England meet Denmark in the second semi-final at Wembley Stadium, London, as both teams look to reach the Euro 2020 Grand Final.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions enter this match off the back of a dominant Quarter-Final win over Ukraine, whilst Denmark clung on to defeat Czech Republic to qualify for this stage for the first time since 1992.
Team News
England have no fresh injury concerns to report ahead of this clash as Bukayo Saka pushes for a start after recovering from a minor ankle injury.
Southgate however faces a selection headache ahead of this match as he ponders his formation and starting eleven selection, with 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 thought to be the likely formation choice.
Denmark also boast no fresh injury concerns coming into this clash and manager, Kasper Hjulmand could name an unchanged starting eleven.
Stat Attack
- England drew 0-0 with Denmark in their only previous meeting at the Euros Finals in June 1992, with the Danes going on to win the title at that tournament.
- Denmark have won two of three previous competitive away clashes against England at Wembley (W2, L1), despite all three meetings being settled by 1-0 results.
- All seven previous clashes at Wembley between England and Denmark have been settled by 1-0 results, with the Three Lions winning on five occasions to Denmark’s two (W5, L2).
- No England player has produced more dribbles at Euro 2020 than Raheem Sterling, who has produced 15 dribbles in five appearances.
- Seven of Joakim Maehle’s ten shots have been on target whilst three other shots were all blocked.
- England have lost two previous Euro semi-finals and their last five semi-finals in all competitions overall since winning 1966 World Cup.
- Denmark have won just one of three previous semi-final appearances at major tournaments, which came in their last semi-final appearance in 1992 en route to the title.
Prediction
Having delivered what could be described as the complete performance against Ukraine in Rome on Saturday, England now face a tricky task of proving that they have another if not stronger performance in them especially in front of their home fans which will add extra pressure given that they are yet to concede.
Southgate however faces a tricky choice in regards to the no.10 role because Jadon Sancho offers a wider option going forward, whereas Saka has pace and the ability to cut in when necessary which could cause Denmark’s defence serious issues on both flanks with Raheem Sterling on the left.
Speaking of Denmark, their unity since Christian Eriksen’s sudden cardiac arrest in their opening loss to Finland has carried them to this stage so their mentality will be difficult to break, particularly once factor in their win over this team here in the Nations League last October which will give them added confidence.
Tactics are therefore going to be crucial because silencing Kasper Dolberg and Mikkel Damsgaard in terms of creativity and back-tracking will be key for England, whereas the Danes will have to be at their best defensively to handle Sterling and whoever plays on the right flank.
On that note, I think that this could certainly be a tenser contest than everyone thinks but if England can score first, this will become a test of Denmark’s mentality and unity in terms of how they respond because they did struggle at times once Czech Republic increased their pressure in the second half on Saturday.
Prediction: England 1-0 Denmark
Result: England 2-1 (AET) Denmark
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