That’s all for today. The news, if you missed it, is that Italy will play England in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, Uefa have opened an investigation into the conduct of England’s fans during the semi-final win against Denmark - use of a laser pen, booing the Danish anthem and use of fireworks in the stadium are all on the agenda.
Thanks for reading, emailing and commenting today. If you think it was a penalty or if you don’t, regardless, have a lovely evening.
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I think all the writers of today’s 4,445 blog comments can get behind this:
Really, isn't the penalty the friends we made along the way?
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) July 8, 2021
One thousand Italy supporters are to be shuttled into the UK this weekend to provide an officially sanctioned Azzurri chorus for the Euro 2020 final against England.
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Media update from Italy -
The Italian media are going to town on the suggestion that English football has always had a holier-than-thou approach to diving and gamesmanship. The feeling after last night is that England are hypocrites (especially after the uproar of “Immobile-Lazarus-gate”) https://t.co/Zybeh0f9IJ
— Patrick Kendrick (@patrickendrick) July 8, 2021
Following on from PA Media’s scoop with Grealish’s former PE teacher, here are is an anecdote from Phil Foden’s youth team coach, Joe Makin, of the Reddish Vulcans in Stockport:
“Phil wasn’t involved in any club so it was just a natural marriage. Phil was just a level above everyone else straight away,” Makin said. “I invited him into Reddish Vulcans and the second time he came down to training he was in a match - every time the ball dropped it dropped to him, which was no coincidence. A dad comes sidling over to me and says ‘Who’s the new boy there with the left foot? Where’s he come from? And I just said... ‘Heaven’.”
“There was always an air of ‘this boy’s going to be a player’,” Makin said. “As he got a little bit older it became more obvious but because of his size and physicality he was going to have to be protected a little bit. It’s an old cliche but all he ever wants to do is play football. First out, last to go in. Banging balls against the walls, juggling. His dedication and application is just first-class. If England win this and he gets a little bit of a role in that final, I think you will see a different Phil Foden on the pitch next season. He will be demanding the ball.”
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I’ve been thinking about the Sterling penalty decision for seven-and-a-half hours straight, and I have come to the following conclusion which I think wraps it all up:
It’s one of them ones, isn’t it?
Gary Lineker says it (yes, that) might actually be two penalties:
Can’t see what all the fuss is about. Might just be 2 penalties. pic.twitter.com/2mfMxbVgtZ
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) July 8, 2021
“I had Italy down as favourites after the group stage and have seen nothing to change my mind since,” comments Topher. “But England really do have a chance; we’ve got probably the player of the tournament in Sterling, a resurgent Kane (who had his best game of the tournament last night), we’re solid defensively and calm (apart from Pickford occasionally). It was such an odd experience watching England and expecting them to win, expecting them to turn it around when we went behind, expecting them to find a way. Had it gone to penalties I would have expected them to win those. I trust them.”
I got a cool 11-1 on Italy pre-tournament. And if England prevail, well, I’m an England fan. It’s win-win!
The Conservative MP Lee Anderson will not watch England in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday as he continues his boycott of their matches over the players’ decision to take the knee, but he concedes he will be checking the score on his phone and cheering on the team.
Right on cue, an email from Luke Jones:
“The worst thing about England winning the semi-final is that it all but guarantees that the final will turn on a VAR decision or an interpretation of “clear and obvious error.” Call it naive or honourable, but Denmark simply don’t engage in the kind of new-wave theatrical stylings that England (particularly Kane and Sterling) have made their calling card in this tournament. Italy, of course, are the old masters in the dark arts. It would have been nice for the neutrals if the final included at least one team that doesn’t include “flinging your arms in the air and throwing yourself to the ground” as a main facet of their attack.”
Certainly, the potential for some dreadfully tiresome VAR controversy in the final seems high indeed. But on the plus side - VAR has been used sensibly at this tournament. And that fact isn’t changed if you happen to believe VAR should have overturned last night’s penalty.
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Björn to do it
At least the Dutchman knows that should there be a controversial decision to be made in Sunday’s final, fans’ reaction to it will be entirely sane and measured.
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“When you think about it the real winners of the Euros are Portugal because they’ve managed to hang on to the title and trophy for five years,” comments philippeblades. “If England do win it, it’s coming home (but only for three years) as the next Euros will be in 2024.”
So true. Now, I’m only here until 6pm, and we still need to decide who invented football, and therefore, establish whether or not it’s coming home to England or Italy (or to ancient Greece ... or Wales ... etc.)
“I think Sunday will be won and lost, (and let’s face it, probably lost), in midfield, where Rice and Philips will be competing for control with Verratti and Jorginho,” comments SlabheadsRevenge. “At times last night those two looked hopelessly outnumbered and I really worry for them if Southgate doesn’t come up with something. Sadly I’m not sure there is anything to come up with other than letting them have most of the ball and playing on the counter, but Italy will be too savvy for that.”
“There is controlling games by attacking, as England did with remarkable intensity and consistency between the start of the second half and the end of the first half of extra time, and there is controlling the game as England did in the second half of extra time, keeping the ball away from Denmark with such efficiency that they managed only one touch in the England box in that period. Control, it turns out, doesn’t have to be boring.”
Italy scouting report:
Goalkeeper: 9/10
Defence: 9/10
Midfield: 9/10
Attack: 8/10
Manager: 10/10
Squad depth: 8/10
“In a euphoric country, it is important to maintain focus on what the manager said this would all mean, in his remarkable open letter, “Dear England,” released three days before the tournament began, the very day after Boris Johnson refused to condemn the booing of the players.”
We (by which I mean, commenters and emailers on this blog) don’t seem to be able to move past the Sterling penalty decision. So let’s just admit defeat and keep discussing it.
“I remember seeing Shilton interviewed a while back, not long after Maradona’s death,” comments Beckersbeard. “He still hasn’t gotten over the fact an opponent ‘cheated’ their way past England to a semi final, and I know he isn’t the only one of an England persuasion who feels that way. In fact, there are plenty. All those people must be disgusted to see England back in a major final through cheating/deception, whatever you want to call it. I assume they won’t be watching on Sunday.”
Hmm. Well, there’s clearly a difference between punching the ball in the net, and going down easily under a challenge from a defender. Mæhle’s decision to put his foot across Sterling from the right, with the England forward moving at pace, was naive in the extreme, and that naivety was punished. Sterling was looking for a foul - it was at best a soft penalty, and at worst it was a dive. The problem is, I don’t think the various video angles are completely conclusive, and the people who have taken a certain view of it now are probably never going to be talked into changing their minds.
