ENGLAND are finally back in a major tournament final after 55 years!The Three Lions beat Denmark 2-1 AET last night at Wembley to seal a spot in Sunday’s showpiece final against Italy.
Harry Kane’s 105th-minute winner was enough for Gareth Southgate and his side to see their tough clash with the Danes through.
Italy reached the final with a win over Spain on penalties.
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ENGLAND EXPECTS
There is just one more game to win before England can finally confirm ‘It’s Coming Home’.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final after beating Denmark 2-1 after extra-time in the semis.
The nation is already in euphoria and that’s before the trophy has even been secured.
England have NEVER won the Euros – and the last time they even reached a major tournament final was in 1966 when they won the World Cup.
That means it has been 55 years of hurt for the long-suffering fans.
And there are plenty of other fascinating numbers to work with since that joyous 4-2 victory against West Germany, as the BBC have shared.
England have played 302 competitive matches, triumphing 180 times.
But winning more than losing still hasn’t bagged them major tournament silverware.
The Three Lions have scored an impressive 604 goals, only conceding 196.
England haven’t won a major trophy in 55 yearsCredit: Getty
NEV CHANCE
Gary Neville reckons Bukayo Saka will be benched for England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday.
The Arsenal youngster has been one of the Three Lions brightest talents throughout the tournament.
But Neville believes the 19-year-old prodigy may be overwhelmed by the occasion and should be replaced by either Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford.
Talking to Sky Sports, the ex-Man United defender said: “I am not sure he will start Sunday. I think that might just be too much for him.
“And I actually think it could be a game for [Marcus] Rashford or [Jadon] Sancho to accompany Sterling in those wide positions.
“I think those wide positions need to be quick players, who make out to in runs, so I don’t think we will see Saka on Sunday.”
Neville doesn’t think Saka will start on Sunday in the Euro 2020 finalCredit: pixel8000
SOUR GRAPES?
FURIOUS Danish and Italian fans have branded England cheats and Three Lions hero Raheem Sterling a diver.
The comments came after Gareth Southgate’s national treasures stormed into England’s first major tournament final in 55 years with a 2-1 semi-final win over Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday.
But fans from both countries wasted no time in throwing barbs England’s way after their historic win.
Taking to Twitter after the win, Jesper Jacobsen wrote: “As a Dane, I have to say, you were far and away the better side for long periods. That doesn’t make Sterling’s dive less of a dive though.”
Mathis Hoj Kristensen added: “Proud of our boys, what a fantastic performance and tournament! But also furious about the dive from Sterling! #NoPenalty.”
Draken posted a picture of the ref and captioned it: “England’s man of the match tonight. #Sterling #dive #f***VAR.”
And in Italy – where fans saw their team reach the final with a penalty shootout win over Spain on Tuesday – they were equally critical of the Three Lions’ win.
Gazetta dello Sport wrote: “England had a growing Kane who was flattered by the football gods on penalties. It was harsh.”
And Shemsi called it ‘an absolute scandal’.
It’s diving home— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 7, 2021
AZZURI FORCE
The Italian Football Federation will allow 1,000 fans to travel to Wembley for the Euro 2020 final against England.
But there will be strict conditions for the travelling Italian fans, which include a five-day quarantine on their return.
They’ll only be allowed on British soil for 12 hours and will have to stay in a secure bubble by using charter flights and dedicated transport to get to and from the airport and the stadium.
The Italian FA will organise the trip and the Azurri faithful will have to cough up £524 each to see the spectacle.
A 1,000 Italian fans will be allowed into Wembley to watch their team in the Euro 2020 finalCredit: The Mega Agency
ROLL IT BACK
A petition has been launched to have England’s triumphant clash against Denmark REPLAYED.
Some fans were furious that Raheem Sterling was awarded a penalty after taking a tumble in the Euro 2020 semi-final clash.
And it was also revealed that in the build up to that penalty there were TWO balls on the pitch.
England have also being hit with three charges for Uefa, one being for a fan shining a laser in Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel’s eyes for the spot-kick.
The other two are for fans booing the Danish national anthem, and for fireworks being set off.
GAP BETWEEN MAJOR TOURNAMENT FINALS
Fifty-five years of hurt…
SURVIVORS
Only four of England’s Euro 2020 heroes made the cut the last time England faced Italy three years ago.
Gareth Southgate and his men are currently the toast of the nation after securing a place in a final of a major tournament for the first time since 1966.
The Three Lions came from behind as Harry Kane’s extra time strike fired them to a 2-1 victory over Denmark in front of a raucous Wembley last night.
