Sterling did not dive. The Danes had two pokes at him and he was getting sandwiched, he was nudged over. So was it a penalty? Probably not and so harsh on the Danes,...but a little "swings and roundabouts" as there were two other similar incidents (both on Kane) where a penalty was not given or even considered. We were definately the better team, and but for Schmeichel we would have won fairly clearly. Southgate set us up well, and his substitutions worked well again, even down to the subbing of Grealish...come on who would you want on the pitch to protect a 1 goal lead for 15 minutes and not give away a silly foul...Trippier or Grealish. It appears I am working on Sunday night, so will be watching the match in the Car Park basement, with about 30 other people, but hope to be singing Sweet Caroline along with the crowd. Come on Engerland
I felt it was soft, but you can sort of see why it was given. Plus, my sympathy was limited given how the Danes set up. If you set up to defend and nick a goal on the break, you can't complain when one of many pen shouts goes to the attacking team. Try keeping the ball and you'll find the ref has fewer decisions to make against you. Over the moon. Still punching myself
Lets not get too upset about the penalty, as their goal should not have been allowed either. https://www.football.london/premier...gaPQcP62HElYmoH-c24uCqwW5BtO1BzWGHYm7UIVGUXLw Which shows the Danish wall moving across Pickfords line of vision, to within a metre of the English wall Their official Laws read: “Where three or more defending team players form a ‘wall’, all attacking team players must remain at least 1 m (1 yd) from the ‘wall’ until the ball is in play." From replays of the strike, the Danish wall clearly moved closer to England’s before Damsgaard had taken his shot, meaning that they were no longer clearly over a metre from the England wall
I aint really bothered what was a pen, goal, free kick etc etc. Weve done it, made a final for the 1st time in my life!!!
Just like to say, to those English "fans" booing the Danish national anthem last night, you are mindless imberciles, bring dishonour on this country and have no place attending England matches unless and until you learn basic rules of civility. And to the person who shone a laser light into Schmeichel's eyes just before he faced Kane taking the penalty, I hope you are identified and get a lifetime ban.
The booing let some fans down and others get caught up in it. Theres just no need at all. That was the only downside to a brilliant evening.
I'm totally bemused that some still don't rate Sterling. He gives the ball away at times, but he's always trying to go forward and take risks and is lightening quick over the first few yards. Last night he ripped Denmark apart from the first minute to the last. If he weren't English, he'd be raved about imo. Really hope he runs at the aging Italian defenders on Sunday.
No, England did not create that many big chances. They dominated the game but in front of the goal I do remember Sterling directly aiming at Schmeichel just a minute before the penalty. Apart from that, how many more threats do you recall after the 1st half ? In the first half that was a totally even game.
So we define "threat" differently I guess. "We" pressed them into their half but to me it looked very much what Spain is doing in most of their games, loads of possession, passing from left to right and vice versa but that did not impose any major threats. Denmark felt comfortable most of the time, Vestergaard on top of it most of the time and it needed that questionable penalty to break them. Italy will be much more physical and won´t lack the condition like the Danes.
It was like the bloody Alamo! Time after time we got in down the sides, forcing Denmark into last ditch defending. Sterling produced one of the finest performances ever by an England player at a major tournament imo. Constantly causing mayhem. I think you may have watched a different game.
We started of talking about "threats" and now we are at war at Alamo - that made me smile a lot. Still, they did not create chances even though they played most of the time in their half. Please let me know which threats you remember - I am not talking about domination. Sterling is a likeable guy, a fine footballer but very predictable as well. How many times did he make the same "mistakes" over and over again, even in the dying seconds he did not manage to score so was he really imposing threats on Denmark ? I watched the very same game you did but I did not get carried away.
Col, dont know if you mentioned it earlier, but the threat of Sterling also mean opponents double up on him allowing others space. This worked well for Kane's goal against Ukraine , and in addition I thought he and Shaw worked very well together. Let's hope this continues on Sunday.
So to calm down the discussion I once again acknowledge that it was a fully deserved win yesterday and we only "disagree" on minor aspects.
