Italy won a particular Euro on Sunday evening, marked in particular by the impact of Covid-19 and an organization across the continent.

Other events punctuated this month of competition where political subjects were never very far from the field.

DECRYPTION

Here it is, it's over: Euro 2020, disputed in 2021 because of Covid-19, was won Sunday evening by Italy after a breathless penalty shootout.

The conclusion of a tournament like no other, already very disturbed in terms of health.

Add to that repeated controversies and a criticized organization and you get a very special competition, rich in twists and turns.

By way of conclusion, Europe 1 invites you to close this European Championship with six highlights that have occurred since June 11.

Suspense until the end!

The outcome of this competition took place in the London night, near midnight, with a penalty shootout won by the Italians.

This is not the only knockout fixture played until the final round: four of them saw the teams come out like this.

In addition, four games were played until extra time.

As a result, less than half of knockout matches (seven out of fifteen) took place in "just" 90 minutes.

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A prolific Euro ...

If the scenario of the matches has long seemed undecided, the twists have not really failed for a month.

With 142 goals scored, the Euro is the most prolific in absolute terms, against 108 in 2016 and 85 in 2000 (there were only 16 teams before 2016).

It is also in relative terms: there were on average 2.78 goals per game, more than in 2000 (2.74) and in 1984 (2.73).

Finally, there were 11 goals against his camp, more than in all the European championships cumulated since 1960 (9 csc).

... and politics

There was no lack of controversy during this tournament.

This European championship was marked by the debate on the knee to the ground, a symbol of the fight against discrimination, then by the "rainbow-gate", when the UEFA decided to refuse the illumination of the Munich stadium to the rainbow colors of the LGBT community to criticize legislation deemed homophobic in Hungary.

The body was also singled out for choosing Azerbaijan, an authoritarian country, as one of the host countries.

Ukrainians and Russians also clashed over the issue of slogans displayed on Ukraine's shirts, an issue that observers felt was mismanaged by UEFA.

The fear Eriksen and the epic of Denmark

They were not so far from reproducing the feat of 1992, when they had triumphed to everyone's surprise.

But the Danes had to stop in the semifinals, at the end of an epic started by a big fear: in the first match, against Finland, captain Christian Eriksen suffered a serious discomfort and collapsed in front of cameras around the world.

Saved on time and taken care of at Copenhagen hospital before resuming a normal life, the midfielder was then able to observe his family developing good football until the last four.

Inequalities of movement

The English, unhappy finalists, have they been greatly advantaged in the organization of this Euro?

Gareth Southgate's players have made six out of seven matches at home, with plenty of supporters present at Wembley.

At the same time, other selections like Switzerland had to travel great distances to play their matches.

What arouse strong criticism on the model of a Euro in several countries, a source of less sporting equity between nations.

In 2024, the European Championship returns to a more classic form, in only one country: Germany, with no displacement exceeding 700 km.

The disillusionment of the Blues

World champions, the Blues left the Euro by the back door while many promised them a new golden destiny under the orders of Didier Deschamps. But trapped by Switzerland, unable to develop solid and attractive football over the long haul, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann's teammates experienced real disillusionment in the round of 16. A disappointed country, bitter players and a tasteless end to the tournament: for the France team, this Euro is simply to be forgotten.