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The Euro 2020 Tournament (11 June to 11 July)

Good for England exta time here, tired players for Sunday. However they have an extra days rest over England.

Italy need to stay calm here, not take too many risks, Spain will attack hard which will give them another chance to counter.

Will be a shame if this goes to pens.
 
Italy looking tired and a bit laboured.

Spain looking stronger at the moment in extra time.
 
Italy dont think they can last a final after all this running they have done today.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Good for England exta time here, tired players for Sunday. However they have an extra days rest over England.

Italy need to stay calm here, not take too many risks, Spain will attack hard which will give them another chance to counter.

Will be a shame if this goes to pens.
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you really think England will beat Denmark?
 
Giannis said:
you really think England will beat Denmark?
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If England lose to Denmark in any way, inc pens, there will be so many tears here, also some clowns will cause criminal damage. At home, wembley should be an easy enough victory.

Spain seem to have the advantage , so most likely Italy to win on pens now.
 
Penalties it is.

Italy favs but its a toss of a coin. Both teams played their hearts out, well done to them.
 
Congrats Italia!

Jorghinio so cool at the end.

Will be so tough for England in the final(if they get there).
 
Oh what a way to lose.

Spain had their chances but I felt as soon as it went to penalties, Italy would win.

Great match.
 
A classical Italian performance...they dont have the quality of players as yesteryears but that spirit is still there.
 
Morata and Dani Olmo were Spain's best players in this game and they ended up being the reasons they lost
 
OldWarHorse said:
A classical Italian performance...they dont have the quality of players as yesteryears but that spirit is still there.
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Absolutely. Epitomised by the 2 centre halves. Old-stagers but still going strong.
 
Spain were the better team on the night and created more chances, but their wasteful finishing that has plagued them throughout has cost them a place in the final.
 
Giannis said:
Morata and Dani Olmo were Spain's best players in this game and they ended up being the reasons they lost
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Morata missing the pen was easy to predcit, as soon I saw him step him. He bottles it reguarly but cant be too harsh his goals got Spain to the semis.

Italians will be very confident in final now esp after playing at Wembley. Will have decent support too.
 
The match was a surprise, didn't expect spain to dominate the first half like that, they fluffed so many chances, but like i predicted at the start, it will be england vs italy in the final.
 
Italy will defiantly suit england better, they will sit back and there forwards dont have real pace to be a threat.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Congrats Italia!

Jorghinio so cool at the end.

Will be so tough for England in the final(if they get there).
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If Eng get to the final Italy's style of play will suit them, I couldn't see them competing with Spain in midfield
 
Spain are back to where they were before 2008.

Capable of playing gorgeous football, but toothless up front.

Before Villa and Torres really nailed it in 2008, in my lifetime there was really only Butragueno in 1986. Apart from that they were just toothless.

I remember being certain that Nigeria would beat them in 1998 and they did - Raul and the same Luis Enrique who coaches them now were just lightweights really.

This is not a vintage Italy team. It is a well-coached, confident team, but we saw both Belgium and Spain hurt them in different ways. France would have hammered them.

England are not without their own problems: they have a superb squad but Southgate effectively plays 7 defensive players (5 at the back plus Rice and Phillips sitting back) plus Mount, Sterling and Kane, and that may well not be enough to unlock Italy's ageing defence.
 
irfan said:
If Eng get to the final Italy's style of play will suit them, I couldn't see them competing with Spain in midfield
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Im not sure it will. England play with majority defensive players & have a few quick & skillful players to complement them. Italy have a very experienced defence, very organised who can play out from the back pretty well.

The issue for England will be giving away free kicks near their penalty box. Do no be surprised if Italy score from a free kick.

Englands advantage is good form, home stadium & a striker who can take half a chance. It will be close game, any team can win this.
 
Junaids said:
Spain are back to where they were before 2008.

Capable of playing gorgeous football, but toothless up front.

Before Villa and Torres really nailed it in 2008, in my lifetime there was really only Butragueno in 1986. Apart from that they were just toothless.

I remember being certain that Nigeria would beat them in 1998 and they did - Raul and the same Luis Enrique who coaches them now were just lightweights really.

