“Whoopee! Italy won the European Championship title against England. This is so exciting!” said Scorch.
“What was the score?” inquired Felix.
“Since it was 1-1 at the end of the 90-minute match, 30 minutes extra play-time was given. Even then, the score remained 1-1. Post that, a penalty shootout was arranged in which Italy scored three goals and England scored two, resulting in the final score of 3-2,” Scorch informed.
“What are penalty shootouts?” Felix said, a little lost.
“These are five kicks given to each team after the score is tied. A tie is a score where both competing teams have scored equal goals. The shootout is given after the regular playing time and extra time. In that, each of the five chosen players from each team stands before the penalty mark – the white line marked before a goal post – and tries to score a goal. The team that scores the most goals in penalty shootouts, wins. In this case, it was Italy,” Scorch explained.
This was Italy’s second Euro Cup title and the first one in 53 years! That’s the longest gap by any country in the tournament. That’s what makes this win an auspicious and memorable one. But it was heavily disappointing for England, as they’ve been waiting to win a major trophy for 55 years!
“Wait, wait. I’m confused. What is the Euro Cup though?” Felix wondered.
“Formally known as UEFA European Championship, Euro Cup is a quadrennial (held every four years) championship which is organized for members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The first final of the championship took place in 1960. You can say it’s only second in terms of popularity and prestige to the World Cup,” Scorch replied.
“Oh, no wonder winning this was so important and glorious for Italy,” Felix said.