After edging past Iceland in Reykjavik on Saturday through a late Raheem Sterling penalty, England face another tough Nordic away test as they take on Denmark at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen in UEFA Nations League A2.
England currently sit second in the group knowing that victory over Denmark coupled with a draw or loss for Belgium against Iceland in Brussels could send the Three Lions top, whilst Denmark know at least a draw could keep them third if Iceland fail to beat the Belgian Red Devils elsewhere.
Team News
Denmark have no fresh suspension or injury concerns after Saturday’s loss to Belgium with a full squad available for selection.
England will be without Kyle Walker as the defender serves an one match ban after being sent off against Iceland on Saturday.
Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood are also absent after the duo found themselves sent home for breaching strict quarantine rules in Iceland.
Stat Attack
- Denmark have won just three of 19 previous meetings against England in all competitions (W3, D4, L12).
- England have lost just one of their 12 previous trips to Denmark across all competitions (W6, D4, L1)
- Raheem Sterling is the only survivor from England’s last meeting with Denmark in March 2014 to still feature in the current squad, whilst Kasper Schmeichel, Jonas Lossl and Thomas Delaney are the only Danish players who are still part of the current Denmark squad over six years on from that meeting.
- Denmark are unbeaten in their last 16 home matches in all competitions dating back to November 2016 (W10, D6).
- England have kept clean sheets in four of their last five away matches in all competitions, including a goalless draw in their Nations League Third Place Play-Off against Switzerland last summer in Portugal, in which the Three Lions were classed as the away team.
Prediction
For all of England’s dominance against Iceland, they really struggled to create clinical chances in front of goal because of the Strákarnir Okkar robustly tight defence, which could again be an issue if Denmark produces a similar defensive performance which often troubled Belgium in their clash on Saturday.
I however am expecting a more open game because both teams will fancy their chances of a strong result and especially Denmark, who have somehow made their home country a footballing fortress in recent years despite playing in various stadiums.
England therefore are going to have to show the same level of dominance that we saw in Iceland but bring extra creativity and sharpness in order to capitalise on mistakes like Belgium did on Saturday, otherwise it could be a long difficult scrappy night in Copenhagen
Prediction: Denmark 1-2 England
Result: Denmark 0-0 England