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ENGLAND stars show their pain last night after yet ANOTHER penalties defeat saw them crash out of Euro 2012.Roy Hodgson�s battlers lost on spot-kicks to Italy after a goal-less quarter-final in Ukraine capital Kiev. But sad Three Lions fans could console themselves with the prospect of the upcoming London Olympics � and the start of Wimbledon tennis today. In a game of high drama England�s two Ashleys both missed from the spot. Ashley Young hit the bar and a minute later Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon saved from Ashley Cole. Hodgson�s team had fought tooth and nail in the face of waves of Italian attacks in the cauldron of Kiev�s Olympic Stadium. The score was 0-0 after extra-time. But the dream ended as the Italians, who dominated for much of the game and had a goal disallowed, emerged 4-2 winners on penalties. History had repeated itself � the Three Lions have gone out on penalties at five previous World Cups and Euro competitions. Skipper Steven Gerrard said after the match: �We leave with our heads held high � but it doesn�t help with the heartbreak. �I just feel for the players, who since day one have given absolutely everything. Today we did the same. �I thought this time on a penalty shoot-out we might have had that bit of luck we needed. �But it wasn�t to be. In a shoot-out, when you get your nose in front, you�re praying that you see it out and it�s your turn. �But credit to Italy, they�re a fantastic team and they got a bit of luck in the shoot-out. �The lads at the back were fantastic tonight and everyone�s been great in training. �Every time we�ve come out, I think we�ve done the country proud. But once again we go home with heartbreak, which is difficult to take.� Striker Wayne Rooney said: �We are all gutted. �It was a tough game and we all worked hard, so to lose on penalties is a horrible feeling for everyone.� A tearful looking England boss Roy Hodgson said: �We were quite magnificent throughout. And I�ve never seen such enormous support, right from the first whistle, �When we took it to penalties I was rather hoping this might be our tournament to win on penalties. The five penalty takers we had are very good ones. �We�ve been doing a fair amount in training and I�ve been watching Ashley Cole and Ashley Young smashing in penalties on a regular basis � so of course you hope. �But the practising didn�t help us too much on this occasion. The bottom line is you can�t reproduce the tired legs, you can�t reproduce the pressure, you can�t reproduce the feeling of nervous tension. �So they stood up to it better than we did. Maybe it�s just fated at the moment that we don�t win on penalties. �But I really can�t fault any of the players for their effort. �But they kept us in the game right to the end. And when you go to penalties you do have a chance. �Unfortunately it was Italy who took the chance and not us.� Roy added he felt his players could leave the tournament with their heads held high. He said: �I thought the chances, funnily enough, were there for both teams. I thought we created some very good chance ourselves. �But it was always going to be a question of who was going to take the chance. �As the extra time wore on, we were tiring badly and we weren�t able to establish enough possession in midfield � so they came at us time and time again. �We have lost and it was cruel to lose on penalties. We�ve gone out but we�ve gone out with our heads held high. �I think the lads have done a fantastic job for the country.� The jubilant Italians now face a semi-final showdown with joint tournament favourites Germany in Warsaw on Thursday. The winners will meet Spain or Portugal in next Sunday�s final. Beaten England fly home today. Hodgson�s men � beset by injuries and Rooney�s two-match ban � had exceeded expectations by topping qualifying Group D with two wins and a draw. But they met their match in the classy Italians. The new boss now has two years to rebuild his team, while battling to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. England�s travelling fans outnumbered Italy�s blue-shirted Azzuri in the stands in Kiev. And back home, an estimated 20million viewers watched the action on TV in pubs and bars. Before the game, Three Lions fans flocked to an island near the centre of the Ukrainian capital as the temperature hit 25�C (77�F). They joined locals taking a cooling dip in the Dnieper River and enjoyed the party atmosphere of a fan zone in Independence Square. Kevin Miles, of the Football Supporters Federation said he was happy with the way Ukrainian authorities treated our fans. England�s better than expected performances in the group phase had led to a frantic scramble for flights, hotels and match tickets. Around 10,000 Three Lions fans were in Kiev. Celebs immediately went on Twitter to air their views on England�s performance. Former England player Rodney Marsh wrote: �Best team won, well done Italy.� Manchester City star Vincent Kompany tweeted: �Pirlo has been like a quarterback for Italy, running the game. Gerrard lost a lot of energy in defensive play.� Pop queen Alexandra Burke wrote: �Proud of England... They done their thing! Unlucky tho.� TOWIE star Mario Falcone wrote: �Happy Italy are through. They deserved it. But upset that England are out.� Wanted singer Nathan Sykes tweeted: �England... I�m not upset, I�m just disappointed.� Former England cricket star Michael Vaughan wrote: �Roy Hodgson has done a great job in a short space of time.� Business wizard Peter Jones from TV�s Dragons� Den posted: �Italy deserved to win. �But England can still hold their heads up high. Got to the quarter-final penalty shoot-out.