Italy will meet England in Sunday’s Euro 2020 final at Wembley after Gareth Southgate’s side beat Denmark 2-1 after extra time on Wednesday evening.
A Simon Kjaer own goal levelled things up before half time after a gorgeous Mikkel Damsgaard opener had put the visitors ahead less than 10 minutes earlier. Harry Kane then tapped in a rebound after missing a penalty to book England’s place in the final.
England fed off the crowd early on at a packed Wembley, but they found themselves behind midway through the first half.
Denmark had only just started to get themselves into the game and to look to take the game to their hosts when Damsgaard produced his second stunning goal of the tournament. The Sampdoria starlet fired in a fierce freekick from around 25 metres that left Jordan Pickford a little rad-faced as it flew into the back of his net without being in the corner.
But the lead wasn’t to last. Southgate’s side responded perfectly to falling behind and Raheem Sterling should have scored when he saw Kasper Schmeichel get in the way of his effort from close range.
?They levelled almost immediately though and Sterling was again involved. Kane sent Bukayo Saka in on the right and the Arsenal man cut across goal as he reached the byline. With Sterling set to tap into an open goal, AC Milan’s Kjaer was only able to turn it into his own net as he scrambled back in an attempt to clear.
England were then well on top and, as the second half progressed, they grew stronger. Harry Maguire came very close with a header but Schmeichel did very well to deny the Manchester United defender, then Kane had a penalty appeal waved away both on the pitch and then after a VAR check.
Kane had a chance to seal it in the last seconds before extra time, but misfired right in front of goal as the ball fell his way after nice work from Jack Grealish.
Extra time had barely kicked off by the time Kane forced Schmeichel into another crucial save.
Just as the first 15 minutes of extra time came to an end, Sterling went to ground under a bit of Danish pressure and a soft penalty was awarded. Kane had his kick saved but was able to turn in the rebound.
From there, Denmark looked unlikely to get back on terms.
