​It was the moment many England fans never dared to believe would happen. England came as close as it was possible to a win but supporters ended the night dejected, losing to Italy on penalties.

It had started out well, as buzzing with nervous anticipation, fans in Leeds gathered for what was expected to be a tough Euro 2020 final against Italy, a team unbeaten in 33 games. But in spite of the statistics, at Britain’s oldest working men’s club, a defiant optimism was in the air.

“They’re going to win,” said John Saville, sitting at a table upstairs in the Holbeck with his partner, Lindsay, and three girls aged nine, seven and four. “They’re playing really good this year. I think it will be 1-1, but England will win on penalties. I’ve just got a good feeling.”

But there was disharmony in the family as Lindsay and their eldest daughter disagreed. She said: “They’re going to lose, aren’t they? Italy’s that good. It will be 3-1, that’s my prediction. The last game shouldn’t have been a penalty.”

As the England team lined up on the pitch, the club sang a joyful, full-throated rendition of God Save the Queen in time with the players.

Sue ‘Yorkshire Lass’ supporting England at the Holbeck working man’s club in Leeds.

The Holbeck was mostly full of local families who live on the estate nearby and know each other well. Most of the kids go to school together, and the adults are neighbours who regularly see each other at events here, from theatre to bingo.

Almost everyone was wearing some form of England merchandise, and many shirts carried the name of 25-year-old midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who grew up less than two miles away in Wortley and is every bit a local hero.

“It’s already home,” said Samantha Hatfield, whose uncle Paul was Phillips’s coach and spotted his star potential as an eight-year-old. “I’ve been a football fan all my life. I grew up going to Elland Road, so I had to learn to like it.”

Her partner, Damien Woodham, added: “We’ve met Phillips so many times – he’s always out and about round here. He’s a decent fella, a good lad, really down to earth.”

Kalvin Phillips in action against Andrea Belotti of Italy during the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, 11 July.

The crowd had barely settled in to watch the game when the unexpected goal from Luke Shaw had everyone on their feet, the floor shaking from the fans’ enthusiastic jumping up and down on the carpet tiles. But Lindsay Saville remained unconvinced. “I still think Italy are going to win,” she said.

Woodham said: “You see, she’s very negative. If England win, she’ll just say it was a fluke.”

At the next table, Bea Fuentes and Jose Fernandez, Spaniards who have lived in the UK 11 years, were supporting England – in England shirts – partly because Spain and Italy are “mortal enemies” and partly because for a love of the country they have made a home in. “It wasn’t a matter of Italy against anyone, we’re supporting England,” said Fuentes.

During the game, Fuentes got a call from her builder. “That was so funny – he was so pissed. He was saying he’s not coming tomorrow. He finished at 12 today and said he was going straight to the pub. He’s probably been drinking since then.”

At half-time, Fuentes was worried the early goal had made England too relaxed. She said: “They feel less pressure now they are one-nil up, and with Italy you have to be awake all the time.”

And perhaps she was right. When Italy equalised early in the second half, there was uproar in the room. Fuentes said: “Now it gets interesting. I can’t do any more penalties. I was on my knees with the Spanish ones. I hope we win – we need it. We need some happiness this year.”

But the 30 minutes of extra time were subdued. Children were becoming restless staying up past their bedtime and the parents stared anxiously at the projector screen. The “Come on England!” cries became increasingly hoarse.

An especially tense final, big moments such as Giorgio Chiellini’s foul on Bukayo Saka drew huge reactions from the crowd.

The club was operating on table service. Before the penalties, a barman asked everyone who wanted a drink to put their hand up. Almost every hand shot in the air. The penalties were a wall of noise, with an electric tension in the air. When Jordan Pickford saved Italy’s second penalty, fans stood on upholstered chairs and they stayed there for Harry Maguire’s goal.

But people dropped to the floor when Italy went three penalties up to England’s two. In the moments after the last penalty, grown men sat silently, head in hands, processing the loss of hope. “I’m gutted,” was all that Woodham managed to say.

Yet for many youngsters here, this is the first England team they have known and the gravity of their home nation making the Euros final does not seem to have fully landed. But one message is getting through.

Khalil Hussain and Carter Lewis, both 12, want to be professional footballers – an ambition that is not out of the question as the pair currently play for Phillips’s childhood team, Wortley Juniors.

Seeing Phillips on the big screen gives them a huge amount of motivation, they said. “It gives us belief,” said centre-back Hussain. “It feels like we could do the same and he’s just an inspirational figure,” Lewis, a striker, added.