England captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that his players would go back home heartbroken after crashing out of the Euro Cup following a quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Italy, but also added that they have done their country proud.
The ghost of penalty shootout once again came to haunt England, as they lost 4-3 to Italy. Earlier, both teams failed to find the net during the stipulated 90 minutes plus 30 minutes of extra time.
Ashley Young and Ashley Cole both missed penalties for England but Gerrard said the players had given everything for the country.
"The lads at the back were fantastic, we have done the country proud but we go home heartbroken, and that is hard to take," The Daily Mirror quoted Gerrard, as saying.
"The players have given everything. I thought we might have the luck in the penalty shoot-out but it wasn't to be," he added.
"When you get your nose in front during a shoot-out, you just hope you can hang on but credit to Italy, they got the luck in the shoot-out," he said. (ANI)
