England will take on Italy in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, after Gareth Southgate’s team earned an extra-time win against Denmark last night to send a nation into ecstatic celebration.
England fell behind to a terrific Mikkel Damsgaard free-kick on the half-hour mark at Wembley, before Raheem Sterling forced a Simon Kjaer own goal nine minutes later. Neither side could find a winner in the second half, but on the cusp of half-time in extra time, Sterling was deemed to have been fouled in the Danes’ penalty area. England captain Harry Kane saw his spot-kick saved by Kasper Schmeichel but scored the rebound, and that goal proved decisive.
It ended England’s 55-year wait to compete in a final at a major tournament. The Three Lions’ only previous final appearance came at the 1966 World Cup, also on home soil, marking the sole trophy the nation has ever won. If Southgate’s players are to win silverware when they return to Wembley on Sunday, they will need to defeat an Italy side that have arguably been team of the tournament so far this summer. Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri beat Spain on penalties in the semi-finals, having ousted the world’s No 1-ranked team Belgium in the quarter-finals.
It’s not all good news for England though, after Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings against them following a number of breaches during the game including an incident which saw Denmark goalkeeper Schmeichel have a laser shone in his face as he was preparing for Kane’s spot-kick. Follow all the reaction to England vs Denmark plus all the build-up to Sunday’s Euro 2020 final below. To find out what others are saying and join the conversation scroll down for the comments section orclick here for our most commented on articles.
