Prince William consoled devastated England footballers after Euro 2020 final

Prince William told the England playing squad to leave Wembley with their heads held high following their heartbreaking defeat to Italy during the final of Euro 2020.

The Three Lions came agonisingly close to major tournament glory following wins over Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine and Denmark – but fell short at the final hurdle.

With Luke Shaw's opening goal cancelled out by Italy veteran Leonardo Bonucci, each of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed from the spot as Roberto Mancini's men triumphed.

Despite the obvious disappointment around the home dressing room, the arrival and subsequent speech of Prince William, who is second in the line of succession to the throne, raised spirits.

As detailed by Conor Coady in an interview with The Times, skipper Harry Kane introduced the current President of the FA – who brought with him a rousing message of support.

The Wolves defender said: "I'm sat there thinking, 'Oh my God, this is madness'. Then William spoke and the way he spoke was incredible.

"It was about how much the country loves the team, what the team has done for people, and don't ever leave here with your heads down.

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"Harry Kane got up and introduced him to all the boys and he went round and the way he embraced everybody, Rashy, Sanch and Saks in particular… it was incredible.

"A moment that will live with me for ever. It was a pinch-me moment.

"When they left, you felt, not so much an energy but just, 'it's OK now to go and get changed — and let's go see our families and our kids that we haven't seen for five weeks.'"

Coady had previously said of the visit to The Athletic : "We were in our own little bubble and I think that gave us a wider sense of how the country felt.

"Nothing will take away the pain, but that definitely helped.

"We had to stay there until 1am because of the trouble outside Wembley.

"The gaffer just said, ‘Believe. Keep on believing. Don’t stop. And when you leave this room, do not walk out with your heads down. Be proud of what you’ve done’."

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