Daily Times

LONDON: England fans are looking forward to a first major tournament final in 55 years as their team prepare to face Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday. Three years on from their defeat by Croatia in the World Cup semi-final, Gareth Southgate’s men overcame Denmark 2-1 in extra time at a rocking Wembley on Wednesday to reach their first European Championship final. Italy were also pushed beyond 90 minutes by Spain in their semi-final on Tuesday, but won on penalties to keep their bid for a first Euro title since 1968 alive. England stand just one game away from ending their long and painful trophy drought, which dates all the way back to the 1966 World Cup. But Italy are on a 33-match unbeaten run, reviving their reputation on the global stage after an embarrassing failure to even reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

A Wembley crowd of almost 65,000 whipped themselves into a frenzy against Denmark with rousing renditions of “Sweet Caroline” and “Three Lions (football’s coming home)”. The decisive moment came late in the first period of extra time. The final whistle sparked scenes of pandemonium inside Wembley. For Denmark, defeat spelt the end of a fairytale run to the last four after the trauma of witnessing star Christian Eriksen collapse in their opening group game against Finland following a cardiac arrest.

Vibrant England: England have suffered semi-final heartbreak at major tournaments four times since 1966 and those agonising defeats have been etched in the psyche of English football. But Southgate has overseen the emergence of a vibrant young team unconcerned by the failings of their predecessors. The semi-final was attended by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William, who is president of the English Football Association. Johnson, who initially refused to condemn fans for booing the England team while they took the knee earlier in the tournament, has not ruled out the prospect of an ’emergency’ bank holiday should England triumph on Sunday. But captain Kane was determined to stress that nothing was won yet. Italy reached their 10th major tournament final with a tense victory over Spain. Sunday’s match will be the culmination of a remarkable turnaround in the team’s fortunes since Roberto Mancini took over as coach following the doomed qualifying campaign for the World Cup.

Away from the mounting fervour, UEFA has charged England over their fans’ behaviour after a laser pointer was aimed at Denmark’s Schmeichel. Photographs in the British press showed the green light of a laser being pointed at Schmeichel’s face just before Kane’s extra-time penalty.