England’s Luke Shaw opened the scoring of the Euro 2020 final this evening, with the Manchester United stopper, in turn, having etched his name into the competition’s history books.
Lightning opener
The Three Lions are of course currently locked in action with Italy, in the finale of the European Championships.
Gareth Southgate’s men headed into proceedings with spirits high in the nation’s camp, having enjoyed an absolutely wonderful summer to date.
Italy, though, amid a remarkable 33-game unbeaten streak, were always likely to prove England’s toughest task to date, with a cagey, hard-fought affair having therefore understandably been predicted by most.
In turn, it came as nothing short of a shock when, inside the opening two minutes at Wembley, the scoring was opened.
A scintillating English breakaway, set in motion by Harry Kane, eventually culminated in Kieran Trippier’s pinpoint ball from the right being lashed home at Gianluigi Donnarumma’s near post by Luke Shaw:
LUKE SHAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watch and listen on the BBChttps://t.co/dxIEr6G0no #ITAENG #Euro2020 #bbceuro2020 pic.twitter.com/6F9A1CTo3N
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 11, 2021
Record-breaker
And, as outlined above, in finding the net for the first time in his international career, Shaw, who has enjoyed a stunning summer to date, also made European Championship history.
As confirmed online, the Manchester United star’s goal this evening marked the fastest ever in the finale of the competition, at one minute and 57 seconds:
Luke Shaw’s goal against #ITA is the fastest goal scored in European Championship final history and his first-ever in an England shirt.
The DREAM start. 😍 pic.twitter.com/vWQWuVoREs
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 11, 2021
Not only that, but it has since also been revealed that Shaw has joined Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling as England’s most productive offensive threat at Euro 2020:
No England player has been directly involved in more goals at #EURO2020 than Luke Shaw [4].
3 assists and 1 goal. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8gOKKF3HXA
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) July 11, 2021
Th ex-Southampton man simply continues to prove his doubters wrong, with Shaw, each and every time he steps foot on the pitch, seemingly adding further weight to the argument that he is now the finest left-back on the planet.
Italy vs England live streaming: Watch Euro 2020 Final online, TV channel and listen on radio
Lionel Messi set an unprecedented international record in Argentina’s Copa triumph over Brazil
