ENGLAND IN DREAMLAND
England 2 Denmark 1: Brave Three Lions FINALLY break semi-final hoodoo and can now end 55 years of final hurt
WHEN the moment arrived, it felt as if 55 years of footballing pain and 16 months of pandemic frustrations had vanished in one explosion of joy.
And, as they like to sing round Wembley way, good times never seemed so good.
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The last time England reached a final, it was rolled out on Pathe newsreel, this time it was all over TikTok and Instagram.
It has been one hell of a wait, so who cared that we’d had to wait a little longer for Harry Kane to score the extra-time winner from a rebound after his spot-kick was saved.
We were used to Englishmen missing penalties at the sharp end of semi-finals but this time it didn’t matter a jot.
Gareth Southgate’s men - who have busted so many ghosts over these past few weeks and over the past few years - exploded England’s semi-final hoodoo with a comeback victory on a night of extraordinary tension and magnificent old-school noise.
It was like attending a rave, a festival, a mass meeting of a religious cult, all rolled in to one as the biggest Wembley crowd since lockdown urged England over the line and into their first ever European Championship final.
England have lost four previous semi-finals since Sir Alf Ramsey’s men ruled the world but they will face Italy on Sunday night for what might just be the loudest and most fretful night of football this nation has ever seen.
Italy, unbeaten in 33 games, will provide formidable opposition - even though Roberto Mancini’s side were outplayed for long spells of their high-class semi-final against Spain.
But England, after a panicky opening half-hour which saw Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick put Denmark in front, were the better team and deserved winners.
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Raheem Sterling forced the own-goal equaliser from Simon Kjaer and won the penalty for the winner in another brilliant, daring display.
Harry Maguire was immense in central defence and but for Danish Kasper Schmeichel, they would have been home and hosed inside 90 minutes.
The previous three and half weeks had been almost dreamlike for Southgate - no goals conceded, no injuries, no suspensions, no aggro, no dramas.
Just a team who have grown into the tournament, as champions so often do.
This was far more tense than anything before it - but there was no way, after all these years, that England were going to reach a final the easy way.
Denmark’s progress, of course, had been nothing like as smooth.
The trauma of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest on day two of this tournament had bonded the Danes and fuelled them with emotion.
Yet they were a serious side anyway - the highest-ranked team England had faced in this tournament - and winners here in the Nations League in October.
Schmeichel provided the pre-match bantz by taunting the English as to whether football had ever actually come home.
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A build-up wouldn’t be the same without someone suggesting English arrogance, even though Southgate and his squad are the most humble bunch of millionaires you could ever meet.
It was Wembley’s largest crowd for more than 16 months and the place had never seemed louder before kick-off.
The playlist of the summer - Three Lions, Atomic Kitten, Sweet Caroline and God Save The Queen - all belted out with gusto.
Southgate brought back Bukayo Saka, in place of Jadon Sancho, with the rest of those who had stuffed Ukraine getting the nod again.
England began with fire in their bellies but ants in their pants.
Uncharacteristically, they were frantic going forward but also in defence.
Down the left Sterling and Luke Shaw were bursting with energy and intent.
But errors from Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Pickford almost proved expensive, Martin Braithwaite had a shot deflected wide and Damsgaard bent one just beyond the far post.
The Danes were more assured, and deserved their opener.
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Mason Mount gave away one free-kick, Shaw conceded another while defending the first one, and Damsgaard took aim from 25 yards, bending his shot past Pickford.
It was the first goal England had conceded in 11 and a half hours of football but it had been coming.
But soon England’s front three came to the party.
First Saka fed Kane who squared for Sterling only for Schmeichel to pull off a smart save.
Within a minute, though, Kane dropped deep and released Saka who cut back for Sterling, with Danish skipper Simon Kjaer getting the final touch, into his own net.
Wembley exploded but still, you felt, England needed to calm down, keep the ball and do the things that had got them here.
After the break, Saka won a free-kick but Maguire was booked for attacking Mount’s dead-ball cross but catching Kjaer.
Then another Mount free-kick from the right and soaring Maguire header forcing Schmeichel to plunge low and save at full stretch.
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This was better from England, searching for openings, keeping the Danes pinned back.
Then Southgate called for Jack Grealish, in place of Saka, and he soon won a threatening free-kick, Mount had a cross-shot turned away by Schmeichel, then Christian Norgaard appeared to trip Kane but there was no penalty.
Even mild-mannered Mount was getting feisty, squaring up to Norgaard, as the atmosphere became increasingly tense - high stakes, huge anxiety, England pressing, Denmark clinging on.
In the final action of normal time, a half-chance fell to Kane but the skipper couldn’t connect.
In extra-time, Walker’s sweeping pass released Kane but Schmeichel saved well again.
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Then Sterling went on another darting run and was brought down by Joakim Maehle, Schmeichel kept out Kane’s spot-kick but the England skipper nicked the rebound and the place went ballistic.
If you thought this was tense, wait for Sunday night.
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