- England defeated a plucky Denmark side on Wednesday 2-1 in AET to advance to the Euro 2020 Finals against Italy.
- It is England’s first major tournament final since 1966.
- The Euro 2020 Finals will take place on Sunday, July 11 at Wembley Stadium in London. Kickoff is 8:00 PM BST/3:00 PM EDT/12 Noon PDT. Television coverage in the United States will be on ESPN.
England is through to their first major tournament final in 55 years. The ‘Three Lions’ will face Italy in Sunday’s Euro 2020 finals to be held at 8:00 PM BST/3:00 PM EDT/12 Noon PDT at London’s Wembley Stadium. England continued their inspired play in the semifinal matchup as they beat a hard fighting Denmark side 2-1 in extra time. Italy earned their berth in the finals on Tuesday as they drew Spain 1-1 but advanced on penalties (4-2).
It wasn’t a ‘game for the ages’–the announce team calling the game in the UK went so far as to call it an ‘ugly win’–but the important thing was the ‘W’. England’s defense had been impenetrable throughout the Euro 2020 competition not allowing a goal until the 30th minute of Wednesday’s semifinal as Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard scored on a free kick. The advantage was short lived–England would pull level in the 39th minute on an own goal by Simon Kjaer. That would conclude the scoring until the 104th minute in extra time when England captain Harry Kane got his own rebound of a missed penalty and slammed the ball past Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Denmark overcame countless obstacles to reach this stage of the competition. They managed to recover from near tragedy when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in their first match of the group stage. Logistics also worked against the Denmark team–they played their quarterfinal game on Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan presenting a much tougher trip to England for the semifinals. England, meanwhile, not only played at home but were able to enjoy a much more expedient return after their quarterfinal matchup at the Stadio Olympico in Rome. Their fatigue became evident in the second half and a questionable substitution strategy from Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand compounded the issue leaving the team without the ability to bring on fresh legs in the added time.
BetOnline.ag has posted these odds on the final matchup:
ITALY PK +105
ENGLAND PK -125
ITALY +195
ENGLAND +165
DRAW +215
OVER 2 -110
UNDER 2 -110
The British media has all but canonized captain Harry Kane and coach Gareth Southgate for reaching the finals. They’ll reach the status of immortality should they beat Italy and win the Euro 2020 crown.
