England manager, Gareth Southgate has taken responsibility for their Euro 2021 final defeat to Italy on Sunday.
Southgate insisted after the game “it was my fault”, as he defended the three players who missed during the decisive shootout.
The two sides could not be separated after 120 minutes of action, after Leonardo Bonucci cancelled out Luke Shaw’s early opener.
Andrea Belotti and Jorginho saw their kicks saved by Jordan Pickford, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed for England.
Southgate has experienced his own penalty, having missed the crucial spot kick in the Euro ’96 semi-final against Germany at the same stadium.
He moved to console Saka immediately after the shootout and was keen to protect the youngster from any blame as he revealed he had hand-picked his five takers.
“That’s my decision to give him that penalty, that’s totally my responsibility.
“It’s not him or Marcus or Jadon, we work together, we work through them in training, that’s the order we came to.
“That’s my decision as a coach,” Southgate said.
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