To say London was buzzing Wednesday would be an understatement.
England got past a determined Denmark to make their first major final since 1966, beating the Danes 2-1 in extra time to book a spot in the Euro 2020 final.
Harry Kane stepped up when it mattered most for the Three Lions, beating an otherwise outstanding Kasper Schmeichel in goal for Denmark to break a 1-1 deadlock and send Wembley Stadium into pandemonium.
Thus, a Cinderella run through the tournament for Denmark came to a bitter end, though they can exit the tournament with their heads held high.
As for England, they’ll take on Italy in a blockbuster final Sunday, after the Italians took down Spain in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Here are the biggest moments from Wednesday’s action:
As mentioned, the scenes outside and inside iconic Wembley Stadium were electric ahead of the game.
As for team news, Denmark opted for the same lineup that got them through the quarterfinals, while England made one switch.
Bukayo Saka was restored to Gareth Southgate’s starting XI, replacing Jadon Sancho in England’s attack.
With that out of the way, it was time for anthems and then on to the game.
Both sides had chances in the opening 15 minutes, but neither capitalized on their respective opportunities. Raheem Sterling saw his 13th-minute attempt roll into the hands of Schmeichel.
At the other end, Jordan Pickford and the Three Lions survived a bit of chaos at the 15-minute mark to keep the game goalless.
It wouldn’t remain 0-0 for long, though.
At the 30-minute mark, 21-year-old Mikkel Damsgaard belted a gorgeous free kick from way outside the box to open the scoring.
Perhaps Pickford could have done better to keep the ball out of the net, but credit Damsgaard for getting the ball up and over the wall and forcing the issue from the England keeper.
Sterling had another bite at the apple in the 38th minute, but Schmeichel came up with another denial — this one much more difficult than his previous stop.
Less than a minute later, Sterling finally got his reward, in a sense.
Kane found Saka with a picturesque through ball to get beyond Denmark’s defensive line, then Saka squared for a streaking Sterling in the middle of Schmeichel’s goal.
Simon Kjaer slid in to deny the tap-in, but the Danish defender could do nothing to prevent the ball from going in for an own goal, leveling the score 1-1.
Curiously, that was the 11th own goal of the tournament, which is more than the total number of own goals at every other European championship combined (nine).
After a breathless opening 45 minutes, the referee blew for the half-time whistle without any added time.
The second half picked up where the first left off. Harry Maguire, who has had his fair share of headed goals this tournament, nearly had another in the 56th minute.
But Schmeichel came up huge for Denmark yet again, getting a palm to Maguire’s header to keep the game knotted up.
The Danes kept their pressure up as well, but Pickford rose to the challenges early in the second half.
Prior to the 70th minute, both managers went to the bench to try to shift the tide. A trio of subs — Daniel Wass, Yussuf Poulsen and Christian Norgaard — came on for Denmark in the 67th minute.
Meanwhile, Southgate called upon Jack Grealish to replace Saka in England’s forward ranks in the 69th minute.
England had a shout for a penalty in the 75th minute, but Norgaard’s tackle on Kane was adjudged to be clean, and in fact, referee Danny Makkelie blew for a foul on Kane.
VAR then confirmed the decision, to many English grumbles around Wembley.
The English pressure continued to mount as the clock ticked toward the 90-minute mark, but Schmeichel remained steadfast between the posts, and Denmark’s defense corralled the danger.
With England’s threat kept at bay, the referee blew the whistle to send the 1-1 game to extra time.
The Schmeichel show carried on into the 30 extra minutes, as the 34-year-old kept turning away England’s advances.
But the breakthrough for the Three Lions finally came after Sterling was fouled in the box, resulting in a penalty.
The contact appeared to be negligible, but the VAR confirmed Makkelie’s decision. Take a look at the decision for yourself:
With the decision confirmed, up stepped Kane, with the hopes of all of England on his shoulders, in the 104th minute.
He delivered, despite Schmeichel thwarting Kane’s initial attempt.
For Kane, the goal tied Gary Lineker’s record for goals scored (10) for the Three Lions at major tournaments.
With their lead in hand and Denmark exhausted, England played keep away for the bulk of the remaining time.
That tactic got the job done, as England sealed the deal and made their first final at a major tournament since 1966.
Needless to say, Wembley absolutely erupted when the full-time whistle sounded.
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