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When referee Danny Makkelie blew the final whistle to mark the end of England's game against Denmark in the second semi-final of UEFA Euro 2020, the floodgates opened for English fans at the Wembley.
They were not tears of sorrow, as was the case at the end of another European Championship semi-final game 25 years ago, but of joy. England had, after all, finally overcome the 'semi' hurdle to make it to their first major final since 1966, and that too in front of their raucous fan base.
England overcame a plucky Denmark team 2-1 in an emotionally-charged game to set up a date with Italy in the final on Sunday at the same venue. It took them some effort to do that, though.
Denmark, the surprise package of Euro 2020, took a deserved lead through a stunning free-kick from Mikkel Damsgaard in the 30th minute. But England were deserving of their equaliser, which came about followed sustained pressure which led to Denmark captain Simon Kjaer turning the ball into his own net nine minutes later.
A soft penalty awarded to England much later in the 14th minute of extra time, for minimal contact on Raheem Sterling, led to Harry Kane scoring the winner off the rebound after Kasper Schemeichel had saved the latter's original feeble effort. But to be fair to them, England were relentless in their effort to get the winning goal in the later stages of the game and laid siege to the Denmark penalty box.
On that note, here are the player ratings from another enthralling UEFA Euro 2020 game.
England Player Ratings
Jordan Pickford (6.5/10)
In a game in which he broke legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks' longstanding record for most minutes by an England keeper without conceding a goal, Pickford was a mixed bag.
He made a few decisive clearances through punches and decent saves but also made two horrible passes that put his team in trouble. If one is extra critical, one might also pick holes in his efforts to stop the cannonball-like free-kick that led to Denmark's goal.
Harry Maguire (7.5/10)
It was another fine performance from Harry Maguire at the heart of England's defence. He was calm, assured, good in tackles and clearances, good with his distribution, and as always an offensive threat from set-pieces. A soft yellow card later in the game marred his night to an extent, though.
John Stones (7/10)
It was another good outing for John Stones as well, whose telepathic understanding with Maguire has made England a formidable defensive unit. He hardly put a foot wrong in his coverage and marking.
Kyle Walker (7/10)
When Kyle Walker is at his best, he is full of running and verve as well as being a tough person to get past for the opposition. Thankfully for England, he was all that and more on an important night.
Luke Shaw (7/10)
Shaw is in great form; he is calm on the ball, great with his crossing and effective both on the overlap and while tracking back. But he has had much better games at UEFA Euro 2020 and it was Shaw who gave away a cheap free-kick that led to Denmark's goal.
Declan Rice (6.5/10)
Rice did his job perfectly as a defensive midfielder, screening the backline and keeping it neat as England passed the ball really well on the night. But he offered very little going forward.
Kalvin Phillips (6.5/10)
Once again, Phillips was tidy in possession and great in breaking up plays, However, he squandered one gilt-edged opportunity by shooting the ball high over the bar. He repeatedly found himself in advanced positions, but did not use those opportunities judiciously.
Mason Mount (7/10)
Mount was loads of energy and fine touches in the first half. But the playmaker vanished a little in the second as he hardly exerted the same creative influence on the game.
Bukayo Saka (7.5/10)
A fine young talent, Saka was again started as the right-sided wide forward by Gareth Southgate. He was a livewire, with his dangerous low cross from that flank leading to England's first goal of the night.
Harry Kane (8/10)
Yes, his penalty was poor and he offered little as a goal threat on the night, but the England captain was inspirational. His passing was on cue as well, and it was his defence-splitting through that opened things up for Saka to cross the ball for England's first goal. Kane topped off a good night with the winning goal, a tap-in from close range following a missed penalty.
Raheem Sterling (8/10)
Once again England's best attacker, Sterling exhibited top-notch dribbling, and his movement across the final third was menacing. His pressure led to the own goal, and his nifty footwork to the winning penalty. But he hit the ball straight to the keeper from close range right before England's opener when he should have scored. Sterling skied another good chance as well.
Ratings of England Substitutes:
Jack Grealish (7/10)
Grealish came on in the second half and immediately livened up proceedings with his ball-control and playmaking. He also had a powerful shot saved, but was strangely subbed before second half extra-time.
Jordan Henderson (6/10)
Henderson replaced Declan Rice in the second half but did little to assert his authority on the game, as he got very few touches.
Phil Foden (7/10)
Foden was good on the ball and in passing in the limited time he spent on the pitch.
Kieran Trippier (6.5/10)
Trippier came on to see off the game and did just that.
Denmark Player Ratings against England
Kasper Schmeichel (8.5/10)
Schmeichel had a brilliant game against England and was possibly the best player on the pitch. He made a range of stops, from stunning to regulation, including the penalty that was turned in by Kane. The Leicester City custodian commanded the Denmark penalty box well.
Simon Kjaer (7/10)
Kjaer was inspirational once again at centre-back. The Danish captain was unfortunate to concede the own goal under pressure but bailed his team out on quite a few occasions.
Jannik Vestergaard (6.5/10)
By no means did the half-back have a bad game, but Vestergaard gave away a couple of cheap free-kicks in his overexuberance to turn the ball over.
Andreas Christensen (7.5/10)
Denmark's best defender on the night was great in his tackling and clearances. But Christensen had to be subbed off after heroically stretching to stop a ball that would have put Grealish through.
Jens Stryger Larsen (6.5/10)
The wing-back was assured in his defensive duties, but his crossing from the right lacked potency.
Pierre-Emile Hojbejrg (8/10)
Hojbjerg was amazing on the night. The Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder read the game perfectly and broke up play with elan. He was seemingly ubiquitous on the field against England.
Thomas Delaney (7/10)
It was another consummate performance in midfield from a defensive perspective. A little more quality in attack from Delaney could have made the difference against England, though.
Joakim Maehle (6.5/10)
Maehle, the other Denmark wingback, has also had better games at Euro 2020. He was decent on the ball against England but was often late on tackles and needed to offer more going forward.
Martin Braithwaite (6.5/10)
The Barcelona forward worked hard but needed to hit the target better when shooting. He could have got into better positions as a striker too.
Kasper Dolberg (7/10)
The striker has had a great Euro 2020 campaign. Dolberg looked sharp on the night as well. Some of his shots had venom and fizz, but he did not get a great look at the goal against England.
Mikkel Damsgaard (8/10)
The 21-year-old super talent not only netted a stunning free-kick, but he also initiated counters with his sharp passing. Damsgaard was instrumental in Denmark dominating large swathes of the first half but was taken off in the second.
Ratings of Denmark substitiutes:
Joachim Andersen (7/10)
Andersen perfectly fit into the Denmark defence in place of Christensen after the latter hurt himself while stretching to prevent an England attack.
Youssuf Poulsen (5/10)
The striker's entry coincided with Denmark becoming ultra defensive. Poulsen himself hardly did anything upfront and also committed one or two poor fouls.
Daniel Wass (6/10)
Wass struggled partly because England were relentless in their pressing.
Mathias Jensen (6/10)
Jensen came on in the 88th minute to offer creative impetus but never really influenced the game against England.
Jonas Wind (5.5/10)
The striker got 16 minutes to become a hero. Needless to say, that never happened, and Jonas Wind hardly got into the game.
