England Vs Denmark: Wembley Showdown Beckons as Gareth Southgate Looks to End Semi-final Curse Tonight
England is set to take on Denmark in Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday; the winner will play Italy or Spain in the final on July 11; Bukayo Saka is back fit for England.
England has shown they are capable of shouldering the rising expectations.
The Denmark side is powered by resilience and recovery, stand in the way of the first major final since the 1966 World Cup.
Perhaps what is most remarkable is that while Eriksen recovers, Denmark has managed to reach the last four for the first time since unexpectedly winning the European Championship in 1992.
The foundation of England’s progress at Euro 2020 has been in defence with no goals conceded in five games, only one of which has been played away from Wembley. Indeed, England have recorded seven consecutive clean sheets and have gone 662 minutes without conceding.
It is a group playing with smiles on their faces, as seen throughout the week at St George’s Park through the images of team members frolicking on inflatable unicorns. Having reached the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup and the inaugural Nations League a year later, there is a steely determination to go all the way this time around.
“We’ve knocked off so many hoodoos or perceived barriers already and I feel like this group of players will feel this is just the next challenge,” Gareth Southgate said.
“I guess the interesting part for us is we won’t feel totally satisfied if it’s just a semi-final whereas maybe three years ago, although there was massive disappointment after the semi-final, there was a feeling we’d come a long way.
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“Now we’ve replicated what we did there, but that won’t be enough to fulfil the group. That’s a positive sign.
“These young players, they’re getting more experiences of England that are positive and enjoyable. They’re feeling what it can be like to be in an England shirt and have fun and win matches and have a relationship with the fans that is positive. That’s so important for a generation to come. We’ll get more out of their talent if we can keep that relationship.”
Fit-again Saka could start for England after overcoming a knock while Southgate must decide on whether to stick with a back four or revert to a back three.
Jack Grealish and Phil Foden will both be fresh and pushing for a recall having not featured in the 4-0 win over Ukraine.
Don’t expect too many surprises from Denmark, who began the tournament in a 4-3-3 shape but the loss of playmaker Eriksen prompted a rethink and a switch to a three-man central defence.
Skipper Kjaer will be flanked by Jannik Vestergaard and Andreas Christensen at the back, with central midfielders Thomas Delaney and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg protecting the defence and starting attacks.
Left-wing back Joakim Maehle and the impressive Mikkel Damsgaard provide the creativity while Kasper Dolberg has scored three goals in two games since being handed the central striking role.
Past meetings
England 0 Denmark 1 – October 14, 2020
Harry Maguire may currently be the toast of the town but just a few months ago, he was in something of a tailspin as his arrest in Greece last summer was followed by a poor start to the season.
Events seemed to come to a head when he was given his marching orders in this tie for two bookable offences in a wretched 31 minutes.
The deciding moment of the game came moments later when Christian Eriksen celebrated his 100th cap by scoring a controversial penalty, awarded after Kyle Walker was harshly adjudged to have fouled Thomas Delaney in an attempt to clear the ball.
England’s frustrations boiled over at the final whistle as full debutant Reece James saw red for dissent.
Denmark 0 England 3 – June 15, 2002
England dared to dream after three first-half goals saw them sweep into the World Cup quarter-finals in what was one of the finest performances of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
They were ahead as early as the fifth minute in Niigata, Japan, when a Rio Ferdinand header from a trademark pinpoint cross from David Beckham was fumbled into the net by Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.
Michael Owen turned and finished coolly from close range before Emile Heskey’s first-time strike crept under Sorensen on the stroke of half-time. Hopes were high after a terrific result but England were knocked out by eventual champions Brazil in their next match.
Denmark 0 England 0 – June 11, 1992
Denmark were given a route into Euro 92 through the back door after Yugoslavia’s disqualification because of the country’s dissolution and subsequent warfare in the region.
Richard Moller Nielsen’s side contained the likes of Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup, and they went on to cause a major shockwave by winning the tournament after stunning favourites Germany in the final.
They started their campaign with a drab goalless draw against Graham Taylor’s England, denied a late winner when John Jensen’s strike hit a post at the Malmo Stadion in Sweden.
Christensen: We have plan for Kane
Andreas Christensen is confident Denmark will be able to find a way to subdue England captain Harry Kane when the teams go head-to-head on Wednesday with a place in the European Championship final at stake.
Kane has hit form in the knockout stages by following up his goal in the 2-0 win over Germany at Wembley by bagging a brace in the 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine in Rome, having been kept quiet in the group phase.
The Tottenham striker’s prowess is obvious to Chelsea defender Christensen, who believes Denmark may have an ace up their sleeve ahead of their Wembley contest in the shape of Kane’s Spurs team-mate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
“We know his qualities, and everyone has an idea of what we can do to stop him,” Christensen is quoted as saying at a news conference. “Pierre-Emile also knows him and it may be that he can share some things.
“All players have their habits and we must take advantage of them. He is good with his feet and he is one of the best finishers in football.
“I react a lot on instinct. He is very big, so it is hard to get into his body, but he also has great qualities with his feet, so you should not get too close either.”
England have reached the semi-final stage without conceding a single goal in their five matches to date, winning four and drawing once, while Denmark have found their feet after losing their opening two group games.
While Southgate’s side are favourites to progress to Sunday’s final, Denmark claimed a 1-0 win over England at Wembley last October in the Nations League in a contest where Harry Maguire and Reece James were both sent off.
“We can use that meeting to make us believe that it is possible (to win),” Christensen added. “They have a lot of support but also a lot of pressure on them.
“I feel like we have the qualities to play against everyone. As a team, I would not say they are that much better.”
Kasper Hjulmand’s side came into Euro 2020 in outstanding form, losing only twice in 28 games, but they lost their first two games at the tournament – 1-0 to Finland in the game overshadowed by Eriksen’s incident and 2-1 to Belgium despite an encouraging display.