Of course, there are plenty of examples of England diving at tournaments - Michael Owen in 1998 v Argentina being one that springs to mind. And I am sure that had England been eliminated due to a penalty decision like last night’s, there would be anger from the fans. But what’s to be changed at this stage? Do people expect England to offer to replay the match? If there is one thing that Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest showed us, it’s that there are more important things in life than a game of football.
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PA Media have spoken to Jack Grealish’s former PE teacher, Tom Seickell. And here is what he had to say:
“He caused that kind of buzz we don’t often see. With that freedom of expression which he has - and Phil Foden has as well - he is probably the closest thing since Gazza was gracing our pitches. Even when he was at school there was limited amount of coaching we could do with Jack. Having been at Villa since he was six he was already showing so much talent. You put him in a PE lesson or training after school, you are focusing on the kids who are going to benefit from the coaching. It was just about keeping him level-headed and hoping he would do the business when playing for the school, which he did. He is a free spirit and Jack has always done what he wanted to do. If you try to condition him into playing in a certain way I don’t think you’ll get the best out of him.”
While we’re on the subject of past England and Italy tournament meetings ... is there ever a bad time to remember Andrea Pirlo’s penalty against Joe Hart in 2012? Class.
Fun fact about Sunday’s referee, Bjorn Kuipers, from WarrenBeatty in the comments: “He’s the same referee of Italy-England in WC2014.”
That is a fun fact.
“The weak spot in this England squad is Pickford,” chimes in spannerman99. “Southall won’t be wanting the final to go to penalties.”
Big Nev? I imagine he’d probably enjoy seeing a shoot-out? Oh, you meant Southgate. Pickford wasn’t half bad in that shoot-out with Colombia in 2018.
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It has emerged that Roy Keane went to a Neil Diamond concert 10 years ago, and enjoyed it, but had an argument with a woman next to him who was ‘singing the songs out loud’.
Roy’s had some pretty late sessions in his time ... has he ever seen ELO at the Birmingham NEC, though?
“Roy’s been to a Neil Diamond concert…”
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 7, 2021
“Yeah, about 10 years ago. I ended up arguing with the woman next to me - she kept singing the songs out loud, so I ended up in a bit of a trouble that night. But brilliant concert!” 🤣
Classic Roy Keane 😆#ITVFootball | #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/TH8G9KSKdr
Getting a taxi across from south west to south east London at 10.30pm last night was quite an experience. It was going off! Especially in the high street in Balham, where traffic was at a standstill.
It still wasn’t as bad/good as Naples on Tuesday night, though -
Suboptimal working conditions for an interpreter pic.twitter.com/MbLTWlmerK
— Patrick Kendrick (@patrickendrick) July 6, 2021
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Dutchman Björn Kuipers to referee Euro 2020 final
Björn Kuipers will be on the whistle at Wembley on Sunday. Press release from Uefa as follows:
“The UEFA Referees Committee has announced that Björn Kuipers from the Netherlands will referee the UEFA EURO 2020 final between Italy and England, which will be played on Sunday 11 July at 20.00 local time (21.00CET) at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom.
“The 48-year-old Dutchman, an international referee since 2006, will be the first referee from the Netherlands to take charge of a UEFA EURO final. It will be his seventh UEFA competition final, having previously refereed the 2018 UEFA Europa League final between Olympique de Marseille and Club Atlético de Madrid; the 2014 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid CF and Club Atlético de Madrid; the 2013 UEFA Europa League final between SL Benfica and Chelsea FC; the 2011 UEFA Super Cup match between FC Barcelona and FC Porto; the 2009 UEFA Under-21 European Championship final between Germany and England; and the 2006 European Under-17 Championship final between Czech Republic and Russia.”
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Here’s what else we’ve got going on right now:
Tour de France live:
Tennis live:
ODI cricket live:
It’s all happening, it really is.
Olivier Giroud to depart Chelsea for Milan? Talks ongoing, tweets Fabrizio Romano:
Olivier Giroud wants to join AC Milan as they have an agreement on personal terms until June 2023 since weeks. 🇫🇷 #CFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 8, 2021
Chelsea and AC Milan are in contact to reach an agreement, as reported yesterday. Talks ongoing. #ACMilan https://t.co/bzyO1EF6rF
PA Media here with an England news bulletin on ... not very much, in truth. It has emerged, though, that all the players from last night have done a recovery session today, while Phil Foden and Kieran Trippier joined the non-playing squad members in a conventional training session:
“England’s preparations for the Euro 2020 final got under way at sunny St George’s Park on Thursday. Roberto Mancini’s Italy lie in wait at Wembley this weekend after the Three Lions secured a 2-1 extra-time win against Denmark in Wednesday’s semi-final. Gareth Southgate’s starters against the Danes did recovery work as attention turned to the Azzurri, with substitutes Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish joining them working indoors. Phil Foden and Kieran Trippier came on in extra time but took part in the main session, unlike fellow introductions Grealish and Henderson. Southgate reported after the game that “it seems like everybody’s come through the game OK in terms of injuries” but admitted it was not the best time to assess everything given the adrenaline that came with victory.”
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Danger all over the park -
🇮🇹 Italy have become the second side in EURO history to have 5 different players (Chiesa, Pessina, Insigne, Immobile & Locatelli) score 2+ goals in a single competition, after France in 2000 ⚽️🔥#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/YaPvt3xMeV
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 8, 2021
If Insigne can just go ahead and score four goals in the final, my pre-tournament bet on him for the Golden Boot will prove a roaring success.
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One thing I noticed on Tuesday: while Morata’s equaliser for Spain was superbly worked and excellently finished, there did suddenly seem to be a yawning Verratti-shaped hole in the central defensive midfield area for Italy. He had been withdrawn from the action by Roberto Mancini a few minutes earlier, and I fancy that goal would not have occurred had he still been on the pitch.
Verratti leads the tournament’s tackle charts, by the way: he has made 21 up to and including the semi-final. Sergio Busquets, now eliminated with Spain, is the closest on 14. England’s top tackler has been Kalvin Phillips of Leeds, who has made 11 before Sunday’s final.
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“Marco Verratti believes Sunday’s Euro 2020 final between Italy and England will be decided by which side cope better with the pressure of a “history-making” match.
“These matches are there to be grabbed – we must win,” Verratti said. “They want to win clearly because they are playing at home and have never won a European Championship so the details will decide things. We must focus on our playing style and put aside everything else. These matches can put you under a lot of pressure and I think that the team that plays with a mind that is free will gain the upper hand.””
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“I hate England and wanted them to lose,” states JohnBarnesOnToast, with devastating honesty. “But I have to concede that they were the better team, deserved to go through, and the penalty decision was a fair one. Horrible for me to admit that, but it’s undeniable.”
