The second semifinal of the Euro 2020 tournament was played Wednesday night with England defeating Denmark 2-1 after extra time albeit controversially after Raheem Sterling fell in the box and Harry Kane converted from the penalty spot in extra time.
The game was preceded by Tuesday’s game between Italy and Spain.
Complete Sports Breaking News’ Izuchukwu Okosi presents the Combined XI from both semifinal matches at the Wembley stadium London.
GOALKEEPER
Gianluca Donarumma (Italy)
AC Milan’s Donarumma claims the gloves as his penalty stops in the shootouts ensured that the Azurri overcame the threat of Spain after a pulsating 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
Denmark’s Kasper Schmeichel came really close with some great saves in the defeat to England but when it comes to penalty shootouts, it is the defining moment that determines a team’s progress or not in the knockout stages of tournament football.
So Donarumma nicks it. But only just.
Donarumma was better than Schmeichel aerially as he made two claims from crosses into the box.
DEFENDERS
Kyle Walker (England)
The Manchester City right back’s recovery rate is a great asset to the English team.
Walker made two interceptions and one clearance over 90 minutes.
Offensively he made two key passes, had one successful dribble and was fouled once.
Luke Shaw (England)
On the opposite flank is Manchester United’s Luke Shaw who is almost certainly going to be named in the Team of the Tournament by UEFA.
Shaw made three tackles, one interception and one clearance. He committed three fouls.
The attacking contributions he made saw him produce one key pass and he was fouled twice which won free kicks for the Three Lions.
Harry Maguire (England)
The English contingent continues as Harry Maguire once again makes it into our Combined XI courtesy of his outstanding performance against Denmark.
The Manchester United star’s defensive efforts saw him produce two tackles, five interceptions and five clearances.
Maguire was massive in the air as he won nine aerial duels. He had two out of his three shots on target and had105 touches of the ball. His pass accuracy was 90.1%.
Leonardo Bonucci (Italy)
Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci completes our back line.
The Juventus centre back made six interceptions, four clearances and blocked two goal bound shots in the game against Spain on Tuesday.
Bonucci commmited one foul and scored one of the penalties for his team in the shootout. He had 76 touches of the ball.
MIDFIELDERS
Jorginho (Italy)
Chelsea midfield gem Jorginho scored the decisive last penalty kick in the shootout against Spain to guarantee a place in the final of the tournament for the Italians.
The midfielder of Brazilian descent made eight interceptions and two clearances. He delivered five long balls into the opposition half with one of them accurate.
The midfielder completed 33 passes which was 78.8% accuracy.
Pedri (Italy)
Arguably Spain’s next big thing, youngster Pedri was one of the best players at Wembley stadium as Spain went down on penalties after a 1-1 draw against Italy in 120 minutes.
The 18 year old affectionately considered by the Spanish press as ‘The next Andres Iniesta’ made two key passes for the La Roja in the defeat to Italy.
Dani Olmo (Spain)
What a performance by the Croatian born Spain international who was a nightmare for the Italian defenders with his dancing feets.
Olmo was fouled five times in his ‘false 9’ role. He had two of his five shots on target, crossed the ball five times into the opposition half and made two key passes.
The crafty midfielder won one aerial duel and had 64.9% pass accuracy from 37 completed passes.
ATTACKERS
Federico Chiesa (Italy)
Juventus forward Federico Chiesa continues to prove that he is indeed the true chip of an old block following in his father’s footsteps with another outstanding performance for Italy against Spain.
In a game dominated by the Spaniards, Chiesa managed to find space in the vital area and let fly a powerful shot that nestled at the back of the net to go 1-0 up although Alvaro Morata’s equaliser ensured it went into extra time.
Aside his goal, Chiesa made one key pass and completed 13 passes.
Mikkel Dormsgaard (Denmark)
Danish midfielder Mikkel Dormsgaard scored an absolute belter of a free kick which happens to be the first free kick scored from a direct position in Euro 2020 in his team’s 2-1 defeat against England.
Legendary English commentator Peter Drury called him ‘Danish dynamite’ and that is what this boy is.
Aside his wonder goal which may eventually claim the best goal of the tournament, he made one key pass and completed 17 of his passes (82.4%).
On the defensive side of his game, he made two tackles, three interceptions and one clearance.
Harry Kane (England)
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot after Raheem Sterling’s dubious penalty claim.
He had a total of four shots with three of them on target which included the penalty. Kane made three key passes and was fouled four times.