This is not a vintage Italy team. It is a well-coached, confident team, but we saw both Belgium and Spain hurt them in different ways. France would have hammered them.

England are not without their own problems: they have a superb squad but Southgate effectively plays 7 defensive players (5 at the back plus Rice and Phillips sitting back) plus Mount, Sterling and Kane, and that may well not be enough to unlock Italy's ageing defence.
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Bit harsh, the Spanish team of 2008 is arguably the GOAT Int team. Its impossible for them to match this team. There are many young Spanish players breaking through, they will always be up there.
 
Everyones writing off Denmark already :)) This team really recovered from losing one of their best players to cardiac arrest and now making it all the way to the semis and as a nation, Denmark has won the Euros ('92) more recently than Italy ('68) and England ('never).
 
Giannis said:
Everyones writing off Denmark already :)) This team really recovered from losing one of their best players to cardiac arrest and now making it all the way to the semis and as a nation, Denmark has won the Euros ('92) more recently than Italy ('68) and England ('never).
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Danes had a great first half v Czech leading 2-0. But came out the 2nd half shot, all over the shop, tired and weak. Czech dominated them for 20 mins, could have made it 3-2 but the Danish keeper along with poor final balls stopped them. If Danes come out the same v England ,it will be a walk in the park for the Danes.

Best hope for Denmark is to get an early lead and frustrate the English. The longer they lead the more likiley English players will lose their minds, do something stupid.

70-30 to England but of course anything can happen in football. The ONLY reason I wont be surprised if Denmark win , is England have bottled it more times than a milkman in competitions, this hasnt gone away yet.
 
Giannis said:
Everyones writing off Denmark already :)) This team really recovered from losing one of their best players to cardiac arrest and now making it all the way to the semis and as a nation, Denmark has won the Euros ('92) more recently than Italy ('68) and England ('never).
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Danes had a great first half v Czech leading 2-0. But came out the 2nd half shot, all over the shop, tired and weak. Czech dominated them for 20 mins, could have made it 3-2 but the Danish keeper along with poor final balls stopped them. If Danes come out the same v England ,it will be a walk in the park for the Danes.

Best hope for Denmark is to get an early lead and frustrate the English. The longer they lead the more likiley English players will lose their minds, do something stupid.

70-30 to England but of course anything can happen in football. The ONLY reason I wont be surprised if Denmark win , is England have bottled it more times than a milkman in competitions, this hasnt gone away yet.
 
Giannis said:
Everyones writing off Denmark already :)) This team really recovered from losing one of their best players to cardiac arrest and now making it all the way to the semis and as a nation, Denmark has won the Euros ('92) more recently than Italy ('68) and England ('never).
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Danes had a great first half v Czech leading 2-0. But came out the 2nd half shot, all over the shop, tired and weak. Czech dominated them for 20 mins, could have made it 3-2 but the Danish keeper along with poor final balls stopped them. If Danes come out the same v England ,it will be a walk in the park for the Danes.

Best hope for Denmark is to get an early lead and frustrate the English. The longer they lead the more likiley English players will lose their minds, do something stupid.

70-30 to England but of course anything can happen in football. The ONLY reason I wont be surprised if Denmark win , is England have bottled it more times than a milkman in competitions, this hasnt gone away yet.
 
Another heartbreak.. With Spain out. Wanted them to win the finals.
But, anyways. Good luck to England and English fans.
Denmark, if they pull it off against English juggernaut, will be pretty remarkable though.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Bit harsh, the Spanish team of 2008 is arguably the GOAT Int team. Its impossible for them to match this team. There are many young Spanish players breaking through, they will always be up there.
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Nah I agree with [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]. They are back to their under achieving days again. Hopefully, they get better.
 
Italy beat Spain on penalties to reach the Euro 2020 final after an enthralling semi-final at a noisy Wembley.

After Alvaro Morata's penalty was saved, Jorginho strolled up to score and set up a final with either England or Denmark in London on Sunday.

Federico Chiesa looked as if he had sent Italy - who are unbeaten in 33 games - to the final in normal time with a delightful curled finish to cap off a quick counter.

