England booked their place in the semi-finals after emphatically seeing off a Ukraine side who didn’t really look to believe they could cause an upset. This win came off the back of a 2-0 victory over Germany and it is safe to say that England can possibly begin to believe that it really is coming home.
Denmark have had a rollercoaster tournament but surprisingly it can be said that their place is deserved after they came through impressively over Wales followed by a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.
England have a home advantage here though as the game is being played at Wembley, where they have played all but one game in the tournament.
In their last five previous meetings England W2, L2, D1 where they have scored four goals and conceded six goals along the way.
England are 1/70 to win the game and Denmark are 5/50 to win the game.
- Previous defensive record:
England emphatically overcame a Ukraine side 4-0 in the quarterfinals and are yet to concede in the tournament. Denmark impressively saw aside Czech Republic but did concede in a 2-1 win.
Harry Kane has registered three goals across England’s knockout matches, moving him one behind Gary Lineker’s national record of ten major international tournament goals. And Kasper Dolberg (Denmark) also has three Euro 2020 goals that were all scored during the knockout stage.
Christian Eriksen (Denmark) remains out after the unfortunate matchday one incident.
England possible line-up: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane
Denmark possible line-up: Schmeichel; Christensen, Kjær, Vestergaard; Stryger, Højbjerg, Delaney, Mæhle; Braithwaite, Dolberg, Damsgaard
Managers view:
Gareth Southgate, England: “We’ve got a fabulous opportunity. It’s a chance to make history as we’ve never been to a European Championship final. It’s not so much pressure for this team; it’s another challenge that they’ve got the chance to take on, and at the moment they’re rising to those challenges. We had two games with Denmark in the autumn. I knew what a good side they were before and they’ve proved that again in this tournament. It is going to be a fantastic game to be part of.”
Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark: “It’ll be like playing an away game, but that also has its own charm, so we’re actually looking forward to it. We’re happy that people will be there and that the fans are back in the stadium, though obviously we would have loved it if half the stadium was dressed in Danish colours. Our motivation is to silence the spectators, but we know it’s going to be difficult.”
Last six form guide:
England: WWWDWW
Denmark: WWWLLW
A place in the final is at stake for both sides where Denmark will be seen as the underdogs and England will be the favourites for sure after they have gone unbeaten so far whereas Denmark have had a mixed bag of results, especially in the tournament group stages but they’ve pulled it out of the bag in the round of 16 and quarter-finals so far and will be hoping their amazing run continues.
England’s 25-year wait for a European Championship semi-final has come to an end and confidence is high and so it should be. The young and talented squad have gone unbeaten in this tournament so far and have also not conceded in all games in the tournament.
For Denmark, what a story it would be if they could reach the final and win it after the unfortunate incident in matchday one to their captain Christian Eriksen. Nobody would have predicted this at the start of the tournament but the team spirit and passion has been apparent from matchday one for the Danes and surely they believe they can progress one step further and win the final after their heroics 29 years ago when they won Euro 1992. And having beaten England at Wembley as recently as October 2020, Denmark may feel mildly confident of an upset to reach the final but they have to overcome a strong and confident England side first.
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