The Euros is over…Congrats ITALY: Our Best EURO 2021 XI.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: Giorgio Chiellini, Captain of Italy lifts The Henri Delaunay Trophy following his team’s victory in the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium on July 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

The Italians triumphed on penalties over the English at Wembley on Sunday after a thrilling tournament. The English fans serenaded the footballing world with chants of “it’s coming home” and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline; but it wasn’t meant to be as they were halted by an all too familiar foe – The Dreaded Penalty Shootout.
The English can take solace from their best showing at a major tournament in 55 years and hope to bounce back in Qatar 2022 world cup. The Italians had been the best team the entire tournament and shown their dominance in every game except the thrilling Semi final against the Spanish team which they scaled through on penalties. The Euro triumph is a testament of the excellent job done by Roberto Mancini whose last defeat with the side came in 2018.

Phillips and Shaw consoling a distraught Saka, who had his penalty saved by Donnaruma.

The Euros is over after a month of entertainment and excitement; with 142 goals in 51 matches, this is the highest scoring euros in recent memory with Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick topping the scoring chart with 5 goals each.
With several players impressing in the tournament, selecting the best xi was incredibly difficult. Here’s my selection for the Best XI from the tournament;

ilfpodcast.com Euros Best XI

Honorable Mentions:
Mikkel Damsgaard
Romelu Lukaku
Harry Maguire
Paul Pogba
Kasper Dolberg
Dani Olmo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Joakim Mæhle
Kalvin Phillips
Simon Kjær 
Jordan Pickford
Leonardo Spinazzola
Steven Zuber
Marco Verratti
Alexander Isak
Bukayo Saka