Euro 2020: England Contentiously Through to Finals

England have advanced to the 2020 UEFA European Championship finals after beating Denmark 2-1 in their semi-final match, although a controversial extra-time penalty might cast a shadow over the remainder of the tournament.

The Danes were first to score on Wednesday night, 7 July, with a free-kick from Mikkel Damsgaard in the 30th minute, causing the nearly 60 000-strong crowd at Wembley Stadium to fall silent.

However, the lead was barely nine minutes in before their goal-keeper, Simon Kjaer, deflected the ball into an own goal and levelled the scoreboard 1-1.

The second half saw the Three Lions in control, but the visitors gave them no room to find the back of the net, eventually leading to the referee calling for extra time to be added to the clock.

The controversy of the evening happened at the 102th minute when English player, Raheem Sterling, found himself downed after an apparent challenge from Danish footballer Joakim Maehle. Many say the foul was an error as Maehle had barely touched Sterling’s leg.

Nevertheless, a penalty was soon awarded via Video-Assisted Referee, which Harry Kane saw home and gave his side the victory.

Expect a thunderous crowd when England slug it out against Italy for the final this Sunday, 11 July.

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