England 2-1 Denmark: Controversial penalty in extra-time sends Southgate’s side to the Euro final

Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson of England against Denmark
Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson of England against Denmark / IMAGO

England booked their place in the finals of the European Championships after a 2-1 win over Denmark at Wembley tonight.

An own goal from Simon Kjaer and an extra-time penalty from Harry Kane was enough to secure England’s place in the finale after Mikkel Damsgaard had given Denmark the lead in the first half with a stunning freekick. 

Here at Anytime Football, we look at the five major talking points from tonight’s contest.

The outstanding Kasper Schmeichel

Kasper Schmeichel was in outstanding form tonight, and he produced a total of eight saves against England.

The Leicester City star has had an exceptional tournament overall. Still, he was on another level against the Three Lions, and he’s the only reason Denmark managed to drag the game into extra time.

Apart from his goalkeeping quality, the Danish goalkeeper was a leader at the back for his country, and his constant communication helped the Danish stay well organized at the back.

Raheem Sterling has to be the player of the tournament

There have been several impressive performances in the European Championships over the course of the last few weeks, but no other player has had the impact of Raheem Sterling.

The Manchester City winger has almost singlehandedly taken his country to the finals of the competition.

He managed to score the all-important goals during the group stages and then chipped in with remarkable performances in the knockout rounds of the competition.

Sterling was unplayable tonight, and he won the penalty that won the game for England eventually.

Denmark were unlucky with the penalty

This tournament has been an emotional rollercoaster for Denmark for various reasons, but they will be leaving the Euros with their head held high.

Despite ending up on the losing side, Denmark produced an impressive performance, and they will be devastated with the goal that won the game for England.

The Three Lions were awarded a penalty in extra time after Raheem Sterling was brought down in the box, but replays suggested that the Manchester City winger was barely touched. There is no doubt that it was a very harsh decision.

Harry Kane’s importance to the side

The Spurs star made a poor start to the tournament, and he failed to score a single goal in the group stages.

There were calls to drop the 27 year old for the knockout rounds, but Gareth Southgate decided to stick with him, and he has been rewarded.

Not only did Kane find his goalscoring form in the knockout rounds he was outstanding in his game management tonight.

The Tottenham star helped set up the first goal with an impressive through ball and then helped calm things down by holding up the ball during pressure situations and drawing free kicks.

He did well to slow the pace of the game down when Denmark were chasing the game in extra time. Kane also managed to score the controversial penalty that proved to be the winner in the end.

The Tottenham striker has a chance of winning the Golden Boot in the European Championships despite his poor start, and it will be interesting to see how he performs against Italy in the final.

England’s squad depth

After the first half, Denmark looked knackered, and the players were running on fumes.

The Danish lacked the squad depth tonight, and it was a big reason why England dominated most of the game.

Gareth Southgate has plenty of options at his disposal, and England showed their depth by bringing on the likes of Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden in the closing stages to see out the game.

A deep squad is often needed to win major tournaments, and England certainly have that.