“It’s not over yet!”
England fans were still getting their breath back. Their heart was just slowing down again. Those that drowned out the noise could just about make out Roy Keane telling them the job was not finished yet. There were still 15 minutes to play.
Jeez, let us enjoy it for a second, Roy!
Now they could understand what it was like to be in a Manchester United team with the guy.
England versus Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final and Wembley was a cauldron.
Ahead of the game, Keane was regaling us all with tales of attending Neil Diamond concerts and having barneys with folks that were singing along for his liking.
ITV brought up the old Keane stamp on Gareth Southgate, back at Villa Park in the 90s, but the Cork native argued, “Gareth started it.”
Ian Wright was getting nervous, so it was a blessing for him that the game kicked off. England fell behind to a wonderful free-kick, which Keane and Gary Neville would later claim Jordan Pickford should have done better with.
An own goal levelled the game before the break and we were left with Wright telling the former United teammates to “chill”.
As the game drew on, England seized control of the contest but could not get the winner over 90 minutes. Kasper Schmeichel had a cracker of a game for the Danes, but it would take a moment of controversy and rebound to see him beaten again.
Raheem Sterling caromed through the box, beat one man, drew two more in and drew contact before hitting the deck. As the referee had awarded a spot-kick, the VAR officials did not see it as a clear and obvious error, Keane later reasoned, and the decision stood. “You have to be lucky to be good sometimes,” he reflected.
Twitter feeds across England were full of folks wishing Keane would cork the reality checks.
#ENGDEN
Oh, shut your sad, bitter, resentful cake-hole, Roy Keane (alone on the pundit panel saying it wasn't a penalty).
🙄 pic.twitter.com/4h1vuo7xEt— Christopher Goulding (@GouldingChris) July 7, 2021
Penalty was stonewall as it gets. It was 2 fouls in 1. don't know what Roy Keane's on about.😆 #EURO2020
— Michael Brock (@r4h4al) July 7, 2021
Bit of sour grapes from Roy Keane on @ITVSport saying soft penalty why so Salty Roy @England are in a Final bit of #jealousy there matey ?#englandvdenmark pic.twitter.com/AD4KgHX11E
— Rob (@justfoxes) July 7, 2021
@EURO2020 Could someone gag Roy Keane, pretty please pic.twitter.com/acY9gAOO0W
— Sonia Sweeney (@SoniaSweeney13) July 7, 2021
If only those fans had heard Didi ‘blatant dive’ Hamann over on RTE…
Harry Kane’s kick was saved but he slammed in the rebound. After England dug in for the 2-1 win, which sets up a final against Italy, Keane declared:
Raheem Sterling wins England a penalty at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)“I don’t think it’s a penalty… very, very soft.”
“If we’re being fair, you’d be absolutely devastated if you lost to a penalty like that,” Neville added.
As Wembley Stadium bounced, and players gathered to celebrate in front of the roiling fans, Keane reflected on another tense semi-final.
What won it for England, Mark Pougatch asked the former Ireland captain. He replied:
“A bit of courage, character. They showed great leadership. I’m delighted for Gareth Southgate. Absolutely brilliant for him. He deserves it. Kasper Schmeichel was my man of the match, and that probably tells you how the game went.”
Typical Keane, though, NOTHING was won yet.
“For those guys to have a chance to win something is great for them but, as they say, the next game is the toughest.”
As the ITV panel spoke about where they where when England were last in a final, only Wright was alive when it happened, at the 1966 World Cup.
“I was three,” he recalled.
“You were 23!” joked Keane.
On Sunday, the gang will all be back together. It was crazy tonight. It could get crazier yet, on Sunday.
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