Over in SW19, tennis is happening, and Daniel Harris is blogging -
“Wacky comments on this thread,” says Archie Staircrow. “Maybe a post-pandemic madness. Enjoy yourselves folks! My god if Scotland (don’t laugh) were in the final I would be absolutely buzzing with excitement and joy. Your feelings about current government or state of country should not really have any bearing on this. Lighten up! Get some sun and have a socially distanced beer.”
I endorse this view.
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A quick bit of non-Euros news here: the new Roma coach José Mourinho has come over all ‘when the seagulls follow the trawler’ in a pre-season press conference, reported by Reuters.
“In football the word ‘time’ sometimes does not exist, but in this case it does and that is fundamental,” Mourinho said. “The club does not want success today and problems tomorrow, but a sustainable project for the future. That is the main reason I am here. Now it is time to work. I am not here on holiday.”
Oh, and this is pure Mourinho: “In my last three clubs, I won Premier League with Chelsea, three cups with United, reached a League Cup final with Tottenham. What is considered a disaster for me is what other coaches have never achieved in their lives.”
🟨 𝗝𝗠 🟥 pic.twitter.com/OIOi52SbkG
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) July 8, 2021
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A couple more shots from England training hi-jinks below.
You know what these images suddenly reminded me of? Training photos of England’s rugby team in the days after they defeated New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2019. Spirits were high, even Eddie Jones was smiling as he told journalists that England were happy to have ‘another week in the comp’.
England lost the final to South Africa, of course, and in hindsight Jones admitted that he got the week wrong in terms of how the team prepared. What has that got to do with England’s footballers now? Fair question. But it must be hard to stay 100 per cent mentally switched on, given the celebratory mood in the camp, following their very considerable achievement of reaching the final.
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“I completely agree with your analysis of Spain v Italy,” emails Peter Van. “Spain are a boa constrictor: impressive but non-venomous, imposing, will kill their prey slowly but inexorably stifling it. Italy however are a sidewinder: quick, fast, aggressive, venomous.
“I wanted to bring England into this metaphor, but my knowledge of herpetology is as limited as that of football. I do know there are only a few snake species native to Britain, one of which is the adder. Maybe we’re an adder? A black adder? What snake does sweet Gareth resemble? Over to you.”
England (and/or Southgate) are the guy on the right? I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, or not ...
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“It’s been said that Kane’s penalty was taken very poorly,” says Eliot Argy. “It’s just as well though, had he taken it perfectly, aiming to tuck it just inside the post, the keeper would have parried the ball around such post for a corner. As it happened ... well, we all know what happened.”
Alas, there are no rebounds in a shootout.
“This tournament may have seen the start of a new strategy, re: free-kicks,” emails Michael Greville. “The last-second ’sideways shuffle’ by the Danish wall unsighted Pickford. Without it, no goal. Just imagine! The winning goal might have been the result of a bit of underhanded skullduggery! Of course the Dames would claim just to be ruthlessly exploiting a situation to their benefit.
“Some suggest the Danish wall got too close to the English, so broke rules. Don’t think so here, but I think Italy did appear to break rules in an earlier match. They had an ‘exploding wall’, where they all ran in different directions as the kick was taken, with at least one runner getting too close to the defending wall. The aim, again, to distract the goalie (like the runners behind the line in American Football).
“The referee (and England) may need to be wary of this in the final!”
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Stick ‘em up!
“Nice of Eddie Jones to say that Gareth Southgate “needs no advice from me” (14.16),” says Michael Keane. “Trademark humility from EJ there after his England team finished second last in the Six Nations. Mind you, they did manage to beat Italy so let’s hope their association football playing cousins can emulate that.”
Are you predicting the score to be 41-18 on Saturday?
John Boon is already looking to the future, he writes: “With this tournament almost at an end, and regardless of the result on Sunday, I’d be keen to peer in to the future and think about Qatar. The biggest calls will be on the right and midfield, for me, and potentially Harry Kane’s understudy.
“Will Walker still be able to maintain his motor until then? If not, I would like to see Wan-Bissaka given a run in the next set of qualifiers as he looks as sturdy defensively as anyone. Is there a way to sneak Jude Bellingham in to midfield? Might provide more of a goal threat than Phillips perhaps. And, is Calvert Lewin going to keep improving or can Tammy Abraham regather form? Could Mason Greenwood evolve in to the long term option in the middle or is he not robust enough?
Finally, very keen to see how Noni Madueke progresses at PSV. Maybe not one for Qatar, but I expect he’ll be more on peoples radars very soon.”
So many questions, John. I am sure Southgate will already be thinking about some of them.
The tide is high.
Some PA on the mashup we all need...
Eddie Jones believes “humble, curious” Gareth Southgate will have the perfect plan for England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy.
England rugby head coach Jones has struck up a strong relationship with his football counterpart Southgate, and hailed the Three Lions boss for his history-making exploits.
England will take on Italy at Wembley on Sunday, in their first major tournament final since 1966 – and Jones has no doubts Southgate will have his players fully prepped.
“Gareth’s a humble, curious, very well-educated coach,” said Jones. The thing that impresses me is that for a young coach, he carries himself in the way of someone with a lot more experience. And he’ll know what to do. He doesn’t need any advice from me.”
Some teams have done well, some less so. Tell us about it.
Marco Verratti is full of praise for England, although previously admitted the penalty decision last night was “generous”.
“I think England did a great job. They got to the final for the first time and this says a lot,” Verratti said. “They conceded only one goal, so it is a very solid team, great players, a very balanced team and I think they did deserve to get to the final.
“I’m happy we will be playing them in a great stadium, it’s going to be a great final. It’s the dream you have as a kid, as a footballer. We’re happy England won and now it’s all down to the final, which I think will be an epic final, and history-making either way.”
Lunchtime for me. Will Unwin is now going to step in and studiously ignore/post literally every comment [delete as applicable] about the England penalty decision.
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“England were fabulous,” comments superstar74. “Last night was the finest team performance I can remember since we stuffed Germany in Germany 5-1, and we don’t have a team of mega stars now, just a well oiled machine. The win was fully deserved. Did Sterling go down lightly? Maybe, but on balance they should not have had their free kick. The one weak link for me? Jordan Pickford ... He was awful for their goal, if he had been stood in the right place he would have caught it. Besides that, great great performance, and unlike Russia, I always felt like they were going to win it, and they knew it.”
No disagreement from me that Pickford was poor for the Denmark goal. Then again, he was exceptional against Germany, in fairness to him. Maybe we should reignite that debate from 2018 about whether or not he could have left the Colombian shot, that led to the corner, that led to the Mina goal?
