England and the Netherlands are level 1-1 at Euro 2024 with a place in the final against Spain on the line, and the first 45 minutes of play were not without controversy.
The Dutch were the first to get on the board in the seventh minute through a stunning Xavi Simons strike, first winning possession from Declan Rice and then unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the box to beat Jordan Pickford.
The England keeper was no hope of stopping it though, with the Netherlands making a perfect start to open up a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long though for England to start to threaten, with great lead-up work from Bukayo Saka creating an opportunity for Harry Kane, who sent his shot over the crossbar.
The relief was short-lived for the Netherlands as Kane didn’t have to wait long for another chance, although this one came via a penalty in contentious circumstances.
Denzel Dumfries was ruled to have fouled Kane in the box as the England striker attempted a shot from a bouncing ball in the 14th minute, later going down in pain after contact was made.
Referee Felix Zwayer pointed for a goal kick but the VAR intervened to check for a potential penalty, later instructed to award the spot kick, which Kane then converted into England’s first goal.
The decision had ITV’s rules analyst and VAR expert Christina Unkel “astonished”.
“So one of the surprising things here is yes, is there a studs contact by Dumfries onto the top of the boot of Kane? Correct. However, Kane is getting the shot off completely, his momentum is following him through,” she said.
“I am quite surprised that this is being sent because it is not a clear and obvious error, and in fact the preferred recommendation is for this not to be a penalty.”
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Even former England defender Gary Neville didn’t agree with the call.
“As a defender, I think it’s an absolutely disgraceful decision,” Neville said on ITV.
“There’s no way that was a penalty. He just goes in naturally to block the shot. It’s not a penalty for me. You have to take your luck though.”
Ian Wright though disagreed, arguing Dumfries’ actions were “reckless”.
“His studs are up. They’ve given it – anywhere else on the pitch and it’s a foul,” he said.
“If someone thinks that’s reckless? Honestly that’s not a penalty. There has to be licence to try and block the shot,” Neville argued back.
With the goal, Kane made history as the all-time top scorer in knockout games in the Euros while he also passed Wayne Rooeny as England’s most prolific scorer in the competition’s history.
Both teams had shots at goal hit the woodwork before halftime, although it was England who created more opportunities in the first half, recording seven shots and four shots on target.
Netherlands had the first real chance of the second half after a Joey Veerman free kick came to Virgil Van Dijk at the far post, with Pickford saving the day for England.
England looked to have taken the lead in the 79th minute through Saka, but the offside flag was quick to go up.
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Source Agencies
