England are through to their first-ever European Championships final!

The Three Lions needed extra-time to get the job done against Denmark in their Euro 2020 semi-final clash at Wembley on Wednesday evening. However, after a night filled with tension, Gareth Southgate's men eventually ran out 2-1 winners to secure a showdown with Italy in this weekend's final.

All in all, it was one of the greatest nights in English football history. Things were not always looking rosy for the hosts, though, particularly when Mikkel Damsgaard gave Denmark the lead on the half-hour mark with a rocket of a free-kick.

The thousands of England supporters who packed into the national stadium were soon able to breathe a sigh of relief as Simon Kjaer turned a Bukayo Saka cross into his own net. The teams went in at 1-1 at half-time - and the score remained that way after 90 minutes.

With the spectre of a penalty shoot-out looming large in the air, England started well in the first period of extra-time, forcing a number of saves from Kasper Schmeichel. 

It would not be an England semi-final, though, if there was not some form of penalty drama. The pivotal moment of the match came when Raheem Sterling went down in the box under a challenge from Joakim Mæhle.

There did not seem to be a huge amount in the incident, but referee Danny Makkelie had seen enough to point to the spot. Crucially, VAR chose not to overturn the original decision - meaning that England captain Harry Kane had the chance to give his country the lead from 12 yards.

Of course, to add to the drama, the Tottenham man initially saw his penalty saved. Kane, though, reacted quickly to put the rebound into the net, sending the whole nation wild - and England into the final.

Figures from around the footballing world, including Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, have criticised VAR's handling of the situation, suggesting that the referee should have at least been advised to come and have a second look at the challenge on the pitchside monitor.

Former German international Dietmar Hamann has gone one step further when giving his thoughts on the controversy, though, blasting Sterling for what he called "a blatant dive".

"I think it's scandalous," said the 47-year-old while working as a pundit for Irish broadcaster RTE, per independent.ie.

"Obviously, they saw the game out well after going ahead. Did they deserve it? I have to disagree with Liam because they won with a penalty which was a blatant dive.

"This is not in the spirit of the game and England always prides itself on being the home of fair play and no diving.

"We all remember what happened with (Jurgen) Klinsmann when he came to England and he dived and they had the celebration with the diving.

"We brought VAR in, Sterling probably thought the challenge is going to come so I give him the benefit of the doubt, he probably thought the challenge was going to come in but Maehle pulls out of the tackle because he sees he can't get there.

"There's no contact whatsoever", raged Hamann, who was capped 59 times for his country. "VAR was brought in to rectify these decisions and change blatant mistakes by the referee. This is as blatant a mistake as you will see and this is a European Championship semi-final.

"I feel sorry for the Danes. I feel there was every chance it would have gone to penalties and we all might have thought they had the advantage with Schmeichel in goal."

While, truthfully, the penalty was soft, we have seen similar incidents over the last year where penalties have also been given. The issue is one with VAR - and not necessarily with player integrity. It is tough to blame Sterling for doing what most other players in his situation would have done upon feeling even the slightest contact.

The ending of the match was harsh on a brave Denmark team who have brought so much to the tournament. England fans, though, will believe that their side has long been due a piece of good fortune in a knock-out tie. Might it finally be coming home? We will find out on Sunday night.