Euro 2020: The Gareth Southgate substitution that 'cost England the final vs Italy'

England fans may not have many fond memories of the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.

After what had been a joyous gallop to the continental finale, England would fall agonisingly short after coming out on the wrong end of a penalty shoot-out against Italy.

It had all started so well after Luke Shaw thumped one home at the back post to give England an early lead, one they would hold onto well into the second-half.

The tide swung dramatically with the Italian equaliser though, and, as extra-time ticked on, it began to feel like England’s hopes were ebbing away.

However, while the end result was one that would rather be forgotten, there were many positives to take away from the championship as a whole.

England finally overcame their age-old rivals Germany in a knock-out game while the emergence of the likes of Calvin Phillips and Bukayo Saka showed that the future is in good hands.

Raheem Sterling was electric up front while the defence held fast to provide the foundation off which to launch.

Perhaps the biggest unsung hero of the tournament though, was Declan Rice.

The West Ham star was a cut above in the England midfield as he pulled the strings and directed play with a number of domineering performances.

Rice was strong and unforgiving in the tackle, assertive and ambitious going forward as well as cool and collected with the ball at his feet.

His performance in the final was perhaps his best of the lot as he ran the show for England.

Rice dominated the Italian midfield, keeping them quiet going forward and asking a lot of questions of them in defence.

He regularly broke the lines and made a habit of snuffing out attacks before they could get going.

Now, fans on Twitter are rallying behind the narrative that it was