Euro 2020: Italy fans ecstatic after England defeated in Wembley finalon July 11, 2021 at 11:22 pm

There have been scenes of jubilation across Italy after their football team defeated England 3-2 on penalties in the Euro 2020 final in London.

At a fan zone in Rome, thousands of fans started jumping in pure elation, shouting and hugging each other.

The victory at Wembley stadium brought Italy its first European title since 1968.

England remain without a major trophy since 1966, when they beat West Germany in the World Cup final 4-2.

Ecstatic Italy fans started street parties across the country immediately after the penalty shootout.

“I am so happy! We are Euro champions, I am going to celebrate all night, I am going to celebrate all night!” Beatrice Mattioli in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo fan zone told Reuters news agency.

“It’s incredible, it’s incredible, you can’t feel better than this, it is amazing, we won the final!” said Stefano Gucci, another supporter in the Italian capital.

There is a sense of complete elation, the BBC’s Mark Lowen in the Rome fan zone reports.

The victory means a lot for Italy both in footballing terms and also in the mood in the country that had a torrid year-and-a-half with Covid and the economic fallout from that.

And now they have got something to smile about, and Italians know how to party, our correspondent says, adding that the nation is now feeling absolutely united.

Many Italian fans have been praising Italy manager Roberto Mancini for revolutionising the national team by bringing in younger players.

“Mancini is the central man of this Italian miracle,” Alvaro Moretti, the deputy editor of the daily Il Messaggero, told the BBC before Sunday’s final.