But Morata stepped off the bench to slot an equaliser with 10 minutes to go after a one-two with Dani Olmo.

However, the Juventus forward's penalty miss in the shootout proved costly as Spain lost a semi-final for the first time in their history.

Fears about an empty stadium or quiet crowd proved unfounded despite tickets still being on sale during the day, and with fans unable to fly from either country without having to quarantine for too long to watch the game.

Roberto Mancini's Italy side have been arguably the best team in the tournament - and had won their previous 13 games - and deserve their place in the final.

However, this was the toughest they have had to work, and they only managed one shot between Morata's equaliser and the shootout.

It is an especially sad end to the Euros for Morata. He has wasted numerous chances during the tournament - with his family having to endure threats from fans - and his equaliser looked set to change the narrative before he failed from the spot.

Mancini's machine keeps on going
Italy's style of play has changed as the tournament has gone on, with the Azzurri reverting to their old defensive ways, and it has taken them through to the final.

They were free-scoring and impressive in the group stages - while also solid at the back - taking their run to 11 wins in a row without conceding.

But they needed extra time to beat Austria in the last 16 and then dug in to beat Belgium 2-1 last time out.

Mancini took over a team that failed to even qualify for the 2018 World Cup and has now led them to the next major final.

Surprisingly, the four-time world champions have only ever won one European Championship - all the way back in 1968.

They lost the 2000 and 2012 finals - but will hope to go one better this time at Wembley.

Emerson was a competent but unspectacular replacement for the injured Leonardo Spinazzola at left-back and hit the bar from a tight angle with their only effort of the first half.

Their breakthrough came from a counter-attack that began with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and ended with Chiesa's perfect finish from near the edge of the box leaving Unai Simon rooted to the spot.

They had a couple of chances to wrap the game up, but Domenico Berardi shot straight at Simon both times before Morata equalised.

From that stage on it looked as if they were playing for penalties - and that was the way it turned out.

The Azzurri got off to the worst possible start when Manuel Locatelli's penalty was saved, but they converted the rest of their spot-kicks with Jorginho nonchalantly waiting for Spain keeper Simon to move before slotting the other way to send them through to the final.

Spain's wastefulness catches up with them
Spain have grown into the tournament and go home as the top scorers to date with 13 goals. And yet it should have been much more.

Ten of those goals came in two games and otherwise they have struggled in front of goal. Slovakia are the only team they beat in 90 minutes at Euro 2020.

They started with no recognised striker on Tuesday - Morata was left on the bench - with Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo lively but wasteful in front of goal.

Luis Enrique's side ended with 16 shots to Italy's seven - but managed only one more effort on target than their opponents at Wembley.

Spain had won all five previous semi-final appearances in major tournaments - including their successes in 2008, 2010 and 2012 when they dominated world football - but that 100% run has now come to an end.

They played some good football and deserved to level when Morata ran onto Olmo's return pass to slot home.

But in the shootout Olmo blazed over before Morata's weak kick was saved.

The summer is not over for six of them, however, with Olmo, Simon, Oyarzabal, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia and Pedri - who all played on Tuesday - in Spain's Olympic football squad. The tournament in Tokyo starts in 17 days.

Match stats

Italy have now reached their 10th major tournament final, progressing to the final of the European Championship for the fourth time.
This was the 10th occasion both Spain and Italy have competed in a penalty shootout at a major tournament, more than any other European nations.
Italy v Spain (10) is now the most played fixture amongst European nations in major tournament history.
This was the ninth time Italy have gone to extra time at the Euros, more than any other team, while Spain equalled the record for extra time appearances at a single edition of the competition (three - level with Portugal in 2016).
Italy have scored 12 goals at Euro 2020, their joint-highest total at a major tournament. Spain have scored 13 goals at Euro 2020, their best goal return at a single edition of the Euros.
Italy became just the second side in European Championship history to have as many as five different players score two or more goals at a single edition of the competition (Chiesa, Pessina, Insigne, Immobile and Locatelli), after France in 2000.
Alvaro Morata has scored more goals at the European Championship than any other Spain player (six), overtaking Fernando Torres' five goals.
Federico Chiesa has scored twice in his past three games for Italy - he managed a solitary goal in his first 28 appearances for the Azzurri.
Spain's Pedri became the first European player in major tournament history to start six matches at the age of 18 or below.

