Irish viewers fall in love with Didi Hamann after his furious reaction to England win on RTÉ
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Irish viewers fall in love with Didi Hamann after his furious reaction to England win on RTÉ

FORMER LIVERPOOL midfielder Didi Hamann has become Ireland's favourite pundit overnight following his furious reaction to England's victory last night.

The Three Lions advanced to the Euro 2020 final with a 2-1 victory over Denmark thanks to an extra time winner from Harry Kane.

The England captain saw his penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel but tucked home the rebound to send his country to their first major final since 1966.

Controversy surrounded the awarding of the spot-kick though, with many feeling as if Raheem Sterling had gone down a little easily ... or that he 'dived' to put it bluntly.

Despite a VAR review, which showed there was very minimal contact at best, the penalty was given and England's fate was sealed.

Hamann, appearing as a pundit for RTÉ, labelled the decision "scandalous".

"This is a disgraceful decision. We brought VAR in to deal with these decisions. There is no contact whatsoever," the former Germany international huffed.

"Didi Hamann the only analyst showing his worth," one viewer wrote on social media.

Another said: "Didi Hamann is now more Irish than the Irish themselves."

While another wrote: "Hamann is an honorary Irish man."

The result brought to an end to Denmark's emotional roller-coaster through the tournament following Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest in their opening fixture, and the subsequent winning run it inspired.

The semi-final appeared to be going to plan after Mikkel Damsgaard's thunderous free-kick in the 30th minute rifled Denmark into an early lead, but England hit back nine minutes later when Danish captain Simon Kjaer turned the ball into his own net.

When ninety minutes failed to separate the two sides, Gareth Southgate turned to his star-studded bench for fresh legs and ideas. On came Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jordan Henderson, the kind of luxurious strength-in-depth Danish boss Kasper Hjulmand could only dream of.

England began to take control before eventually being handed the penalty which settled the tie, with just over a quarter-of-an-hour to play.

Southgate's side face Italy in the final of Euro 2020 on Sunday at 8pm. The game will be shown live on RTÉ, and on BBC/ITV in the UK.