Prince William personally consoled England team in their dressing room following Euro 2020 loss

‘[He] rightly thanked them for what they’ve done and been fulsome in his praise,’ says Gareth Southgate

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Duke of Cambridge personally consoled the England football team following their Euro 2020 loss against Italy on Sunday.

The historic match came to an end after a penalty shootout that followed a 1-1 score after extra time.

Prince William, who is the president of the FA, attended the game with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their eldest child, Prince George, who is seven years old.

He was seen celebrating England’s first goal with his son just two minutes into the match, and appeared to be very engaged with the game throughout.

Now, it’s been revealed that the prince actually paid a visit to the team’s dressing room after the game had ended.

Gareth Southgate revealed in a statement that the players had been struggling with the loss but William had offered some words of support.

“At the moment the players are, understandably, really quiet,” he said.

“The Duke [of Cambridge] has been down to see them in the dressing room and has rightly thanked them for what they’ve done and been fulsome in his praise.

“I just said to them that we could have no recriminations. We win and lose together. Nobody is left out on their own and the calls for the penalties were mine.”

Southgate continued: “In terms of the players, they’ve given everything they could have - not only tonight but through the whole tournament,” the England boss said after the 3-2 shootout defeat.

“They should hold their heads high. They’re a team who have pulled together, given the country some incredible evenings but of course tonight the devastation of getting so close and not being able to give our country the trophy we wanted to is difficult to put into context.”

He went on to say how proud he is of the team.

“You can imagine how the dressing room is so that of course is difficult to put into words at the moment but in terms of the players they’ve given absolutely everything and I’m very proud of them”.

In a statement after the game, Prince William told the players: “Heartbreaking. Congratulations @Azzurri on a great victory. @England, you’ve all come so far, but sadly this time it wasn’t our day. You can all hold your heads high, and be so proud of yourselves - I know there’s more to come.”

On Monday, following the game, the Duke of Cambridge issued a statement regarding racist abuse towards the players - particularly Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho - following the result.