BBC
 
It was a great, a great, match. Kept you right on your toes throughout it, and it was indeed a game of nerves.

I feel so incredibly sad for Spain. I actually feel heartbroken for them, to be honest. They played far better and created more chances, whereas neither can be said for Italy. Spain played such organised and arranged football yesternight, even the goal that they scored was so beautifully executed that I was in awe of them. Don´t get me wrong, Chiesa´s goal too was stunning, but it was more or less down to one-man brilliance.

Spain played as a team, kept the spirit going even when they were behind, but it was just not to be, even if they deserved to win, clearly. However, the problem is that creating chances counts for nothing in the end, as long as you don´t convert them into good finishes. Two problems were apparent even in their last match against Switzerland: Spain created chances but didn´t convert them into goals as often as they should´ve, and the other problem was that they were horrible at the penalty shoot-out. They just got lucky that Switzerland themselves kept on missing them on the other hand. In the end, these two problems ended up being the reasons behind them being knocked out of the tournament.

Also, why on earth did it have to be Morata who missed the penalty? Morata, the man responsible for Spain´s incredible comeback in the match, the main responsible for having the match go down to the penalty shoot-out, the main who scored a pleasing-to-watch goal, the man who should´ve be the hero of the night.... Morata, the man who missed a penalty and had his team lose the penalty shoot-out. What a cruel game, this... A cruel game! However, we truly love the game and look hope for more such matches. It was truly one of the very best matches that I´ve watched. Quality football skills were on display from both the teams. It was really high-voltage stuff. Congratulations to Italy! Well played, Spain!
 
It was really a great night of football, even if the team that I was supporting didn't win. When Spain scored the equaliser, I slapped my table so hard in delight that my hand got all red afterwards. I still feel a sense of vibration in it, and the redness hasn't disappeared yet completely. :)):)))
 
DHONI183 said:
It was really a great night of football, even if the team that I was supporting didn't win. When Spain scored the equaliser, I slapped my table so hard in delight that my hand got all red afterwards. I still feel a sense of vibration in it, and the redness hasn't disappeared yet completely. :)):)))
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I'm always a supporter of Spain because I'm a sucker for tiki taka style of play (and therefore Barca too) but I just knew that Spain were going to make a hundred nice passes but with that high back line of their defense, they were always one counter attack away from going a goal down which is exactly what happened when Chiesa bent the ball into the far corner in a swift counter attack.

I didn't expect Spain to equalise as they had been wasteful with finishing throughout the tournament and the Morata goal was a pleasant surprise, but the longer it went to the penalties, you just knew Italy were going to do an Italian job on Spain. And so they did despite Spain being the better team for the most part yesterday.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Danes had a great first half v Czech leading 2-0. But came out the 2nd half shot, all over the shop, tired and weak. Czech dominated them for 20 mins, could have made it 3-2 but the Danish keeper along with poor final balls stopped them. If Danes come out the same v England ,it will be a walk in the park for the Danes.

Best hope for Denmark is to get an early lead and frustrate the English. The longer they lead the more likiley English players will lose their minds, do something stupid.

70-30 to England but of course anything can happen in football. The ONLY reason I wont be surprised if Denmark win , is England have bottled it more times than a milkman in competitions, this hasnt gone away yet.
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Denmark didn’t look that great in that game but overall in the tournament I think they have been arguably the second best team, they’re dangerous and not afraid to take their chances outside the box, England have the home support though and am hoping we all get a Bank Oliday mate :yk
 
Junaids said:
Spain are back to where they were before 2008.

Capable of playing gorgeous football, but toothless up front.

Before Villa and Torres really nailed it in 2008, in my lifetime there was really only Butragueno in 1986. Apart from that they were just toothless.

I remember being certain that Nigeria would beat them in 1998 and they did - Raul and the same Luis Enrique who coaches them now were just lightweights really.

This is not a vintage Italy team. It is a well-coached, confident team, but we saw both Belgium and Spain hurt them in different ways. France would have hammered them.

