Jadon Sancho responds to racial abuse and Euro 2020 exit

Jadon Sancho has revealed his pain after missing a penalty against Italy in the final of Euro 2020, before going on to slam the vile abuse received by both himself and his teammates on social media in the aftermath of the game.

England came within inches of being crowned European champions for the first time in their history last Sunday, but once again they suffered the heartbreak of penalty shootout failure.

Sancho was one of the three England players to fail from the spot and he's taken to his personal social media page to apologise for his role in the defeat, claiming there's plenty of positives both he and the team can take from the tournament.

"I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on Sunday's final and still feel a mix of emotions," he wrote. "I would like to say sorry to all my teammates, coaching staff and most of all the fans who I let down. This is by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in my career.

"It’s hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time.

"My first thought before going into any football match is always, 'how can I help my team? How am I going to assist? How am I going to score? How am I going to create chances?' And that’s exactly what I wanted to do with that penalty - help the team.

"I was ready and confident to take it, these are the moments you dream of as a kid, it is why I play football. These are the pressured situations you want to be under as a footballer. I’ve scored penalties before at club level, I’ve practiced them countless times for both club and country so I picked my corner but it just wasn’t meant to be this time.

"We all had the same ambitions and objectives. We wanted to bring the trophy home. This has been one of the most enjoyable camps I’ve been part of in my career so far, the togetherness of the team has been unmatched, a real family on and off the pitch."

Despite the majority of the country showing support for Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford following their penalty misses, a number of vile racist comments were sent to the trio following England's defeat.

Sancho has refused to ignore the comments, telling anyone who has received similar abuse to hold their head up high before expressing his pride at representing his country.

"I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus [Rashford] and Bukayo [Saka] received after the game, but sadly it's nothing new," he added. "As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable. Hate will never win.

"To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream. I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people.

"Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward. I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative.

"It’s been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt and I have no doubt we’ll be back even stronger! Stay safe and see you soon."