

Three months after Euro 2020, Italy competed for another trophy in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals, UEFA's secondary national team competition. As hosts of the tournament, they lost their semi-final 2–1 in a rematch against Spain, ending their world-record 37-game unbeaten run.[170] Italy ultimately finished third after defeating Belgium 2–1.[171]

After winning their opening three World Cup qualifiers in March 2021, Italy only won one of their remaining five group matches after Euro 2020, drawing the remaining four. As a result, they entered the UEFA play-offs,[172] where they were drawn at home to face North Macedonia in the semi-finals.[173] Italy lost the game 1–0, conceding a goal in injury time at the end of the game which eliminated them from the World Cup.[174] As a result, they became the fourth reigning European champions to miss the subsequent World Cup.[175]

Following Euro 2020, England won five of their remaining seven World Cup qualifiers to win their group undefeated and qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[176]