Now Southgate and his men are hoping to go all the way and lift the European Championship trophy when they return to the national stadium on Sunday.
Roberto Mancini’s Italy – who come into the game on the back of an astonishing 33-match unbeaten run – stand in the way of immortality for our England icons.
And the Three Lions will be hoping for better luck than the last time they took on the Azzurri at Wembley on March 27, 2018.
That night they were led to a frustrating 1-1 draw on home turf – and only four members of the current squad started it.
‘NEVER A PENALTY’
Jose Mourinho was stunned England were awarded the penalty that led to their winner against Denmark.
But despite his surprise at the decision, SunSport columnist Mourinho said the Three Lions more than deserved their historic victory.
The Special One told TalkSPORT: “It was never a penalty.
“The best team won. England deserved to win. England was fantastic but for me it was never a penalty.
“The best team won. England is a better team than Denmark.
“Denmark played the way I was expecting them to and they played until their limits.
“England were really really good and no doubt deserved to win that match. But for me it was never a penalty.
“And I think at this level – especially at this level – the semi-final of a Euros…
“I don’t understand really the referee’s decision and I understand even less the fact the VAR didn’t bring the ref to the screen or didn’t overturn the decision.
“For me it’s never a penalty. Not with [Jannik] Vestergaard or with the second defender.
“So as a football man I’m very happy England won, don’t get me wrong, and they deserved to win.
“But as a football man I’m disappointed the penalty was given.”
ITALY VS ENGLAND STATS
Italy have never lost against England at a major tournament (W3 D1), winning 1-0 in EURO 1980, 2-1 at both the 1990 and 2014 World Cups, and drawing 0-0 before winning on penalties in EURO 2012.
England have won just two of their last 14 meetings with Italy in all competitions (D5 L7), winning 2-0 in June 1997 and 2-1 in August 2013 – both in friendly matches. Indeed, England have won just one of their eight competitive meetings with Italy (D2 L5), 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in November 1977.
This is the third major tournament (EURO/World Cup) final to be held at Wembley Stadium. The previous two were both won in extra time, with England beating Germany in the 1966 World Cup, and Germany beating Czech Republic in EURO 1996.
Italy are unbeaten in their last 33 matches in all competitions (W27 D6), scoring 86 goals and conceding just 10 in this run. This is their longest unbeaten stretch of matches in the nation’s history.
SUB-LIME
Fans have been clamouring for Jack Grealish to see more action this summer at Euro 2020.
But the man himself is focused on just one thing – winning the tournament.
Wembley was abuzz with excitement when the Aston Villa ace came on in the 68th minute of last night’s 2-1 semi-final victory over Denmark.
But he lasted just 36 minutes on the pitch, before being sacrificed by Gareth Southgate for a more defensive option in Kieran Trippier.
Some players might have been miffed by such an incident.
Grealish, however, only cared about his team winning.
As reported by the Independent, Southgate went to Grealish to explain his decision at the final whistle.
But the midfielder, 25, replied: “Gaffer, it doesn’t matter. I’m not bothered. We’ve got to the final!”
ARISE SIR GAZ
Boris Johnson today hinted Gareth Southgate could get a knighthood if England win the historic Euros final.
The PM lavished praise on the England boss after he took the Three Lions to their first final in 55 years last night.
England beat Denmark 2-1 on Wednesday night in an historic victory as skipper Harry Kane scored the winner in extra time.
After a tense 90 minutes finished 1-1, Three Lions fans were forced to endure the familiar pain of extra time in a semi-final.
Twitter erupted with people calling for the England boss to get given a gong to celebrate getting so far.
And the PM was grilled over whether he agreed this morning.
He replied: “I obviously wouldn’t want to anticipate anything that the honours people may decide.
“But clearly I think Gareth Southgate has done an absolutely outstanding job.
“What seems so amazing to me is how he varies it, he mixes it up, and plays a different series of options depending on the match in question. So best of luck for Sunday.”
NO TRIPP UPS
Kieran Trippier says England learned three years of hard lessons to put together the performance that beat Denmark.
Trippier said: “We’ve learnt so much over the years, with the experiences we’ve had, we’ve been in two penalty shootouts since Russia, we’ve been to extra time.
“Going through that moment against Croatia was about learning.
“It’s all about experience and game management.
“Make no mistake, Denmark were very good, they’re a fantastic team.
“We’ve come a long way since the semi-final in Russia.
“We’ve got so many good players now, different players from back then. It’s about progressing, and I think we’ve made big steps since the World Cup.
“As you’ve seen from the start of the tournament to now, we give everything, we don’t stop, we don’t panic, we’re calm.
