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England reach Euro 2020 final; Lions too good for Sharks in Johannesburg

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with ‘The Irish Times’ sports team

Harry Kane celebrates his extra-time winner against Denmark last night. Photograph: EPA
Harry Kane celebrates his extra-time winner against Denmark last night. Photograph: EPA

Harry Kane's extra-time winner edged England past Denmark and into their first ever European Championship final. The action pulsed one way and then the other. It was drama of the highest order. Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand admitted he is feeling bitter after England's controversial winning goal. Hjulmand was unhappy there was a second ball on the pitch at the time of the foul but also insisted it was not a penalty. Brazilian striker Rafael Ratão bagged two goals as Slovan Bratislava strolled to victory over Shamrock Rovers in last night's Champions League qualifier first leg.

The British and Irish Lions enjoyed a 54-7 win over the Sharks last night. Josh Adams and Duhan van der Merwe both scored hat-tricks in an impressive win in Johannesburg. That the match took place, having been delayed by an hour, was only confirmed an hour before kick-off after one Lions player and one member of the management had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the day. The Irish Under-20s did enough to hold off Italy and seal a third win in this season's Six Nations Championship.

Roger Federer's dream of winning a record ninth title at Wimbledon at the age of 39 was ended by Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets on Wednesday. Federer was cheered to the hilt by the Centre Court crowd, who did everything they could to lift him one more time. He led 4-1 in the second set but couldn't close it out. In the third, his spirit was broken. Earlier Novak Djokovic reached his 10th semi-final with a performance that was not without its flaws but decisive at all the right times, beating Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, for the second year running organisers of the Dublin Marathon have been forced to cancel the event outright given the still "many unknowns" around outdoor mass participation events for the rest of the year. Ian O'Riordan explains the decision came down to numbers and logistics.