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Italy are UEFA Euro 2020 champions after a dramatic 3-2 penalty victory over England followed a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium on Sunday to secure their second continental crown after their 1968 triumph.

Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka's spot kicks as Marcus Rashford hit the post after Leonardo Bonucci's equalizer had cancelled out Luke Shaw's early opener in a nail-biting spectacle.

The occasion was marred somewhat by ugly scenes in an around the ground before and during the match and a boisterous home crowd grew even more vociferous inside the opening two minutes when Luke Shaw volleyed home for the English from a Kieran Trippier assist.

Roberto Mancini's Azzurri side were stunned and struggled to muster much before half time and went in a goal down at the break but returned to the pitch with renewed purpose and turned the encounter around.

Jordan Pickford tipped a Marco Verratti header against the post in the 67th minute only for Bonucci to turn the rebound in to pull the Italians level and it felt like there would only be one winner from that point onwards -- over 90 minutes or beyond.

It went all the way through 120 minutes without a further goal and despite Pickford denying both Andrea Belotti and Jorginho's penalties, Rashford's miss and Donnarumma's pair of saves secured the Henri Delaunay trophy for Italy.

While there will be plenty of debate over a number of flashpoints, notably Giorgio Chiellini's unapologetically cynical shirt tug on Saka and Jorginho's brutal foul on Jack Grealish -- both only yellow cards -- the Azzurri's strength of character deserves recognition and praise.

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Even when Euro breakout star and constant menace Federico Chiesa was forced off injured, Mancini's men did not give up and dug even deeper having already seen Leonardo Spinazzola rupture his achilles tendon earlier in the tournament.

Indeed, Jorginho looked like he would need to be replaced early on and played through the pain barrier with discipline to keep the midfield woven together as Nicolo Barella and the metronomic Marco Verratti were withdrawn around him in the sort of display that could see him crowned as the next Ballon d'Or winner.

For a player who missed the two opening games through injury and had to earn his starting berth all over again after the emergence of Manuel Locatelli, the Paris Saint-Germain maestro was excellent and shone again with an involved display that was far superior to that of his English counterparts.

Verratti was not the only PSG (or soon to officially be PSG) man who made himself a hero as Donnarumma came to the fore during penalties to deny Sancho and Saka in heartbreaking fashion for the home support as he confirmed himself as UEFA's player of the tournament.

Special mention must go to the veteran pair of Chiellini and Bonucci who rolled back the years to provide rock-like strength from the back after going down early and although the former was very lucky to stay on the pitch for his Saka stunt, the latter's confidence never wavered -- it only grew.

Emerson fared well with the thankless task of filling in for the missing Spinazzola and Lorenzo Insigne also put in a shift for the team without the reward of a goal as Mancini managed to change just enough of his pieces to guide Italy through the 120 minutes to penalties.

It would be unfair to Southgate to say that his opposite number outclassed him tactically as the former Manchester City boss' game plan for the entire first half went out the window when Shaw scored but the Italian did not panic.

When Jorginho looked like he might need to come off, Mancini gave him maximum time to recover, and his players held firm to ensure that no further damage was done while he also made the tough decisions to withdraw Nicolo Barella and the ineffective Ciro Immobile.

Italy have been one of the feelgood stories of this Euro 2020 and now they are the tournament's ultimate victors, which will aggrieve England and their fans who lost out on home soil, they were not undeserving champions.

This is testament to the way that Mancini has rejuvenated his country internationally and their current unbeaten run (34 games) and success here also points to the talent that this old footballing powerhouse still creates even if the dynastic potential is not the same as France or England's.

For some, like Chiellini and Bonucci, it may well be the final success in glittering careers as Juve struggle domestically while for others, such as SSC Napoli's Insigne and PSG's Verratti, it could prove to be the highest point of their careers for club and country.

Younger players like Donnarumma and Barella will almost certainly go on to fight for multiple Euro and World Cup titles in the future, but it might be a while before they come across the same sort of chemistry that this group currently enjoys.

A lot can change between now and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but Italy will go there as reigning European champions and fancied to go on a deep run again as rival powers look to rebound from disappointment this summer.

Regardless of how long this moment in the sun lasts, it is hard to begrudge this extremely likable Azzurri side what has been a merited Euro victory overall.