England fans suffered yet more penalty agony after losing to Italy in the final of the European Championships.

The quarter final finished goalless after extra time before the dreaded spot kicks sealed Italy's victory in Ukraine.

It means The Three Lions have now bowed out of six tournaments on penalties, the last four of which have come at the quarter-final stage.

Mario Balotelli scored Italy's first spot kick in confident fashion despite the 6,000 baying England fans in the stand in front of him.

England captain Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney both scored from the spot, giving fans a glimpse of hope. But dreams that this could have been England's year were dashed when Ashley Young struck the bar and Ashley Cole's weak shot was saved by Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The England side may be considered lucky to have made it as far as they did after Italy enjoyed the lion's share of possession over 90 minutes.

The back four, led by John Terry, kept the side in the game absorbing wave after wave of Italian attacks masterminded almost invariably by The Azzurri's talismanic Andrea Pirlo.

"I've been very happy with what I've seen with this group of players and the way they've responded to the demands of an England shirt," said Hodgson.

"They've shown they're capable of stepping up to the plate.

"They're bitterly disappointed they couldn't take it one step further, but we've got good young payers coming through and this experience has been important for them."