England are just two days away from their first appearance at a men’s major tournament final in over half a century, with the conclusion of Euro 2020 seeing them face Italy at Wembley on Sunday night.
Gareth Southgate’s side beat Denmark after extra time in the semis, Harry Kane netting the decisive goal on the rebound of his own penalty, took book the Three Lions’ spot against the Azzurri and send Wembley into ecstasy. The manager went as wild as any other supporter at the final whistle and says the energy and emotion of the occasion was incredible to be a part of. “I’ve always had that sort of relationship with the fans at the clubs I was at. I suppose it was everybody’s emotion,” he said. “I knew how much that would mean to everybody to be able to be here tonight. The crowd were incredible in giving us that energy throughout the game and, yes, it was a special moment for all of us. So I’m not embarrassed about losing my head a little bit in that moment.”
One night previous, Roberto Mancini’s Italy saw off Spain on penalties to clinch their own place in the final, having been perhaps the most impressive side of all this summer. While it’s England who are on home soil, Italy will benefit from an agreement which sees 1,000 of their supporters able to travel for the game without needing to quarantine.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the semi-final has seen England charged by Uefa after a laser was shone in the face of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel during the game and there have been calls to ban the supporter responsible for life. Follow all the latest Euro 2020 news updates and build-up to the final below:
