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England booked their spot in the Euro 2020 final against Italy by defeating Denmark 2-1 in extra-time.
Denmark have been the surprise package of the tournament and rebounded well after losing captain Christian Eriksen in their first game. They went on to knockout Wales and the Czech Republic on their way to the semi-finals. The Danes turned in another good performance against England and looked capable of springing an upset.
Mikkel Damsgaard, who entered the starting XI following Eriksen's collapse, has turned into a real talisman for the side. He threatened early on when he flashed an effort just wide of the top right corner. Damsgaard was far from finished and at the 30-minute mark, he put the world on notice with a dazzling free-kick.
Damsgaard thumped a right-footed effort from the set-piece that soared into the goal. While Jordan Pickford should have done better in goal, nothing should be taken away from the beautiful strike that saw Denmark take a 1-0 lead.
Perhaps conceding their first goal of the tournament relaxed the England side, who looked far more composed from this point onwards. They nearly equalized in the 38th minute when Harry Kane's low ball in from the right was met by Raheem Sterling's foot on the edge of the 6-yard box.
Sterling's effort ended up being fairly central but Kasper Schmeichel still did really well to deny him with a reaction stop and Denmark quickly scrambled it clear. After England recycled the ball from this same passage of play, they got their reward.
This time it was Bukayo Saka who delivered a low cross in from the right as he sought to pick out Sterling arriving in the middle. The Manchester City forward looked set to score. However, in the end, it was Simon Kjaer who put the ball into his own net as he made a desperate sliding effort to intercept the cross.
In the second period, England continued to probe for another goal but found it difficult to break down the resolute Danish defense. They came close from a Harry Maguire header. The Englishman did incredibly well to direct Mason Mount's cross on target with his header in the 55th minute.
The ball looked to be creeping in at the far post but a heroic diving save from Schmeichel denied Maguire a second goal of the tournament. This was the closest England came in the second half as the game headed to extra-time still at 1-1.
England's desperation became increasingly obvious with the threat of a penalty shoot-out looming. They poured forward and came close early in the first period of extra-time when Harry Kane's shot from a tight angle was once again saved by Schmeichel. While they were denied here, they would soon be rewarded for their efforts.
Sterling, who was a handful for the Danish defenders all game, skipped around his man and danced into the box in the 12th minute of extra-time. As he continued surging towards goal, two Danish defenders closed in on him, looking to make a tackle.
In a controversial incident, Sterling was judged to have been brought down and a penalty was awarded to England. While the Danes protested heavily, a VAR review upheld the decision and Kane stepped up to take the spot-kick.
Kane's penalty was actually well-saved by Schmeichel but the ball rebounded off the Dane back into play. An on-rushing Kane could not miss and he slotted the ball home to send the Wembley Stadium into hysteria.
The score stayed at 2-1 for the remainder of extra-time in a result that puts England one game away from winning their first-ever European championship. They will have to turn in a better performance, however, if they are to beat Italy in the final.