PA Media have sought out Jordan ‘Speedy’ Pickford’s former PE teacher Alan Fisher. Selected quotes below.
“He was ‘Speedy’. That was his nickname and it’s stuck with him. He wanted to do everything at 100mph - and he still does. Last night, I can remember Gareth Southgate shouting across to him, ‘Cool down, slow down a little bit’ ... You want to be on that edge, you want to maybe be walking that fine edge of being in control and just being a little bit out of control.
“He came through and by the end of Year 11, he was a very mature, level-headed lad who was very, very focused on his football. A boy from the north-east has gone on to represent his country at the highest level - to any pupil, boy or girl now, it’s a carrot for them to aspire to be like that. It’s mentioned throughout the school as we do PE lessons, etc: this is where Jordan Pickford came, this is where he played football on those fields, he walked those corridors, he sat in registration just like you this morning.”
Quotes here from Sir Gareth of Southgate - on Italy’s record, and how the match against Denmark won: “I think Denmark have only lost four matches out of 30-odd,” he said. “Italy’s record is even better than that. They’ve been a top team for the last couple of years. We followed their progress closely. We know the way they play. They play with great energy, they play with great style. They’re, as always, difficult to score goals against so without doubt they deserve to be in the final. They’ve beaten two top teams to get there in Belgium and Spain.
“It’s the biggest possible test we could have. We’ve a day less to recover but we have got to prepare from now and of course it’s wonderful to have that opportunity to take them on.”
On England’s ability to see the semi-final out: “What we said to them before the game is that they’ve found ways to win matches over the last three or four years in whatever circumstances it’s taken,” Southgate said. “Whether leading from the front, whether that’s been having to come from behind, whether that’s taken extra time, penalties, they’ve found those solutions. We wanted them to have the confidence in that and so I felt very dominant in that period, the last half an hour of normal time. And of course the extra time I think we had a bit more legs, a bit more energy. Denmark made a lot of changes early on in the game and weren’t able to change later. But the strength of our bench has been an asset, there’s no question about that. The depth of the squad is why we are where we are and the mentality of the squad is why we’re in the position we’re in.”
On Jack Grealish’s withdrawal in extra time after coming on in the 69th minute. “We made that decision, not an easy one, but Jack has totally understood it,” Southgate said. “In the end he said to me ‘well, gaffer it doesn’t matter, I’m not really bothered because we’ve got to the final!”’
It’s only the England-are-in-a-bloody-final Fiver!
“When Jordan Pickford scores the winning penalty against Italy at Wembley, retro tops will be off and the tattooing of Gareth Southgate’s face will be booked for the earliest opportunity. Most importantly of all, the country will finally find out what football coming home actually means. Or, obviously, England could lose.”
Here’s Will Unwin:
“The ancient Welsh sport/warfare called Cnapan is the real football ancestor,” comments showmaster. “Teams in the hundreds fought to get a wooden ball soaked or boiled overnight in animal fats to their home parish church while the opposing neighbouring parish did the same to their church. All males in the villages took part, sometimes on horseback, across rivers and through swamps. One game was reckoned to be with 2,000 on foot besides the mounted lunatics. Often enough the result was decided when night fell or there was nobody left standing and how many miles the Cnapan was from the respective churches was measured.
“Wales are, of course, current world champions. At the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990 there was a Cnapan International between England and Wales. Wales won easily, partly because the English team did not know the rules. Thankfully the Welsh played nice and nobody died, which was unusual.”
That’s the funniest comment of the day by some distance. Informative too. Thanks!
John Clark emails in to add our discussion of ancient football and who invented the beautiful game:
“Try the HAXEY HOOD, which not only brings villages together in a scrum but manages to combine the whole with a pub crawl.”
Wikipedia states: “The Haxey Hood is a traditional event in Haxey, North Lincolnshire, England, on 6 January, the Twelfth Day of Christmas. A large football scrum (the “sway”) pushes a leather tube (the “hood”) to one of four pubs, where it remains until the following year’s game.”
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‘There has been something fabulously uplifting about the tournament that goes well beyond England’s success. This has been a championship in which football has rediscovered its sense of fun, beauty and solidarity.”
Simon Hattenstone writes about Euro 2020, and why England have given us something to be proud of:
The Tour de France is heading from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Nîmes today, through the exceedingly picturesque Ardèche.
Barry Glendenning is live-blogging it here!
More from PA Media here on Uefa’s investigation into the conduct of England fans last night:
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “Uefa are looking into that, that’s a matter for them but it’s not something we would want to see.” Johnson also urged fans not to boo teams during their national anthem. “We don’t want fans to be booing teams. We want fans to be showing support and being respectful,” said the spokesman.”
That’s that sorted, then.
England’s passing accuracy, say the Uefa stats, was 88% against Denmark last night, which is an improvement on their previous matches in the tournament: before the semi-final it was 82.4% on average.
Southgate’s men attempted 760 passes with 670 of them finding their target. Denmark attempted 547, with 451 successful.
Spain attempted an eye-watering 932 passes in their semi-final against Italy, with 832 successful - 89% accuracy. Italy had only 35% possession in that match, and attempted 418 passes, with 319 successful - percentage-wise, that’s just 76%. Encouragement for England?
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RHConnon comments: “I think it is fair to say that both Italy and England have slightly overachieved by getting to the final: before the tournament France and Belgium looked to be the strongest sides, with Italy, Spain and England behind them. So well done to both teams.”
It’s true that Italy weren’t considered a huge threat compared to the likes of Belgium and France. But one look at their defensive record pre-tournament - and their long unbeaten run without even conceding a goal - convinced me they’d be in the last four at the least. The other thing Italy are brilliant at, as I keep banging on about, is pulling together as a squad and playing for each other at tournaments. There are of course exceptions in history that prove the rule, but generally they build a fantastic togetherness of spirit, which combined with their passion for defending, makes them incredibly hard to beat.
Gareth Southgate has clearly built a brilliant team spirit, too. For a long time, England at tournaments added up to so much less than the sum of their parts. Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard have admitted that they were more concerned about domestic club rivalries than working together for England. Is it any surprise England were so terrible for so long?
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“Football coming home? Romans? Harpastum?,” comments EuropaKelt.
“An interesting point from a classicist’s point of view, however, the Greeks may have something to say about this: episkyros was played by the Spartans and there was also phaininda - the word harpastum is the Latin version of the Greek, harpaston, which means “to carry away” - tantalisingly suggestive of rugby football.”
So we have decided ... football went home in 2004?
