Euro 2020: England end years of pain, ready to make history

It was a goal to boost a nation and help salve the sores of so many bitter defeats. As one, almost 60,000 supporters in Wembley stadium, and a nation watching in their homes, leapt to their feet and cried to the skies, none more so than England manager Gareth Southgate, whose own penalty miss in the semi-final of Euro 96 cost England a place in that final.

Of course it had to be a penalty. Every law of poetic justice decreed so. And of course England’s captain missed it. In extra time. But this time there was a twist. A fraction of a second after pushing his spot kick too close to the outstretched Kasper Schmeichel, Harry Kane lifted the rebound into the net to propel England past Denmark 2-1 and into the final of Euro 2020. It was a goal to boost a nation and help salve the sores of so many bitter defeats. As one, almost 60,000 supporters in Wembley stadium, and a nation watching in their homes, leapt to their feet and cried to the skies, none more so than England manager Gareth Southgate, whose own penalty miss in the semi-final of Euro 96 cost England a place in that final. “We’ve given our fans and our nation a fantastic night and the journey carries on for another four days,” Southgate said. “We’ve said we want to create memories ... I’ve said to the young ones (players) ‘it isn`t always like this’.”