England will attempt to qualify for the final of the European Championship at Wembley when they take on
Denmark this Wednesday. The win last week over Germany was then bettered by the 4-0 battering of
Ukraine on Saturday evening in Rome. A return to Wembley where 60,000 fans are expected to be allowed in, should be a great atmosphere.
Our opponents Denmark secured their spot with a 2-1 win over Czech Republic and having lost their talisman playmaker Christian Eriksen at the start of the tournament against Finland have galvanised themselves as a squad. Naturally we continue to wish him well and a long term recovery after that harrowing incident, with plenty of respect to the medical teams too who no doubt saved his life. It is nearly three decades since Denmark shocked the continent with their victory at Euro '92, taking advantage of a late call-up to the finals to produce their country's greatest sporting moment. They are currently in the process of writing yet another fairy tale in the competition. Their campaign was only 41 minutes old when Eriksen collapsed before receiving CPR on the pitch as his visibly-distressed team-mates surrounded him and fans around the world watched in shock. Now those players are just 90 minutes from the final after another brilliant team display that stands as a testament not only to their ability and tactical intelligence but the renewed bond between them, forged in adversity.
The winners will play Italy, who beat Spain in Tuesday's first semi-final on penalties after the match ended 1-1.
Team News
Gareth Southgate has been making subtle changes to his starting eleven with great effect, will he stick with the same side that won against Ukraine? will update here should any news break early, everyone seems fit and ready to do their bit. The only change appears to suggest that Bukayo Saka will now start the semi-final with Denmark in place of Jadon Sancho.
The match is Live on ITV with kick off at 8pm. Starting elevens are now confirmed as follows;
England XI 2 [Kjaer (og) 39' Kane 104']
Pickford (Gk), Walker, Stones, 🟨Maguire, Shaw, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Saka, Sterling, Kane (c).
Denmark XI 1 [Damsgaard 30']
Schmeichel (Gk), Christensen, Kjaer (c), Vestergaard, Stryger Larsen, Højbjerg, Delaney, Maehle, Damsgaard, Braithwaite, Dolberg.
AET 1-1 after 90 mins
Referee - Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Head to Head
According to the stats we've have played against Denmark twenty two times and overall the record is positive, twelve wins for England with four for Denmark and six drawn contests. However the most recent meetings were in the Nations League and a goalless draw at home was followed by a 1-0 defeat in Denmark so we have that to avenge to reach a major final for the first time since 1966.
Not the best game of football by a long way, but for once we got a slice of like to go our way and even a penalty save couldn't stop England from reaching a first final in 55 years. Italy await, the tension will mount, but maybe, just maybe we can do this...
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