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A ‘staggering’ peak audience of 27.6million tuned in to England’s semi-final win against Denmark, roars this hot-off-the-press release from ITV:
England victory racks up a record 27.6 million on ITV
“ITV’s exclusive coverage of England’s Euro 2020 semi-final victory over Denmark at Wembley last night peaked with 27.6 million viewers across ITV, ITV Hub and STV, making it the most-watched football match ever shown on one channel.
“The one-minute peak figure, calculated across TV and other smart devices including phones and laptops, also gives ITV’s England major tournaments coverage the three biggest ever single channel football match audiences, with 27.5 million tuning in for England’s defeat by Croatia in the 2018 World Cup and 26 million for England v Argentina in 1998.
“This makes it bigger than the England World Cup Semi-Final of 2018 and therefore the biggest peak football audience ever (excluding shared broadcasts) and the biggest peak for any genre since the 2012 Olympics.
“It also means ITV’s combined in-match audiences for the main channel in this tournament are now higher than for the BBC, with 7.237 million viewers compared to 7.160 million.
“The match peaked with a staggering 26.3 million viewers on ITV, and an 89.3 percent audience share, with a whistle-to-whistle audience of 23.9m (82.3 percent average share), making it the most watched match of the tournament so far.”
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Sticking with the Italian vibe - here’s a wonderful photo from the celebrations in Rome on Tuesday night:
If Italy win on Sunday, will football be going home?
“The ancient Romans played a game called ‘Herpastum’, a kind of scrummaging game where two sides fought for possession of a ball, in order to throw it into the opposition’s goal. While it appears on the surface to have resembled Aussie rules football, there were elements of the modern games of soccer, rugby and basketball. A similar game to Herpastum has taken place in villages around Britain up to the present day, where people from rival villages (almost literally) fight for possession of a ball. I think that the Italians can claim ownership of, at least, the precursor of modern soccer.”
So wrote Damian from Birmingham in this old Guardian ‘Notes and Queries’, from many moons ago.
Do any of our English readers play Herpastum, or something resembling it? Get in touch! Email me, or tweet ...
Updated
England are in the dock after the use of a laser pen, booing of the Denmark anthem and use of fireworks last night:
“On how Italy will play on Sunday. For three years Italy have been a front-foot, high-pressing, aggressive team who look to dominate the midfield,” emails Ross. “They did this every game this tournament until Spain, including against Belgium’s Witsel, Tielemans, and De Bruyne. Spain do the same, and were just better at it. They were very unlucky to lose. But - and I know everyone is giddy today - do you really expect Jorginho plus two of Verratti, Barella, and Locatelli to sit off in awe and admire... Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice?”
First things first: no, I don’t expect Verratti, Barella and Locatelli to be intimidated by their opponents on Sunday night. Clearly not. I don’t think it’s correct to say that Spain’s style is ‘the same’ as Italy. Spain’s game is all based on possession, on squeezing the life out of the opposition by keeping the ball and waiting for an opening. They did this to great effect in the semi-final, and as you say were unfortunate in some senses to go out. It was proof that more possession and more passing does not necessarily equal more effective football. Italy play a higher-tempo style which has partly been about pressing and dominating the ball in midfield but it’s also about counterattacking - so many of their goals in this tournament have come from quick counters. And it was noticeable against Spain that they were often happy to sit deep - it wasn’t, in my opinion, as simple as to say they were being pressed back.
Updated
Via PA Media - quotes from Kieran Trippier about how England have improved since the 2018 World Cup - and some praise for Sunday’s opponents, Italy:
“We’ve learnt so much over the years,” he said. “With the experiences we’ve had, we’ve been in two penalty shoot-outs since Russia, we’ve been to extra time. Going through that moment against Croatia was about learning. We’ve got an experienced group and young lads but it was one of those games where you stick together, don’t give up, and we showed great togetherness as a team, and the subs that came off the bench as well. We’ve come a long way since the semi-final in Russia. We’ve got so many good players now, different players from back then. It’s about progressing, and I think we’ve made big steps since the World Cup. As you’ve seen from the start of the tournament to now, we give everything, we don’t stop, we don’t panic, we’re calm.”
Trippier also said England will keep focused solely on themselves in the build-up to the Italy clash as they prepare for their first final appearance since winning the World Cup in 1966. “They’ve had a fantastic tournament,” he said of Italy. “Under (Roberto) Mancini they’ve been unbelievable. I think it’s like 33 games now they’re unbeaten. They’ve had a good tournament and they’ve got great experience in the team, quality players. You can’t hide away from the fact that they’re a good side. But we need to focus on ourselves, need to enjoy tonight and recover well because there’s a game only around the corner, just get back on the training field and focus on Italy now. We try to play good football, exciting football to put a smile on our nation’s faces. We’re in a final, and it’s something for the fans to be happy about and proud of and enjoy the moment. The fans and everybody in this nation absolutely deserve it.”
Gary Neville on Sky: “I genuinely think the players are a good bunch of lads.”
He means England, of course.
“They love playing for England,” Neville adds. “They’re removed all the cynicism, which to be fair I was part of for many years with England. So credit to them, they deserve what they got last night for how they’ve handled themselves, not as much just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well.”
Updated
The England wing-back Kieran Trippier has praised Gareth Southgate’s team talk before extra-time at Wembley last night -
“It was just: ‘We’re in a good position, we’re playing well, it’s about being patient with and without the ball’,” Trippier said. “And just to keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve got a brilliant team and Gareth was just so positive as he always is. ‘Just be patient and your chance will come.’”
Here is Nick Ames:
Right, it’s nearly midday, so this is the last post on Sterling-penalty-gate.
“As a referee myself, I doubt I would have given it,” writes Trygve Lie in Oslo. “There is contact, but not enough to warrant Sterling falling over in that manner. He was obviously looking for it, as they all are, in the matches I referee as well. For my sake I’m of the old school in terms of refereeing and believe players should make more of an effort to stay on their feet. I take quite a grim view of shenanigans like that and have booked players trying the same earlier. Harry Kane arguably should have had a penalty earlier, and regrettably, I think the referee subconsciously compensated for that by awarding Sterling his. We’re only human after all, so that is perhaps understandable. Sterling, wonderful player that he is, nonetheless made a meal of that situation, and The Guardian should say so.”
I have said that - see below re: Sterling looking for the penalty. I think some refs would give it, some wouldn’t. Regardless, it happened. England had taken control of the game at that point, and possibly got lucky. We move on.
Updated
It’s a great thing to see England in a major tournament final, and all England fans (of which I am one) will be rightly savouring the next few days of excitement.
