Gareth Southgate's admission over his gamble during England's defeat to Italy explains his controversial decision for the penalty shootout defeat.
The Three Lions succumbed to a 3-2 loss on penalties after an extremely tense 1-1 draw with Italy at Wembley in the final of Euro 2020.
England boss Southgate has come under heavy criticism for his decisions towards the end of the match, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho both missing their spot kicks, despite being brought on at the death of extra time.
Southgate has explained that he brought on the soon-to-be Manchester United pair to try and grab a goal late in the game, labelling the decision a "gamble" that ultimately did not pay off.
“That’s always the risk that you run," the England manager told ITV. "But they’ve been by far the best and to get all those attacking players on the pitch you have to do it late.
“It was a gamble, but if we gambled early we may have lost the game in normal time anyway. We did start well, I think our system worked well against theirs."
Arsenal's teenage sensation Bukayo Saka was tasked with the responsibility of taking the decisive fifth penalty.
Who should Southgate put on the final penalty? Have your say in the comments section
That call has also drawn disapproval, with many feeling the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish were better candidates thanks to their experience.
And Southgate has taken the full brunt of the blame for the events that unfolded, insisting that he had worked with the players in training before coming to that decision.
“That’s my decision to give him that penalty, that’s totally my responsibility," he added.
"It’s not him or Marcus or Jadon, we work together, we work through them in training, that’s the order we came to. That’s my call as a coach."
Southgate also claimed that England had done their due diligence to be ready for penalties, despite missing three penalties.
He went on: “We prepared as well as we could for the (penalty shootout), that’s my responsibility, I chose the guys to take the kicks.
“In the end, we weren’t quite able to see the game through in the normal regulation time.
“It was very tight, Italy showed they’re the outstanding side that they are and why they’re 30 games unbeaten.
“Our players have done themselves proud, every one of them has been exceptional. It’s the first time we’ve got to a final, and we’re unbelievably disappointed not to go that one step further."
