England accused of 'cheating their way to Euro 2024 final' ahead of seismic Spain clash
England set up a blockbuster clash with Spain by beating the Netherlands on Wednesday night
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England have been accused of 'cheating their way to the final of Euro 2024' as they prepare to lock horns with Spain on Sunday night.
The Three Lions beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday night to set up the clash, with Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins stepping up.
England were fortunate to benefit from a questionable penalty decision during the showdown.
Kane went down in the box after a tackle from Denzel Dumfries, with a spot-kick given after a VAR check. However, in the time since, footage has surfaced appearing to show Bukayo Saka handling the ball in the build-up.
England set up a blockbuster clash with Spain by beating the Netherlands on Wednesday night
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Gary Lineker, Gary Neville and Alan Shearer have all opined that a penalty shouldn't have been given on the night.
And Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman adopted a similar stance in his post-match press conference, with the former Barcelona, Everton and Southampton boss left enraged by the decision.
Now, German newspaper BILD have taken aim at England.
In a post uploaded on their website, they said the Three Lions had 'cheated their way into the final'.
By contrast, they said Spain had 'impressed throughout the entire tournament'.
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BILD also describe La Roja as 'clear favourites'. Spain have been electric to watch at the competition so far, beating the likes of Germany and France on their way to the final.
The full post reads: "The signs on Sunday are clear: While the British cheated their wau into the final, the Spanish impressed throughout the entire tournament.
"They are the clear favourites and are keen to win their fourth European Championship trophy in history.
"An exciting statistic does not exactly make England, who are in the Euro final for the second time in a row and want to finally win a title again after the 1966 World Cup, any more confident."
While the penalty incident against the Netherlands has caused controversy, however, Dumfries has defended the officials.
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The Inter Milan star, who was once a target for Manchester United, held his hands up and accepted responsibility.
“I want to block the shot. I barely touch him," he said.
"I do think [it’s a VAR penalty]. You know when he goes to the sideline, he can give it. I take full responsibility."
Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, admitted he had to be careful with his words when asked about the performance of referee Felix Zwayer.
"I think the penalty moment is a big moment, England had some confidence out of it," he said.
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England have been accused of 'cheating their way to the final of Euro 2024' ahead of their seismic showdown with Spain
BILD
"Second half we could have scored to make it 2-1. To concede in extra time is tough.
"I think so many decisions didn't go our way but I don't want to speak about the referee today.
"Supporters in general are very important, they need to back us and be with us regardless.
"We've seen them in high numbers and hopefully they continue to do so.
"I don't think I should comment on that [penalty decision]. I'm very disappointed that we didn't achieve our dreams tonight.
England will have to be at their brilliant best to beat Spain
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"I need a good break because this season has been very tough for many different reasons and that's life sometimes but it's tough."
England's match with Spain kicks off at 8pm on Sunday night.