Having said that, I think we can all agree that the booing of opponents’ anthems needs to stop - and the use of the laser pen last night was completely unacceptable, too. Let’s enjoy the run, however it may conclude in Sunday’s final, while reserving the right to condemn the poor behaviour of some of England’s fans.
Tell us: how will you be supporting England in the Euro 2020 final?
Uefa opens disciplinary proceedings against England
Europe’s governing body has opened proceedings against England after last night’s match, on three separate issues: use of a laser pointer by its supporters, disturbance caused by supporters during the national anthem, and lighting of fireworks by its supporters.
From PA Media:
“Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against England after a laser pointer was shone in the face of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in Wednesday night’s Euro 2020 semi-final. Two other charges have been levelled after incidents during England’s 2-1 victory at Wembley. Along with investigating the laser pointer - shone at Schmeichel before he saved Harry Kane’s extra-time penalty only for Kane to score the rebound - Uefa is also looking into the booing of the Denmark national anthem and the lighting of fireworks inside the stadium.
“The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body in due course,” UEFA said in a statement.”
Updated
Carsten Werge, TV2 Football Editor in Copenhagen, speaks to Sky about the penalty:
“I haven’t met one man or woman in Denmark who can see that penalty, that’s for sure,” he says. “Nobody could understand that it was a penalty, nobody maybe except the English ... I’ve got to say that Sterling is a fantastic player, and a fantastic diver as well. You could see that gave them a penalty. It’s a pity the game has to be settled because of that situation. I think England would have won the game, they were the better team, but we didn’t really feel the Dutch referee was doing his job in a decent way in that situation ... normally [the Denmark coach] Kasper Hjulmand isn’t someone to complain about referees’ decisions ... but in this case it was a little bit different. You would feel the same if you were the team that lost on a penalty that wasn’t a penalty, you would be a little bit angry as well ... we don’t like players to dive. I sound like a bad loser now, maybe I am ... but we really don’t like to see players dive. Sterling is a fantastic player, one of the best in the world. Kane is one of the best strikers in the world ... it’s a little bit of a pity to see them play with these attitudes because they don’t need to, in my opinion.”
Updated
How will Southgate look to unpick Italy’s defence on Sunday? Mancini’s men defended deep in the semi-final against Spain, often allowing their opponents possession in midfield, and inviting them to try and pass it through their disciplined lines of cover. I am sure they will play similarly against England: the last thing the likes of Bonucci and Chiellini will want is to allow too much space and give Sterling, Saka and co a chance to run in behind. It’s quite easy to imagine their centre-backs being able to keep Kane relatively quiet, but how they deal with the pace of Sterling will be another question.
Updated
“There were long periods of the game when we were the biggest threat. I think we deserved it ... I’ve not seen the new Wembley like that, ever ... to able to share that with everybody, and everybody at home, is very special.”
Gareth Southgate, there.
#Eng's Gareth Southgate on reaching the #Euro2020 final:
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) July 8, 2021
'For our country, I've not heard this new Wembley like that ever. To be able to share that with everybody and share it with everybody at home is very special' pic.twitter.com/jlv7Lln25Q
Updated
Our story on Sergio Ramos’s move to Paris Saint-Germain, who joins the Ligue 1 runners-up on a free transfer.
“The best place to keep on dreaming, the best club to keep on winning,” said Ramos in a post on social media. “We’re going to fight with everything we have for everything. Allez.”
Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli will be one to watch on Sunday. His fine goal helped the Azzurri to defeat Belgium in the quarter-finals. In this piece from last week, Nicky Bandini compares him to peak Arjen Robben - the Dutchman who loved to cut in from the right, on to his left foot. Insigne does the opposite, tearing down the left and cutting in on his right, given the space.
“Like Arjen Robben in his prime, Insigne has learned that it does not matter if defenders know what dance you’re doing if they still cannot match your steps.”
Updated
“Living in Brussels I had to watch last night’s game on Belgian TV,” says David Jeremiah on email. “There was outrage in the Belgian TV studio that the referee had not stopped play during Sterling’s attack which led to the penalty as there were clearly two balls on the pitch. The rules clearly state that play cannot continue if there is more than one ball on the pitch. The second ball can be seen on footage behind Sterling as he cuts in towards the Danish goal. So far I haven’t seen this mentioned in the British media. I would have thought it was worth some discussion as the penalty should clearly have been disallowed for that reason. Any thoughts ?”
Thanks for the email David. Actually that’s not quite right, with regards to what the law says: if the ball isn’t interfering with play, the referee is instructed to allow play to continue and remove it at the earliest possible opportunity. In this case, it’s impossible to argue that the second ball had any effect on the play, even if Sterling dribbled past in close proximity to it. Here is the law in full:
Outside interference
outside interference e.g. if:• the floodlights are inadequate
official, the referee may allow the match to continue, or stop, suspend orabandon it depending on the severity of the incident
and restarted with a dropped ball• an extra ball, other object or animal enters the field of play during the
match, the referee must:
– stop play (and restart with a dropped ball) only if it interferes with play
– unless the ball is going into the goal and the interference does not
prevent a defending player playing the ball; the goal is awarded if the
ball enters the goal (even if contact was made with the ball) unless the
interference was by the attacking team
– allow play to continue if it does not interfere with play and have it
removed at the earliest possible opportunity
allows no unauthorised persons to enter the field of play”
a spectator blows a whistle which interferes with play – play is stopped
an object thrown by a spectator hits a match official, a player or team
stops, suspends or abandons the match for any offences or because of
Updated
Marcus Christenson has filed a scouting report on Italy. As Marcus writes, in the semi-final against Spain, Italy’s midfield three of Marco Verratti, Jorginho and Nicolò Barella were unsettled by Spain’s relentless pressing and the speed with which Luis Enrique’s team moved the ball. How will Southgate look to play it? England’s possession and passing game isn’t as good as Spain’s, so Italy can probably expect to have more of the ball in the final that they did against the 2008 and 2012 champions.
“Just watched the game again. Sober,” emails Tom. “I had a sense last night that we didn’t show enough and we got a bit lucky with the penalty. I couldn’t be more wrong. We were brilliant and managed the game out in a manner we are used to watching “other teams” do. I even feel better about the penalty. Sterling was relentless all night and he forced the error on a tired defence - Mæhle sticks out a leg when he had no need to and Sterling is entitled to take that invitation. It was high-end, game awareness from Sterling - the kind of smart play we are used to watching “other teams” do. This time it’s us. Enjoy it.”
I quite agree about the relentlessness of Sterling: his work-rate, pace and movement really have been a nightmare for defenders at this tournament. And in an alternative dimension, Schmeichel gets a better contact on the penalty, pushes it out of the danger zone, and it stays at 1-1. Those are the margins.
