It's Coming Home? England Advance To EURO Final
08 July, 2021
England advanced to the first-ever European Championship final after defeating Denmark 2-1 in extra-time on Wednesday evening at Wembley Stadium.
EURO 2020 Semi-Final
Result: England 2-1 Denmark
Date: 07 July 2021
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate made one change from the win over Ukraine as Bukayo Saka recovered from injury and replaced Jadon Sancho, who dropped to the bench.
England did all the attacking in the early stages of the encounter, but they were unable to test Kasper Schmeichel while Martin Braithwaite forced Jordan Pickford into a save on 16 minutes.
Fifteen minutes later, Pickford was picking the ball out of his net when Mikkel Damsgaard gave the Danes the lead with a superb free-kick from around 25-yards out.
The hosts should have been level on 37 minutes when Harry Kane turned provider to pick out Raheem Sterling, who fired straight at Schmeichel from point-blank range.
England got their reward moments later though as Kane played in Saka, who in turn sent a low cross into the box that was turned home by Denmark captain Simon Kjaer for the own goal.
With the first half ending all square, England nearly pulled themselves ahead on 10 minutes into the second half but Schmeichel produced a superb save to keep out Harry Maguire's header.
Both coaches opted for a change for the final 25 minutes of the second half, as Damsgaard made way for Yussuf Poulsen while England introduced fan favourite Jack Grealish for Saka.
Southgate's men dominated the remaining stages of the second half but were unable to find a winning goal in regulation time, with Kane squandered a big chance in the final minute after being set up by Grealish.
With England dominating, Sterling managed to win his side a penalty on 102 minutes after going down under a challenge form Joakim Maehle. Kane stepped up but saw his spot-kick saved by Schmeichel, although the striker was on hand to fire home the rebound.
The Three Lions were able to hold for the second half of extra-time to set up a final clash with Italy on Sunday evening at Wembley Stadium.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za