England fed off the energy of a passionate Wembley crowd to beat Denmark 2-1 in extra time in the Euro 2020 semi-finals on Wednesday and now stand just 90 minutes away from ending their 55-year trophy drought.
Gareth Southgate’s men will face Italy on Sunday — again on home turf and roared on by a nation at fever pitch — infused with belief they can make history by winning the Euros for the first time and lift a second major trophy after their 1966 World Cup triumph.
“Probably the best feeling in the world” screamed The Sun’s front page when it hit the news stands Thursday, with a picture of a jubilant England captain Harry Kane celebrating his extra-time winner.
“Kane you believe it!” the Daily Mail splashed, proclaiming “Captain Harry fires us into historic Wembley final”.
Footage of England fans erupting in celebration around the country filled social media and the victory dominated British television news.
But for the crestfallen 1992 champions 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 with a cardiac arrest.
A Wembley crowd of almost 65,000 whipped themselves into a frenzy before kickoff with rousing renditions of “Sweet Caroline” and “Football’s Coming Home”, only to fall flat when Mikkel Damsgaard smashed home a 30th-minute free-kick past the despairing dive of Jordan Pickford.