“We’ve shown that against Denmark. We stuck together and the togetherness in the team is incredible.”
LIONS CHARGED
England have been hit with three charges from Uefa from their 2-1 Euro 2020 semi-final victory against Denmark.
A laser pen was shone in Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel’s eyes just before Harry Kane took his penalty.
The Leicester man still managed to save the spot-kick before Kane tucked home the rebound.
Uefa have charged England for this, as well as for fans booing the Denmark national anthem and for ‘letting off fireworks’.
A statement from the football governing body added: “The case will be dealt with by the Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) in due course.”
A financial penalty is the expected sanction.
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ITALY VS ENGLAND STATS
This is Italy’s 10th major tournament final (6 World Cup, 4 EURO), with only Germany (14) having played in more among European nations. Italy won the European Championship in 1968, but have lost their subsequent two final appearances in the competition (2000 and 2012).
This will be England’s first ever appearance in a European Championship final, and their first in the final of a major tournament since winning the 1966 World Cup. It’s the longest gap between major finals (World Cup/EUROs) for any European nation (55 years).
England are the 13th different nation to feature in a European Championship final (counting Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic as one) – just three of the previous 12 lost their first ever final in the competition Yugoslavia (1960), Belgium (1980) and Portugal (2004)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
GREAL BRAVE
England boss Gareth Southgate has explained why he substituted Jack Grealish just 36 minutes after he came on against Denmark.
Just a minute after Harry Kane had scored from his rebounded penalty to make it 2-1, Grealish was hauled off for Kieran Trippier.
ITV pundit Gary Neville called it ’embarrassing’ to happen to a player.
His fellow Manchester United legend Roy Keane praised Southgate for having a ‘nasty streak’ to get results.
And now the Three Lions gaffer has explained his reasoning behind subbing off the Aston Villa playmaker.
The 50-year-old told talkSPORT: “Jack had a brilliant influence on the game.
“Denmark threw four forwards forward and we needed five [defenders] back.
“Raheem [Sterling] was such a threat that it was either going to be Phil [Foden] or Jack to get the solidity without the ball.
“We still needed to get that pressure up the pitch. We sank a little bit too deep for five minutes or so.
“We just needed to keep the ball and it took us five minutes to work that out. When we started to keep it, we were running the clock down with a lot less anxiety.”
DANE PAIN
Martin Braithwaite fumed ‘I have to be careful what I say’ when quizzed about England’s controversial penalty last night.
The Three Lions were awarded a spot kick during extra time against Denmark last night.
But replays showed that minimal contact was made on Raheem Sterling.
Harry Kane stepped up, burying the rebound after a superb Kasper Schmeichel save.
And the goal proved to be the winner, as England ran out 2-1 victors, booking their place in Sunday’s final against Italy.
While Three Lions fans have rejoiced, Denmark have been left wondering what might have been.
After the match, Barcelona forward Braithwaite, 30, said: “We have to swallow that.
“We are proud, but also incredibly disappointed in the way it happened.
“I don’t think it was entirely fair, but I have to be careful what I say.”
FOR MUM AND DAD
Gareth Southgate said his parents no longer have to suffer the pain of his Euro 96 heartache after masterminding England’s run to the final.
The England manager let out a huge roar in front of an adoring Wembley faithful after the semi-final win over Denmark.
Southgate’s Three Lions beat the Danes 2-1 after extra-time to reach the European Championship final for the first time ever.
It is 25 years on from one of Southgate’s lowest moments in his football career.
The ex-England defender missed the decisive penalty at the old Wembley in the semi-final against Germany.
England were captained on that day by Arsenal’s Tony Adams.
And Adams appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday to reveal what the win over Denmark meant to current boss Southgate.
Adams revealed: “I text him (Southgate) congratulations because I’m so proud to be his pal. He came back with a beautiful answer.
“He said: ‘Thank god my mum and dad don’t have to put up with all that pain any more’.
“He’s making a new path now for all these young players, some of them weren’t even born when he missed that penalty.”
JACK IT IN
Jack Grealish became just the third England substitute to be hauled off during a tournament match last night.
The first was at Euro 96 against Scotland.
Jamie Redknapp was thrown on by Terry Venables for Stuart Pearce at half-time.
But the Liverpool ace was then sacrificed with five minutes remaining for Sol Campbell.
A similar incident happened under Sven-Goran Eriksson a decade later at the World Cup in Germany.
Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon was brought on for David Beckham after 52 minutes against Portugal in the quarter-finals.
But ahead of a penalty shoot-out, Jamie Carragher replaced the winger with 119 minutes on the clock.
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