Raheem Sterling speaks out on England's controversial penalty against Denmark

Raheem Sterling insists he was clipped by Joakim Maehle in the penalty incident that saw England book their place in the Euro 2020 final.

England will meet Italy on Sunday after beating Denmark 2-1 as they seek to win their first piece of international silverware since their World Cup triumph in 1966.

With the contest poised at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Gareth Southgate’s took control against the tiring Danes in extra time with Maehle judged to have brought down Sterling after his jinking run inside the box.

Harry Kane saw his spot kick saved by Kasper Schmeichel but the Tottenham forward reacted quickest to bury the rebound and seal the win for England.

Asked if it was a ‘definite’ penalty, Sterling told ITV: ‘Yeah, I went into the box, he stuck he right leg out and he touched my legs to its a clear penalty.’

Denmark took the lead through a stunning free kick from Mikel Damsgaard after half an hour.

Sterling was involved in the equaliser, breaking into the box to latch onto Bukayo Saka’s cutback with the final touch coming off Simon Kjaer with it eventually going down as a Denmark own goal.

‘It’s a top performance, we had to dig deep, it’s the first time we’ve conceded in the tournament but we recovered well, showed good team spirit to come back and win,’ Sterling continued.

‘What football means to this country, you can see by the numbers that have come out tonight, the energy, the atmosphere, the cheering, the shirts off.

‘We’ll go back in, celebrate a little bit and then from tomorrow it’s all about Italy.’

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