ENGLAND PENALTY WAS GENEROUS – VERRATTI

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) midfielder Marco Verrattisays England were given a generous penalty during their semifinal clash with Denmark at the Euro 2020 tournament. Verratti said this in a chat with reporters yesterday. He faced the press as his Italian team prepares to face the Three Lions of England in the final of the tournament on Sunday.

England were awarded a controversial penalty in the first half of extra time after Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling was adjudged to have been felled by a tackle from Denmark wing back JoakimMaehle. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane stepped up to take the penalty which the England skipper missed thanks to a fantastic save from Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel but he was on hand to score the rebound to win the game for his country. The goal was enough to give England a 2-1 win over the Danes at the end of their game at the Wembley Stadium on Wednesday thereby setting up a final clash with PSG star Verratti and his Italian teammates. On the penalty decision, Verratti said he won’t have given the spot kick and that it was generous in favour of the English team.

On facing England in the final, Verratti told the press that the Three Lions have talented players and that Italy have to respect the talents in their team. The PSG player went on to say that England deserve to be in the final.

Verratti and Italy had booked their place in the Euro 2020 final 24 hours earlier than England after seeing off Spain on penalties in what was a repeat of the Euro 2012 final. Spain retained their title by thrashing Italy 4-0 in that Euro 2012 final but it was the Italians who were smiling on this occasion. Italy won 4-2 on penalties after the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.