England will be in the final of the Eurocup . Nobody gave Denmark options, while everyone hoped they would surprise for the sake of humble football. But it could not be for those who supported the Danes, although they touched the miracle by sending the party to extra time thanks to a great Schmeichel . In fact, they went ahead with a goal from Damsgaard , but Kjaer’s own goals and another from Harry Kane allow Gareht Southgate’s men to play the title against Italy next Sunday at Wembley.
Wembley , the temple of football in Europe, hosted this semi-final. The atmosphere was idyllic. After a year and a half, it was quite hard to see a stadium like this, it was even exciting. Too bad, the English hooligans’ whistles to the anthem of a Denmark that suffered a hard blow with what happened with Christian Eriksen at the start of the Eurocup , but who came to this match against the Three Lions with the dream more alive than ever of standing in the final. For their part, those from Southgate , in front of a mostly British audience, wanted to fight for their first European Championship.
Boris Johnson from the stands saw how the English came out with enough intensity to the Wembley turf and how Denmark defended themselves in an exceptional way. England were approaching the Schmeichel area but were unable to put the Leicester goalkeeper in trouble. Sterling , as always, moving with great agility was the most active, but it was not enough.
England concedes their first goal
Denmark began to wake up when they reached the quarter of an hour and began to show that combinatorial game that has made them the revelation selection in this European Championship . Guided by Damsgaard , undoubtedly the young revelation player of the tournament with Pedri, the Danes approached the English goal with a warning from the Sampdoria player. He tried a placed shot that was lost near the squad, but in the next one he had, with a mid-range foul, he did not miss and put the ball directly into the opposite corner. As much as he flew, Pickford could do nothing to avoid conceding his first goal of the tournament.
Denmark was thus ahead on the scoreboard, but the reaction of the Three Lions quickly arrived. Sterling first ran into a Schmeichel who made a sublime save, but a minute later the goalkeeper couldn’t avoid the draw. He came after a kill pass from Saka that went to the City end, but Kjaer , in his attempt to cut off the assist, shoved the leather into his own goal and unleashed the madness at Wembley . With 1-1 the referee signaled the break and ahead there were 45 minutes that both teams fought for that ticket that gave access to the final of the Eurocup.
On the return, both Denmark and England continued to have a beautiful duel in the center of the field. On the part of the Danes, Delaney and Hojbjerg , and on the English side, Rice and Phillips , they lived a constant struggle to avoid the opponent’s attacks, but in a semi-final match and with great intensity like this one, that was impossible. Schmeichel made a save again after a shot from Maguire , who came in like a F16 to finish. Minutes before, the United center-back also had it, but this time he hit Kjaer’s head, leaving him groggy on the pitch.
Schmeichel supports Denmark
Denmark was not shrinking, it was faithful to its idea and was not daunted at all. Dolberg put Pickford to the test with a very weak shot that ended up in the hands of the Everton goalkeeper. The semifinal could be decided in any detail and both selectors began to move the bench. They entered, among others, Wass, Poulsen or Grealish , and the English began to appear to give a boost to an England that was being somewhat better in this second act than its rival.
The minutes passed, there were less than ten left, and no one was satisfied, no one wanted to go to extra time. But in the 6 ‘that there was overtime, Denmark did give the ball to England and locked themselves behind preventing Southgate’s men from finding a fissure with which to score the winning goal. In this way, extra time was reached and Kane was about to make the second as soon as he started, but, once again, Kasper Schmeichel was there to put a saving hand and deny the Tottenham striker the goal.
It’s coming home, closer
England became lord and master of the party. They dominated and played all the time on the opponent’s court, but Denmark was well planted on the Wembley green. If it was not Schmeichel, it was a defense led by Vestergaard who avoided the second of the Three Lions , but Maehle and Jensen committed a dubious penalty on Sterling that would transform Harry Kane , but on the rebound, because the Danish goalkeeper got to hit the side and stop him .
In the second half of overtime Denmark took more risks, now it was England who did not allow anything. The final whistle has arrived and the English will be in the final to fight for the first European Championship in their history. They will do it in front of their public, of the hooligans that will fill Wembley to see their players fight against Italy to be crowned the best team on the old continent. Party guaranteed next Sunday with the Azzurra anthem, God save The Queen and of course, Football’s coming home.