England are not without their own problems: they have a superb squad but Southgate effectively plays 7 defensive players (5 at the back plus Rice and Phillips sitting back) plus Mount, Sterling and Kane, and that may well not be enough to unlock Italy's ageing defence.
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Don’t worry too much about England bud, you hold on tight....in Straya :yk2
 
Bukayo Saka is expected to start Wednesday's Euro 2020 semi-final with Denmark in place of Jadon Sancho.

Arsenal forward Saka, 19, was outstanding in the last-16 victory against Germany on 29 June.

It is expected to be the only change in Gareth Southgate's starting line-up at Wembley as England look to reach a first major tournament final since the 1966 World Cup final.

Saka missed Saturday's 4-0 quarter-final win against Ukraine with injury.

Sancho made his first start in the tournament in the last-eight game in Rome.

Southgate has challenged his England players to make history by beating Denmark in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley to reach the European Championship final for the first time.

"We don't have as good a football history as we like to believe sometimes," said Southgate. "These players are making massive strides."

England have never got further than the semi-final stage in a European Championship.

However, there is mounting excitement - and hope has turned to expectation - that Southgate's side can finally triumph.

England, who also ended a 55-year wait for a knockout tie victory over Germany with their last-16 success, are the highest-ranked side still left in the tournament at fourth in the world.

"We've broken down barriers in this tournament and we have another opportunity to do that," added Southgate.

"We have never been to a European Championship final so we can be the first England team to do that which is really exciting."

Southgate said knowing the country was behind the team is a "great feeling for us".

Cars and homes are decked out with England flags while pubs have been given permission to stay open an extra 45 minutes until 23:15 BST on Sunday, in case the final at Wembley - which kicks-off at 20:00 - goes to extra time and penalties.

"We are ready for the game, the players are ready, they have got tremendous experience themselves having been in this situation before," added Southgate, who led England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

"Our preparations have been calm and we know we are playing a very good opponent. It's going to be a really tight game and an exciting game for everybody."

Southgate is confident his players can handle the pressure against Denmark, who won the European Championship in 1992.

"We have had expectation during the whole tournament and I think we dealt with that really well in the opening game, for example, and the game with Germany," he said.

"But we have never been to a final so the pressure is whatever you choose it to be really. It's a motivating thing, a challenge for us.

"If we were a country that had won five titles and had to match what had gone before then I might feel differently. But we're not. Denmark have won it so maybe there is more pressure on them to replicate that."

England supporters have been serenading their team through the tournament with chants of 'Football's Coming Home', the anthem that first became popular when the Three Lions reached the last four of Euro 96.

Asked what it would mean to ruin England's dreams of Euro glory on home soil, Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel said: "Has it ever been home? I don't know. Have you ever won it?"

But England captain Harry Kane said the team was in a strong position to put that right.

"He's right in terms it hasn't 'come home' in this competition for us, but we're in a great position in that we are two games away," added Kane.

"It's important our focus is on Wednesday night and is about us and what we can do. We know if we can get it right then it should be enough to get us over the line."
 
England the more likely ones to get a goal currently vs Denmark
 
Denmark will tire out sooner than later in the 2nd half..England need to stay patient and hold possession
 
And there we have it - England versus Italy final on Sunday.

Should be a great match.
 
Was quite simple, beat germany and your in the final, england like to complicate things, were quite lucky there, no way they would have won a shootout against kasper in goal.
 
England are probably due a group of death. However they deserve to get to the final. You can only beat what is in front of you
 
Tbh England got away with that dive. That sshould have been a yellow but they deserve Italy, hoping to see Immobile dive at 95th min to draw a pen and Jorginho slots in with 2 stutters.
 
Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand admits he is bitter after England ended his battling side's Euro 2020 dream.

Harry Kane's extra-time winner sunk the Danes and earned England a 2-1 semi-final win at Wembley.

Kane scored after England were awarded a penalty by referee Danny Makkelie when Raheem Sterling went down under Joakim Maehle's challenge.

Kasper Schmeichel saved Kane's spot-kick - only for the striker to convert the rebound and send England through to a final with Italy on Sunday.

