UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 28

England (1) 2 – 1 (1) Denmark [AET]

Goalscorers: England – Kjaer (39’og), Kane (104′). Denmark – Damsgaard (30′)

Wembley Stadium, London

Well, well, well…in the words of Chris Kamara, “Unbelievable Jeff”. I had noted yesterday how history had indicated that a 1-0 result was a common one between these two sides, and when Damsgaard bent in a marvellous free-kick and then Schmeichel saved from Raheem Sterling from point-blank range shortly after, that prediction had a worrying predictability about it. However, it was nice to be proved wrong when just nine minutes after going behind, England were level. Kane played a delightful ball inside the Danish defence allowing Saka to skip to the bye-line before delivering a tantalising cross that Kjaer could only knock into his own net with Sterling lurking for a tap-in. 1-1 at the break and the nerves were jangling. The second-half saw both sides look for the winner, with Schmeichel producing a save from Harry Maguire that mirrored the one that the Dane pulled off in the FA Cup Final, incidentally at the same end of the ground and also to a header which he pushed away to his right. England looked to have a decent penalty shout turned down when Kane looked to have been fouled, and one wondered what VAR had missed when turning it down. One aspect that helped the Three Lions during this period was that the Danes used five substitutions during the second-half, compared to Gareth Southgate’s single change. It meant that in extra-time, England were able to freshen the side with a number of changes, whilst the Danes simply had one further substitute to use. The winner came as the first period was coming to an end. Sterling who has been outstanding in this competition was bundled over as two Danes closed in on the Manchester City player. The referee pointed to the spot and after checking VAR the award was confirmed, whilst the Danes understandably complained about the decision. Captain Kane stepped up and although his spot-kick was saved, it fell kindly for him to stroke in and set off scenes of unadulterated joy in the stadium and across the country. It was all of a bit of a blur from then as England saw out the game and after 55 years return to a major Final. That turgid game against Scotland now seems a lifetime away.