England fought hard to beat spirited Denmark 2-1 to book a date with Italy in the final of this year’s European Championship.
The Three Lions stunned the Danes in the extra time after Harry Kane powered home a rebound after Kasper Schmeichel stopped his spot-kick in the 104th minute.
Going into the game, there were numerous subplots being spoken about, including the fact that England were looking to qualify for their first final in fifty five years.
There was a general feeling that Denmark would easily be beaten prior to the game but once the match got underway, the Danes impressively brought the game to England with some swift counter-attacking.
Denmark who found the opener which came in spectacular fashion as young Mikkel Damsgaard found the net with a stunning free-kick which was whipped over the England wall and into the top corner. Keeper Jordan Pickford got a finger to it but could not stop the concession of his first goal in the tournament as England trailed, against the run of play. Moments later and Raheem Sterling drew an excellent save from Kasper Schmeichel when it seemed like he was destined to score. Sterling would eventually be heavily involved in England’s equaliser before halftime as Harry Kane picked Bukayo Saka with a sublime pass on the wing, with the young Arsenal forward sending in a dangerous low cross for Sterling to tap in.
Denmark skipper Simon Kjaer got to the ball first but inevitably turned it to his own net for 1-1. England came firing in the second half, with Denmark constantly having to deal with the pace of Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka who were a pain for most of the game. Schmeichel once again made an excellent save to keep out Harry Maguire’s header in what as arguably England’s best chance of the second half. Despite hogging the ball for large periods, Denmark did an excellent job in weathering the storm to force the game to extra time. England’s intensity pays off The Three Lions kept pushing for a winner as substitute Jack Grealish tested the Denmark keeper with a stunning long-range drive but Schmeichel was up to the task. Eventually, the pressure paid off as England earned a penalty courtesy of Raheem Sterling who went down rather softly under a Joakim Maehle challenge.
Kane stepped up to take it but his effort was rather weak as Schmeichel saved it at first but the Tottenham striker followed up his effort to send Wembley to delirium. From then, it was all about game management for England who eventually saw off their opponents to bring to an end what has been an impressive Euro 2020 campaign for the Danes.
