All this talk of England's approach, isn't the truth that Italy won because they had slightly better players and were the slightly better side?

Right from their first game when they demolished a much fancied Turkish team, Italy have looked the best team in the tournament to me with the only doubt being whether they could maintain what was a high intensity pressing game. The answer to that question was kind of I suppose, because they were not as physically dynamic as the tournament came into its closing stages, but they had the ability to cope with that and more.

I'm glad England lost, but the time when us non English brits will have to put up with them winning a tournament could well be not too far away, although I do wonder if Rice and Phillips have it in them to be influential players at the very top level of the international game.

Feel very sorry for those who missed penalties with the good thing being I suppose that no single player has to carry the can like Southgate had to in 1996. I wouldn't be too critical of those who didn't want to be among the first five penalty takers because the first requirement surely is that the taker has to feel fairly comfortable about being under such intense pressure, but having the teenager Saka down as fifth on the list does look odd given that it is so often the most crucial penalty of the lot.