"You have come so far, but unfortunately this was not our day.
You can all stretch and be proud - I know there will be more. "
The words are Prince Williams, who after witnessing the drama from Wembley's stands tweeted his words of encouragement - words that reappeared in newspaper after newspaper when they summed up the final, and the entire championship.
"It hurts ... But we are so proud of you", writes the Daily Express on its front page, "Everything ends in tears" counters the Daily Mail while The Sun writes "The Lion's Pride", referring to the lion that is a symbol too many English national teams.
Proud league captain
Most people agree that the future is bright under 50-year-old Southgate's leadership and that new successes may well come already at the World Cup in Qatar next year - from supporters and newspaper columnists to the team itself.
- What we have created during this tournament is something really special.
We will probably have the World Cup in Qatar in 16 months and we are in good shape.
I am proud of the team and look forward to what we can do now, says Jordan Henderson, who had to jump into the final, according to The Guardian.
League captain Gareth Southgate told the BBC half an hour after the match that he needed to digest the loss before moving on, but that he too was proud of his team.
- They could not have played better than they did tonight.
We went further than we have done in so long.
The guys have given our country unforgettable memories.
Tonight it's hard for us of course, but the team can get better, the young guys have been fantastic.
But the future ... yes, I probably need a little more time to digest this.