‘The future looks bright for England’ – KP Boateng shows support for Saka, Rashford and Sancho

Former Ghana forward Kevin-Prince Boateng has shown his support for England stars Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho following their missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

After holding Italy to a 1-1 draw at the end of extra-time, the trio were among the five selected players involved in the penalty shoot-out for England.

Andrea Belotti had missed Italy's second attempt and the score was tied at 2-2 before Rashford misplaced his effort followed by Sancho’s strike which was parried by Gianluigi Donnarumma and Saka missed their fifth attempt with the Italian goalkeeper saving it again.

The 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss came as a disappointment to the home fans at Wembley Stadium and it further stretched England’s wait for their maiden European Championship trophy.

Despite criticisms levelled against the three forwards, Boateng shared an encouraging post on social media and he described Rashford, Saka and Sancho as the future of the Three Lions.

"The future looks bright for England! Black young kings. No to racism," the new Hertha Berlin signing wrote on Instagram with a picture of the trio wearing crowns.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have also shown their solidarity with Saka following reports of racist abuse towards the 19-year-old.

“Last night, we saw Bukayo Saka reach the Euro 2020 final at the age of 19 years old,” read the club statement.

“Bukayo has been with us since he was seven and the whole club couldn’t have been prouder to see him represent England throughout the tournament. You could feel it right across the club.

“Last night we witnessed the leadership and character we’ve always known and loved in Bukayo. However, this feeling of pride quickly turned to sorrow at the racist comments our young player was subjected to on his social media platforms after the final whistle.

“Once again, we are sad to have to say we condemn the racism towards a number of black players. This cannot continue and the social media platforms and authorities must act to ensure this disgusting abuse to which our players are subjected on a daily basis stops now.

“We have processes in place internally at Arsenal to ensure our players are supported both emotionally and practically on this issue but sadly there is only so much we can do.

“Our message to Bukayo is: hold your head high, we are so very proud of you and we cannot wait to welcome you back home to Arsenal soon.”