THE runner-up medal is not a nice one to win.
If England don’t beat Italy at Wembley on Sunday it will be a double frustration because now it is so close — it’s just about one match.
The England players were fantastic and showed they could cope with a difficult match, that they could cope with the pressure of being 1-0 behind.
There was a very strong reaction after Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick.
We didn’t see any players hiding, everyone performed at a high level and showed they could cope with it.
Italy are famous for their know-how, pragmatism, and being able to deal with high-pressure situations.
It will be another massive match but Italy have more potential than Denmark — I can’t wait.
England deserved to win and I am very happy, don’t get me wrong.
But I say it the way I see it and, as a football man, I am disappointed that the penalty on Raheem Sterling was given.
Maybe the England fans won’t like my opinion but it’s never a penalty… never.
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The best team won. England are better than Denmark.
But especially at this level, the semi-finals of the Euros, I don’t understand the referee’s decision.
And I understand even less the fact that VAR didn’t bring the ref over to the screen or overturn the decision.
It was never a penalty against the first defender, and it was never a penalty on the second defender.
Earlier on, even before Denmark’s opener, Jordan Pickford was showing some nerves and a bit of a lack of concentration.
I saw the mistake arriving, but apart from that I didn’t see one England player who didn’t play well or very well.
The Danes played like I expected them to, to their limits.
They were really tired in extra-time, whereas England had a fantastic bench to move like they did — and they could have moved more if needed.
I would take the win but would have said to the Denmark manager, ‘Congratulations for what you did and I would prefer to have won in a different way’.
The referee would not have slept well that night.
Jose Mourinho was talking exclusively to talkSPORT.
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