Fifty-five years after the English triumph at the 1966 World Cup, the Three Lions will finally play a final of a major tournament, again at Wembley, after years of famine and disillusionment.
The English got their ticket by eliminating, Wednesday, July 7, the Danes on the score of 2 to 1. They will be opposed on Sunday to the Italian selection to try to win the European trophy.
"I am so proud of the players. It was an incredible evening, the supporters were incredible all evening," said England manager Gareth Southgate.
Italy "has really been a very high level team for two years now. (...) It is a team that plays with a lot of energy and style, it is difficult to score against them", a- he noted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who attended the meeting, underlined the "fantastic performance of Gareth Southgate's team", who played "with all their heart".
"Now the final. Let's take it home," he continued on Twitter.
Tonight @England played their hearts out.
What a fantastic performance from Gareth Southgate's squad.
Now to the final.
Let's bring it home 🏴
- Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 7, 2021
Same satisfaction from the supporters, who celebrated this victory by the dozen in the streets of London and Manchester in particular.
Several British newspapers have made a pun with "Final" (finale) and "Finally" (finally).
"England is making history", headlines The Times, while the tabloid The Sun talks about what is "probably the best feeling in the world" and the Daily Star, "the biggest dream of all time".
Here is tomorrow's front page! #ENG roar into # Euro2020 final after beating #DEN #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/3g3CYWt3SV
- Sun Sport (@SunSport) July 7, 2021
A contested arbitration
In a very intense match, a questionable penalty transformed into two stages by captain Harry Kane (104th) freed the English, who had been pushed to extra time after a splendid free kick from Mikkel Damsgaard (30th) and an equalizer against his Danish captain Simon Kjaer's camp (39th).
This controversial outcome was validated by the arbitrator, his decision having been ratified by video arbitration.
Despite a more than light contact on Raheem Sterling and the presence of a second ball on the pitch at the time of the action, it was necessary to read the deliverance on the face of the English after this decisive goal.
"There was absolutely a penalty, I went into the box, he put his leg in opposition and there was clearly a penalty," Sterling pleaded after the game.
This first qualification for the final of one Euro rewards an almost perfect course in this tournament organized in eleven cities of eleven countries.
The English have played all of their home matches with the exception of a quarter-final in Rome against Ukraine (4-0).
It now remains to finish in style Sunday (9 pm) against Italy, for a revenge of the quarter-final of Euro-2012 won on penalties by the Azzurri (0–0 ap, 4–2 tab).
Danish disappointment
The spell may be lifted for the English, who finally pass the semifinals where they had always failed since 1966, both in the World Cup (1990 and 2018), and in the Euro (1968 and 1996 ) or even in the League of Nations (2019).
On the other hand, it is heartbreaking for Denmark, a country of less than six million inhabitants who dreamed of creating a surprise again, 29 years after winning Euro-1992.
Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark coach, congratulated his British counterpart for the "values he instilled in his team".
"We are very disappointed and it's very hard for me to talk about it right away. Maybe it will be easier in a few days. We were so close to the final," he said.
"It's been a fantastic adventure. I'm sorry it's over now but it is like that. The support we have received is beyond anything I had hoped for," said Danish captain Simon Kjaer.
The Danes have indeed won the heart of the football world, moved by heart disease in the middle of a match for midfielder Christian Eriksen at the start of the tournament.
Carried by an extra soul since this dramatic episode, it was Denmark which struck the first Wednesday evening, thanks to a masterful free kick from Mikkel Damsgaard (21), one of the revelations of the tournament (30th).
But England immediately reacted: young winger Bukayo Saka, from the Ealing district, not far from Wembley, accelerated, overflowed and crosses hard, forcing Kjaer to tackle the ball into his own goal under pressure from Sterling.
Either the 11th "csc" goal scored in this tournament, a record for a Euro!
The intensity rose crescendo over the minutes and the stops of Kasper Schmeichel, in regulation time (38th, 55th) then in overtime (94th, 98th).
Then, on an innocuous tumble, Sterling, again him, collapsed after a very light contact: penalty, transformed into two stages by Kane while Schmeichel had still pushed back the first strike (104th).
At the final whistle, the English were able to exult, jubilant at the idea that football is coming "home", to the country which has codified the rules of the round ball, according to the words of the famous Euro-1996 anthem. rebroadcast before this semi-final.
A first England - Italy final
And we can expect the same fervor on Sunday at Wembley for the final against Italy, despite the still gloomy health context and the restrictions on the movement of supporters, in a context of the spread of the very contagious variant Delta.
According to the Italian Federation, up to 1,000 supporters from Italy will be able to attend the final on Sunday, provided they respect a quarantine on return.
They will join the British resident Italians allowed access to Wembley in an attempt to respond to the noisy English choir.
It will be the first final between these two great footballing nations, as an epilogue to a tournament in an unprecedented pan-European format and with a decidedly unpredictable course.
With AFP
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