Hjulmand was unhappy there was a second ball on the pitch at the time of the foul but also insisted it was not a penalty.

He said: "It was a penalty which should not have been a penalty. It is something which annoys me right now. We are very disappointed.

"You cannot pass by the ball on the pitch which has so much influence on the game.

"I know it sounds weird right now but I cannot help having these feelings. One thing is to lose a game, it happens, but losing this way is disappointing because these guys have fought a lot.

"It feels bitter but we have to digest this before we can discuss these feelings. It's a bitter way to leave the tournament.

"The way we lost makes it harder to understand why we lost. I have to be careful with what I say. We have an amazing group and we definitely can do something great again.

"Maybe it is easier for me to say how I feel in a few days."

Defeat marks the end of Denmark's campaign which started in horrific fashion when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in their first game against Finland, which they lost 1-0.

The Inter Milan midfielder was revived on the pitch and is now out of hospital and Hjulmand revealed his pride in his staff and squad.

He said: "I can't describe how much I admire the technical staff behind these players, they have been through so much. We have two people from the staff who saved the life of one of our best players.

"We have been fighting like crazy and played good football and I am grateful for Denmark, the entire nation.

"We needed the empathy when that happened with Christian, we have been receiving a lot of love and support and it was amazing to feel. Unfortunately we did not get to the final but we will attack again and our future is full of hope and belief.

"These guys are outstanding and the whole nation can be proud, they are an amazing squad and they have done an amazing job. They have made Denmark proud."

Hjulmand also congratulated victorious England boss Gareth Southgate after his team reached their first major tournament final for 55 years.

He said: "I want to congratulate my colleague Gareth. I followed what the FA has done and how he works with the young players, gets involved and how he behaves with the values he has.

"How he represents and communicates is outstanding. Congratulations Gareth, you are doing a great job in a difficult job."


SKY

60e62bdd2030275d6d4365d0.jpg
 
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Barring the world-class free-kick by Damsgaard - and how wonderfully executed it was! - and some individual brilliance from Schmeichel throughout the match, Denmark were pretty flat for the most part of the game. It made no sense to me why they were on the defensive when the scoreline actually stood at 1-1. It was quite clear that they were keen on the match going down to a penalty shoot-out, and England, on the other hand, were constantly trying to get a lead, as they, it seemed, were most willing on avoiding a penalty shoot-out. It´s this thought process, these mind-games, where Denmark actually lost the match in my opinion. They hardly ever tried to get the ball in the opposition´s half. Being overly defensive cost them the match.

Still, though, despite all that, the match would´ve gone beyond the Exta Time and been decided on penalties had the referee not gifted England such an unfair and soft penalty. There´s no way that that should´ve been given. We all know that there´s this unwritten law that penalties are not given over such soft touches, and here the referee awarded it in the most decisive period of play!

The analysts on the German broadcaster ZDF were most critical of the decision, and Per Mertesacker made the point that, why couldn´t the referee have just let the match go on and then let the penalty be awarded by later checks by the Video Assistant Referee if it indeed had to be given? This way, they could´ve made sure that a penalty, during the most decisive passage of play, wouldn´t have been given purely based on the call being made by the on-field referee, and there´s no way that the VAR would´ve asked to overturn the decision and awarded a penalty had it originally not been given. I think that Mertesacker´s point was extremely valid.

The English fans and supporters continue to be an absolute disgrace to the game, sadly. Booing when the opposition is in possession of the ball, also during the national anthem of other teams, and there´s this whole controversy of laser light being flashed directly into the eyes of Schmeichel during the penalty, and of there being a second ball on the field, just seconds before the penalty was gifted, just a very short distance away from where the other ball was - something which normally results in play being halted by the referee. My brother spotted it live, and he sent me the pictures earlier today to confirm that he wasn´t hallucinating after all. Sad, a very sad way to decide a semi-final, if you were to ask me, actually. Still, congratulations to England! Whatever Southgate touches turns to gold nowadays, doesn´t it? What a time he´s having!

