Dogged Kyle is the real unsung hero as England book their place with fightback
KANE WILL GET PLAUDITS BUT WALKER STEADIED SHIP WHEN IT MATTERED
OUR ATTACKING stars will get the credit when we look back on this dream run – but don’t forget the contribution of Kyle Walker.
Don’t forget the cool and concise way in which he ensured England’s defence didn’t fall apart after Mikkel Damsgaard silenced Wembley and left the country dumbstruck after half an hour.
Don’t allow the credit that the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka absolutely deserve to overshadow the way in which Walker kept the back door shut time and again.
The talk ahead of this game was that Kieran Trippier would come in for Walker because the Atletico Madrid man was more solid, more reliable.
Walker, a four-time Premier League winner and Champions League finalist, didn’t look the inferior player on this evidence.
From the outset he was a man in the mood to ensure this would be his night. Nine minutes in, he outpaced Kasper
Dolberg when a ball over the top looked as though it would leave the forward clean through on goal.
In those early minutes he remained calm and precise with his passing even though Saka – on the shoulder of Jannik Vestergaard – kept pawing at the space in front of him, hungry to burst free like a greyhound out of the traps. When the Danes looked to break on the counter from a corner three minutes later, Walker was there to tidy up. When he spotted Harry Kane in space on the edge of the box shortly after that, Walker whipped a ball that allowed the England captain to fire a snap shot over the bar.
Right-backs do not tend to get too much of the spotlight on them when the A-listers bring their A-game on nights like this.
But Walker’s pace and superb reading of the game helped to provide a platform.
He couldn’t legislate for keeper Jordan Pickford, who’d had an excellent tournament
before this semi-final, losing his way shortly after the quarterhour mark – first with a poor clearance, then with a routine goal kick into touch, leading to uncertainty in the defence.
As Denmark used it to grow into the game, Damsgaard scored to make a game of it.We knew it would not be easy.
But when the Danes put together a 22nd-minute spark of passes to spark anxiety in the majority of Wembley hearts, Walker was there to clear the ball upfield and relieve the pressure. When Denmark looked as though they’d break down their left, four minutes later, Walker was there to head the ball back into their half.
As England prepared to take a 35th minute free-kick,Walker provided Pickford with the important team-talk he needed to get his head together.
It wasn’t just with the ball that he influenced this game.
After the equalising goal, courtesy of Denmark captain Simon Kjaer, England were able to regain their composure. On a night with an electrifying atmosphere, it was Walker who played a key role in providing the spark that won the game.