A controversial extra-time penalty from skipper Harry Kane saw England come from behind to beat Denmark in front of a 64,950 strong crowd at Wembley and book their spot in Sunday’s final against Roberto Mancini’s Italy. Here are our talking points from the clash
England end semi-final hoodoo
Since the 1966 triumph on home soil, England had reached the semi-finals of five major tournaments, only to lose on every occasion. It happened in the 1968 and 1996 Euros, the 1990 and 2018 World Cups as well as the 2019 Nations League. The last three failures would’ve hurt Gareth Southgate personally- he was manager for the 2018 and 2019 games, and had missed the decisive penalty as a player in the 1996 shootout against Germany. This was redemption of sorts for both him and the team, and they’ll be quietly confident against Italy at Wembley. As many of the papers said in their headlines, it was a “finally” moment for the Three Lions!
Kane delivers for England
Given the five decade plus wait, Kane’s 104th minute spot kick was a massive one. England would’ve been desperate for the game not to go to penalties, given their dominance in normal time, and the Spurs forward delivered when it mattered the most. Yes, his effort was initially saved by Kasper Schmeichel, but he was on hand to tuck away the rebound, and the scoreline changing from 1-1 to 2-1 was all that mattered to the delirious fans at Wembley.
It also took Kane’s tally to four, and a look at the top goalscorer odds for the tournament indicates he could finish top come Sunday. Ronaldo and Patrick Schick currently lead with 5- a single goal would see the England captain go level with them, and a brace will almost certainly see him finish as the top scorer. No Italian has more than two to his name going into the final.
Kane also has two Man of the Match awards at the tournament- a third on Sunday will see him finish as the player with the most MOTM’s.
England concede for the first time
Mikkel Damsgaard’s stunning 30th minute free kick was the first time England keeper Jordan Pickford had conceded a goal in this tournament after previous successful clean sheets against the likes of Croatia and Germany. There were doubts over how Southgate’s men would react if they fell behind in a knockout game, but to their credit, they recovered, and didn’t falter, as had happened in the clash against Iceland at the previous tournament in France.
For the stats oriented folks, Damsgaard’s goal, interestingly, was also the first one from a direct FK at the tournament. It was an absolutely beaut too, and would’ve increased his value on the transfer market significantly should he want to leave Sampdoria.
Danes too defensive?
Denmark were excellent in the first half, but appeared to lose steam after the hour mark. They had just one shot between minutes 60 and 120. Coach Kasper Hjulmand packed the midfield by sending on the likes of Norgaard and Jensen, but the Danes spent much of the second half and extra time defending, and actually finished with ten men when Jensen went off injured.
It was still an excellent tournament for the Danes (even more so in the absence of their best player in Eriksen), but few would argue that England didn’t deserve to go through. The penalty might have been a tad controversial, but the way the hosts had been pounding Schmeichel’s goal, it was only a matter of time before the wall broke, as shown by this shots map and match stats.