Steve McClaren now makes a good point on Sky Sports: “I hope England didn’t over-celebrate last night ... After an emotional high you always get an emotional dip ... Italy also had a penalty shoot-out which was a massive emotional high ... between now and the final is the key, whichever team gets that right - recovery, work ... ready for Sunday ... whichever team gets that right will be the team that wins.”
Updated
My take on the penalty: I’m not sure Mæhle touches him, and Sterling is obviously looking for it - even Sam Matterface said in commentary that he ‘drew a foul’. It is soft, but Mæhle chops his foot across Sterling’s path from the right, and from the referee’s viewpoint, it looks a clear foul. I don’t think Denmark can have too many complaints, although England fans would no doubt have plenty had they been eliminated by a softish penalty like that.
Updated
“Yes, the Sterling penalty was softish, but it was not overturned,” writes Ben Notcutt on electronic mail. “The Shaw foul for the Danish free-kick was also somewhat soft by the way ... It could perhaps also be considered cheating of a sort when Denmark instigated a five-minute time-out (preparing subs, nursing ‘serious’ injuries etc.) when England had them under chronic pressure, thereby disrupting the flow of the game. Swings and roundabouts!
Sergio Ramos signs for Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid’s perennial pantomime villain is heading for the French capital on a two-year deal, is has been confirmed.
Now that we’ve established that England are on the cusp of dominating the beautiful game for years to come - here is some pre-final reading about Italy: specifically, the long-standing friendship between head coach Robert Mancini and Gianluca Vialli, by Andy Gallagher:
Morning all. Wow! This is really happening, isn’t it?
Let’s cross live to Steve McClaren on Sky Sports News for a measured assessment of what the next few days, weeks, months and years may hold:
“Fantastic … it’s basically 55 years of expectation, hurt, failure, all we’ve heard about ’66 winning the Cup, 1982 Bobby Robson, 96 Terry Venables, and finally we have something to celebrate ... a final.
“Even if we don’t win, the generation who have seen nothing but England fail … they now have a generation who can achieve something, win something, and I think, can dominate football for quite a few years.”
Keep dominating!
Updated
Thanks for joining me for the past couple of hours. Luke McLaughlin will sail you through they hyperbole from now on.
David Ward emails: “Sad after a great performance to see so much vitriolic attention on one moment, so here’s my controversial opinion:
“Calling it a dive is utterly over the top. There are significant England penalties that have been won by dives, but this wasn’t one. The penalty possibly looked soft, but I think it was also correct. The second defender made the initial illegal contact more significant, like a small shirt tug in midfield being penalised because it prevented the victim from winning the next challenge.
“The Danish free kick was also soft, but the blame goes to Shaw, who should have realised the danger of the decision going against him.
The question of the penalty should never have arisen, because play should have been stopped for a stray ball on the pitch. Once that was missed, it was always going to be messy.
“I’m confident England would have won regardless, because they were so clearly dominant from the last quarter of normal time onwards, and always looked like scoring. The only time that changed was briefly when Denmark had to play and England didn’t know whether to stick or twist.”
Inevitably, Three Lions will be top of the charts on Sunday thanks to England qualifying for the final at Wembley. David Baddiel, who never followed up his first hit, thinks football has already returned home by reading the last two.
Covid, and its impact, has made the run of success for Gareth Southgate’s side more poignant.
“I think really what it is telling us is that it has been difficult,” Baddiel told Today on BBC Radio 4. “It has been really difficult for a lot of people at the moment and I think the fact England have managed to do this, the relief of all that time is also the relief of the Covid experience and the fact we can have a bit of joy and a bit of celebration.”
Speaking about the final against Italy on Sunday, he added: “It is important. No-one wants to lose a final but I would agree with you. People are saying to me, ‘Has it come home? Is it coming home?’ Obviously, that happens to me a lot. And a tiny part of me wants to say, ‘Well, it has already come home. It has already to some extent just by being in the final’.”
Every one a banger.
The UK iTunes song charts on 8 July 2021 pic.twitter.com/OiZP7GTUCh
— James Dart (@James_Dart) July 8, 2021
The great clean-up operation has begun in earnest after England striker Harry Kane’s extra-time winner sent the men’s national football team to their first major tournament final in more than half a century.
Before many jubilant fans roused from their slumbers on Thursday, street teams were out clearing up after those whose celebrations stumbled into excess. Some streets across the nation were strewn with empty disposable plastic pint glasses, food cartons, laughing gas canisters and other detritus. Elsewhere, there were signs of damage to street furniture.
In central London, cleaning staff were seen at dawn working to tidy up Leicester Square, where many fans congregated on Wednesday night during and after England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark.
One woman cleaning the area told the PA news agency on Thursday morning: “It is a disgrace. People have damaged the irrigation system and some climbed up the fountain. There may be an investigation launched into it as we are not sure how much damage was caused. People can have fun but they don’t need to get sloshed.”
Updated
Former England manager Sam Allardyce, who should be in charge of this tournament, told Good Morning Britain: “I think we all felt before we went into the tournament that the young squad that Gareth has got – not only the first XI but the strength and depth of his squad – was outstanding. And it’s proven to be the case.
“I think that what he’s done is managed 26 players exceptionally well, kept them all on the same path.
“The spirit is everything when you go into a tournament, into any football club. The team spirit of the players is brilliant, you can see that, the joy of being together. And I think that he’s used that squad to its full potential. He’s made changes nearly every game.
“And he’s got one thing that’s looking like it’s the solid base they can win this tournament on and that is a fantastic defensive record. Just one goal conceded in the whole tournament up to now – and that was a pretty good free-kick last night.
“They (England) were the better side, they created more chances, they found it difficult to get the winning goal, of course, and then in the end – as always in any football match, a little bit of luck sometimes – with the penalty where it came back to Harry (Kane) to finish it off.
“We can all forget about that now, we’re in the final. It was a great night for everybody in England and I think that the whole country celebrated. And the millions and millions that watched it are going to look forward to Sunday now.”
Mason Mount seems a good sort.
Just when you think #ENG winning couldn't get any better, you see this video. ❤️ #bbceuro2020 pic.twitter.com/XSNrLdUSyr
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 8, 2021
Mike Mackenzie writes: “In reply to Greg Morris at 9:34 who wrote an otherwise decent email (though I disagree about why VAR didn’t overturn ref’s call): ‘Deserve’s got nothing to do with it!’ William Munny (Clint Eastwood in ‘’Unforgiven’’ after shooting Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) who had said ‘I don’t deserve this.’”
