Euro 2024 England’s road to the final

2024.07.13

England‘s journey to the championship game has not been easy. Group C results speak for themselves: a 1-0 victory against Serbia, a 1-1 tie with Denmark, and a 0-0 draw with Slovenia were sufficient to top the group.

However, the English squad has more than made up for their lack of drama in the group stages by dominating the competition’s knockout stages. Initially, England faced a Round of 16 match against Slovakia, when Ivan Schranz gave the underdogs the lead in the first half. Southgate’s team was headed for a humiliating defeat despite entering the match as the favorites to advance, but Jude Bellingham’s last-minute overhead kick with only seconds remaining saved them from disaster. In extra time, Harry Kane completed the victory, leading his team to victory 2-1.

They were up against it again when Breel Embolo scored the first goal fifteen minutes from time, sending the Swiss to the verge of the last four. Switzerland would be waiting for them in the quarterfinals. But five minutes later, Bukayo Saka scored with a beautiful curling strike into the bottom corner to force extra time and ultimately penalties in this match. Jordan Pickford produced another act of heroism for his country by save Manual Akanji’s goal, but all five of England’s scorers scored.

It would take the Netherlands just seven minutes to grab the lead thanks to a long-range goal from Xavi Simons, putting them ahead of England and securing a spot in the tournament final for the second time in a row. After ten minutes, Kane scored a penalty kick to equalize. But Ollie Watkins, a second-half substitute, scored the game’s winning goal from a virtually impossible angle with only seconds left, setting up yet another late drama for Southgate’s team. The Dutch had nearly no time to reply, and the Three Lions advanced.

Because of the extra extra-time, England has played more football than Spain has going into this final, and they have had one fewer day to recover after their semifinal match. Might that have an impact?

@charith