The exuberance of England’s appearance in the Euro championship match was quickly overtaken by disappointment in a loss to Italy and the ensuing racist attacks aimed at the three Black players who missed penalty kicks.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho missed two kicks, but it was the final miss by Bukayo Saka that gave Italy the win. The 19-year-old player wept, covering his head with his shirt as he was surrounded by his teammates and hugged by Gareth Southgate, the England manager who personally knows the disappointment of missing a kick in a big game. He sent Rashford and Sancho into the game in the 120th minute with an eye toward penalty kicks.