There were some euphoric scenes last night, that is for sure.
“I wish everyone could get their heads around the fact that there is a grey area over whether a foul is a foul in football,” says Greg Morris is response to Cormac De Barra’s correspondence at 8.39am. “It’s not clear cut, and never has been. Sterling went over easily. Only he will know whether he dived or not. But if it is so obvious that it was a dive, why didn’t VAR overturn it? Answer, because it’s not obvious. If the referee hadn’t given a penalty, VAR wouldn’t have overturned that either. Getting those marginal decisions is the “luck” that you need in football. For sure, if the same had happened to England last night I would be feeling aggrieved and condemning the Danes for their gamesmanship. But these things happen in football and if you can’t accept them you should watch another sport. Oh, and I thought England were the better team and deserved to win anyway.”
From PA: Twenty people have been arrested in London in the wake of England’s Euro 2020 victory over Denmark, the Met police said. The force added alleged offences included “common assault, public order and assault on police”.
The YouTube is classic and should get you in the mood for Sunday. Or, at the very least, you can enjoy Jimmy Anderson.
Theo Walcott reckons Raheem Sterling is the man of the tournament and few will question him.
“With the Italians’ older guys, he is going to cause them havoc so if we can try to isolate Raheem with any of those guys, they are going to have a real difficult evening and I just feel we are so fit,” Walcott told TalkSport.
“You could see at the end, the way Raheem just glided past players like it was the first minute. It shows we are doing something right behind the scenes – the fitness guys.
“My son goes to the same class as Raheem’s and he is always saying Raheem’s dad scored again. Honestly it is so nice that he has proved so many people wrong.
“He is a fantastic player, a fantastic man and he deserves everything he is getting. For me, player of the tournament without a shadow of doubt.”
Spain is certainly not pleased.
Marca this morning: "English football can stop lecturing the rest of the continent about diving. Always going on about how frowned upon it is when a foreigner tries to trick the referee. In pure English football, it's not done. Except in the semi-final of the Euros that is."
— Tom Allnutt (@TomAllnuttAFP) July 8, 2021
Jorginho is quite good. Beware England!
Get your images from last night right here ...
Gareth Southgate probably woke up two hours ago and started looking at his big Italian dossier. The euphoria quickly dies down in the professional environment and he knows he will be facing a far better team on Sunday than last night. Admittedly, the England squad will probably spend the morning swimming with inflatable unicorns, so that will maintain calm.
Teddy Sheringham insisted he never doubted Three Lions captain Harry Kane, who took his tally for Euro 2020 to four goals after he struck the winner against Denmark.
“First of all I never doubted Harry for one moment,” the 55-year-old, who helped England reach the semi-finals at Euro 96, told talkSPORT.
“Before the Ukraine game, he was on one goal and he was 18-1 (to win the golden boot). I thought I can’t let that go so I had a few quid on Harry because you know he will come good.
“He is the leader, he knows he is good and it is very hard to tell people in the newspapers ‘yeah I’m good, I am the best centre-forward in the world’ without being a flash git.
“But he is saying it in a way where he knows he is good, in fact he is better than that, he is great, and he knew it would come. And very much like Alan Shearer when we were in Euro 96.
“He was the best centre-forward, you knew he would play and you can’t take him out because if half a chance comes on the pitch, you want him there.”
“I won’t be reading Guardian Sport today,” Cormac De Barra says in an email to the Guardian. “I am sick of listening to players, staff and media saying “we got our bit of luck today to win the game”. What luck? Diving is not lucky ... it’s a purposeful act of deception.
“If England had lost in the same fashion we would not hear the end of it. Double standards? Then there are the two balls on the pitch. The game should have been stopped. In fact it was stopped a couple of minutes earlier when a throw-in was re-taken because of two balls.And then there’s the English fans pointing laser pointers at Schmeichel during the penalty. Disgraceful behaviour. Disgraceful day all round for English football. I hope they get a lesson from the Italians on Sunday and that karma comes back to bite them in the ass.
“Enjoy your day of hyperbole.”
Have a great day, too, Cormac.
Andy Hunter on last night’s TV coverage.
From the other side, Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand is not very happy with the world, especially over the penalty which resulted in the winning goal.
“It was a penalty which should not have been a penalty. It is something which annoys me right now,” Hjulmand said. “We are very disappointed.
“You cannot pass by the ball on the pitch which has so much influence on the game.
“I know it sounds weird right now but I cannot help having these feelings. One thing is to lose a game, it happens, but losing this way is disappointing because these guys have fought a lot. It feels bitter but we have to digest this before we can discuss these feelings. It’s a bitter way to leave the tournament.
“The way we lost makes it harder to understand why we lost. I have to be careful with what I say. We have an amazing group and we definitely can do something great again. Maybe it is easier for me to say how I feel in a few days.”
Big Brain Jonathan Wilson looks at how ruddy good Sterling and Saka are.
Over on ITV, they have sourced Peter Reid to have a big chat about it all.
Reid told Good Morning Britain: “The manager has been absolutely outstanding. He’s had pressure on him, stuck to his guns.
“The players have been magnificent, the crowd’s magnificent. They’ve just got to go and win it now.
“First of all (Southgate) was working with the Under-21s so he has known some of these lads for a long time. And what he’s done is made our national team into like a club side in spirit. And nothing gets to him. There’s pressure on them, being at home, massive pressure, and they’ve handled it.
“Besides being good footballers doing their jobs – determination, ability, they’ve got a spirit among them which I love. And the manager fosters that, and the staff.”
It is going to be a long day of everyone who has ever played for England being trotted out to discuss last night.
The first person on show is Darren Anderton, who was snapped up to talk us through England’s glorious victory by trotting out a view cliches.
“This is the toughest manager’s job in the world, it really is, and it doesn’t seem to faze him (Southgate),” Anderton told BBC Breakfast. “Whether we have a result like we did last night or beating Germany 2-0, which is obviously close to his heart after what we all went through 25 years ago, or if we have a poor performance like we did against Scotland – he doesn’t get carried away either way. It’s just great to see him enjoy this success because he really does deserve it.”
Scenes ...
It is best to start by going through what happened last night ...
The match report ...
The reaction ...
The player ratings ...
The 55-year itch ...
Good morning
It is the morning after the night before. Now is the time for all England fans to realise that there is still a final to come and Italy are very good at football. The questions about whether football is coming home will intensify over the coming days.
England’s victory was, in my opinion, a deserved one and I even think the penalty was fairly awarded. Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling were incredible, they made the difference in the tough stages of the match.
We will all get to enjoy a day of hyperbole, so strap yourselves in, it is going to be a wild ride.