Second ball.jpg

Laser.jpg
 
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DHONI183 said:
Barring the world-class free-kick by Damsgaard - and how wonderfully executed it was! - and some individual brilliance from Schmeichel throughout the match, Denmark were pretty flat for the most part of the game. It made no sense to me why they were on the defensive when the scoreline actually stood at 1-1. It was quite clear that they were keen on the match going down to a penalty shoot-out, and England, on the other hand, were constantly trying to get a lead, as they, it seemed, were most willing on avoiding a penalty shoot-out. It´s this thought process, these mind-games, where Denmark actually lost the match in my opinion. They hardly ever tried to get the ball in the opposition´s half. Being overly defensive cost them the match.

Still, though, despite all that, the match would´ve gone beyond the Exta Time and been decided on penalties had the referee not gifted England such an unfair and soft penalty. There´s no way that that should´ve been given. We all know that there´s this unwritten law that penalties are not given over such soft touches, and here the referee awarded it in the most decisive period of play!

The analysts on the German broadcaster ZDF were most critical of the decision, and Per Mertesacker made the point that, why couldn´t the referee have just let the match go on and then let the penalty be awarded by later checks by the Video Assistant Referee if it indeed had to be given? This way, they could´ve made sure that a penalty, during the most decisive passage of play, wouldn´t have been given purely based on the call being made by the on-field referee, and there´s no way that the VAR would´ve asked to overturn the decision and awarded a penalty had it originally not been given. I think that Mertesacker´s point was extremely valid.

The English fans and supporters continue to be an absolute disgrace to the game, sadly. Booing when the opposition is in possession of the ball, also during the national anthem of other teams, and there´s this whole controversy of laser light being flashed directly into the eyes of Schmeichel during the penalty, and of there being a second ball on the field, just seconds before the penalty was gifted, just a very short distance away from where the other ball was - something which normally results in play being halted by the referee. My brother spotted it live, and he sent me the pictures earlier today to confirm that he wasn´t hallucinating after all. Sad, a very sad way to decide a semi-final, if you were to ask me, actually. Still, congratulations to England! Whatever Southgate touches turns to gold nowadays, doesn´t it? What a time he´s having!

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Anyone not English is saying the same thing. Everyone knows that wasn’t a penalty and you are right, English fans have been a disgrace this whole tournament and a win in this fashion makes it worse
 
England have been charged by UEFA after a fan shone a laser pointer in Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel's face during Wednesday's Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley.
 
Anyone not English wanted England to flop badly in the tournament but are in shock as England reach the final.

Keeping hating haters.
 
It was an incredible dive, a great piece of acting, by Raheem Sterling. Arjen Robben would be truly proud of him. It´s not easy to fall in such an original manner over such a soft push. It takes skills, mind you.

MenInG said:
England have been charged by UEFA after a fan shone a laser pointer in Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel's face during Wednesday's Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley.
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Yeah, and news suggest that even booing during the national anthem of other teams might become an issue. I think that even Boris Johnson, the England Prime Minister, has expressed his concerns over it.
 
Tickets for the final are selling at £6k now.

Looks like i have to watch it at Trafalgar Square, which will be free.
 
Italy on paper the better side, but a few ageing tired legs in their squad.

England home advantage at Wembley.

Tough one to call.
 
The Football Association has been fined 30,000 euros (£26,600) for three incidents during England's Euro 2020 semi-final win over Denmark, including a laser pointer being shone at Kasper Schmeichel's face.

Television pictures showed a green light on Danish keeper Schmeichel's face just before Harry Kane took an extra-time penalty.

The fine by Uefa was also for "disturbances during the national anthems" and fireworks being set off.

England won the game 2-1 at Wembley.

Prior to kick-off there was some booing heard during the Danish national anthem.

In terms of the laser pointer incident, Schmeichel saved Kane's spot-kick but the England striker scored the rebound for the winner as Gareth Southgate's side secured a place in Sunday's final against Italy.

The FA and Uefa officials searched for the source of the laser pointer when they were first made aware of it being used during the first half of extra time.

However, they were unable to find those responsible.

Following the game the Danish FA representatives were asked if they wanted to make an official complaint, but said they did not wish to take the matter any further.

BBC
 
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