By Isaiah and Arbutus Wuest

It is hard for a devoted England fan to write about the tragic Euro 2020 final that set the “Three Lions” against the Azzurri (Italy). With the evenly matched teams still tied 1–1 after the 30-minute overtime period, England’s infamous “penalty curse” stuck fast as England fell 3–2 on the fateful spot-kicks. In brief, they have previously exited six major competitions in penalties (World Cup 1990, 1998, 2006; Euro 1996, 2004, 2012).

Grief aside, it must be said that Italy was the best team throughout the competition and thoroughly deserve their second Euro title (they also won in 1968). On the other hand, it is hard for English fans to stomach the loss, especially since it was so harshly decided by a gutting penalty shoot-out.

Overall, the Euro 2020 was a truly great competition, with everything a major tournament needs: excitement, drama, upsets, lots of goals (a total of 140), a “Cinderella team” in Denmark, and no shortage of top skill on display. To highlight some of the most remarkable upsets, the top two teams according to FIFA rankings (Belgium and France) failed to make the semi-finals. Other highly favored sides, including Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands, all exited in the round of sixteen.

As a closing of the tournament, we have compiled a few “best of” lists. First, the top five matches of the competition: 1) Denmark vs. Russia (4–1) in the final round of the group stage; 2) Switzerland vs. France (3–3 / 5–4 penalties) in the round of sixteen; 3) Spain vs. Croatia (5–3 after extra time) in the round of sixteen; 4) Sweden vs. Poland (3–2) in the final round of the group stage; 5) England vs. Germany (2–0) in the round of 16. If you haven’t seen any of these matches, they’d be well worth watching. You can watch the full match replay at www.eplfootballmatch.com or watch match highlights by searching the Internet for the match in question.

Our second list is of the top ten goals of the tournament: 1) Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick in the group stage match versus Scotland; 2) France’s Paul Pogba in the round of sixteen match versus Switzerland; 3) Turkey’s Irfan Kahveci in the group stage match versus Switzerland; 4) Croatia’s Luka Modric in the group stage match versus Scotland; 5) Italy’s Lorenzo Insigne in the quarter-final match versus Belgium; 6) Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko in the group stage match versus the Netherlands; 7) Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri in the group stage match versus Turkey; 8) Poland’s Robert Lewendowski in the group stage match versus Sweden; 9) Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard in the semi-final versus England; 10) Another by Damsgaard in the group stage match versus Russia. We highly recommend watching these extraordinary finishes, and you can do so by searching the Internet for the match in question. UEFA also often posts their own top-ten goal list.

Third, we have put together a “dream team” comprised of the most outstanding players of the tournament that includes the starting eleven (in a 4-2-3-1 formation) along with a sub for each position. Goalkeeper: England’s Jordan Pickford. If there were a golden glove awarded for the Euro, Pickford would receive it, as he only conceded two goals (and only one was in open play). Defenders: England’s Luke Shaw (left back), Harry Maguire (center half), and Kyle Walker (right back), along with Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini (center half). (We admit that the defensive line is heavily British, but they only conceded two goals and had the best defensive record in the tournament.) Midfield and wide: Denmark’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (defensive mid), Italy’s Jorginho (center mid), Raheem Sterling (left wing), Cristiano Ronaldo (play maker), and Federico Chiesa (right wing). Forward: Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick.

And here is our list for the super-subs. Goalkeeper: Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma. Defender: Denmark’s Simon Kjaer. Midfield and wide: Spain’s Dani Olmo. Forward: England’s Harry Kane.

Isaiah (18) and Arbutus (14) Wuest live in Adams County and play soccer for the West Union High School team.