England V’s Denmark EURO SEMI LINE-UP

England play an inspired Denmark side at Wembley this evening.

Gareth Southgate’s men have grown into the tournament and were imperious in their 4-0 demolition job of Ukraine in the quarter-final in Rome on Saturday.

SPORTS NEWS

Exclusive Saka to replace Sancho in England line-up for Euro 2020 semi-final with Denmark

The Gunners star is being recalled after an ankle problem prevented him from starting in the Three Lions’ quarter-final win against Ukraine reports MarkMeets.

Gareth Southgate will bring Bukayo Saka back into his starting line-up in place of Jadon Sancho for the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, after he sat out England’s 4-0 win over Ukraine with a slight knock

Denmark are tactically flexible under Kasper Hjulmand, but will likely operate in a 3-4-3 formation in the upcoming match at Wembley.

Who else will play?
The rest of the England line-up is expected to remain the same, with Harry Kane continuing to lead the line after scoring three goals in the last two games, having not netted in the group stage.

Raheem Sterling will play alongside him, with Mason Mount linking midfield and attack, leaving both Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips in their holding midfield roles.

The back five will remain the same with Jordan Pickford in goal with Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, John Stones and Kyle Walker expected to be in front of him.

Of course, this is barring any late changes due to injury in the warm-up – or a sudden change of plan by Gareth Southgate and his coaching staff.

What has been said ahead of kick-off?
England have yet to reach a European Championship final in their history and last reached an international final at the 1966 World Cup.

With his opposite number Hjulmand saying the pressure is on England to succeed on Wednesday night, Southgate dismissed the claim and praised his group for breaking down barriers.

“We don’t have as good of a football history as we like to believe sometimes,” he said ahead of kick-off. “These players are breaking barriers, we have never been to a Euros final, we respect the Danes that have won it and I watched that tournament.

“How could we have confidence in Russia when we weren’t regularly beating top teams. We lost to France just before and Germany in a friendly. You can’t have genuine confidence but just hope.

“We have since had a win over here Germany and with Belgium and Spain in the UEFA Nations League. There’s genuine belief. There’s another step to consistently go on that kind of run.

“Denmark have only lost to Belgium, while Italy and Spain are on tremendous runs. To win these games consistently has to be our aim.”

Predicted line-ups

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane

Denmark: Schmeichel; Christensen, Kjaer, Vestergaard; Larsen, Delaney, Hojbjerg, Maehle; Braithwaite, Damsgaard; Dolberg

Odds

England 3/4

Draw 5/2

Denmark 9/2

Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Roy Keane will provide expert analysis for ITV’s exclusive live coverage of England’s Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark on Wednesday.

The winners of tonight’s clash will face Italy in the final on Sunday, after Roberto Mancini’s men overcame Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night.

This will be the second successive tournament ITV has exclusively broadcast live coverage of England at the semi-final stage of a major tournament, with a record audience of 27.5 million tuning in to watch their match against Croatia in Russia in 2018.  

Joining them will be a stellar line-up including presenter Seema Jaswal pitchside with pundits Emma Hayes, Ashley Cole and Danish superstar Nadia Nadim. Commentary comes from Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon with contributions from Emma Hayes and Gary Neville.

Interviews below

EMMA HAYES

1) What are your thoughts on how this game will go, and why?

“The fact that there’s a huge home advantage, there’s momentum, there’s a feelgood factor, there’s a freshness in the group, you can see the hunger and determination in the players and the belief they’ve got in each other. I think it’s an extraordinary opportunity for England.

“That being said, Denmark are a team that are united by a very, very extreme experience, with Christian [Eriksen] having a cardiac arrest, so you can’t underestimate that and while the omens are not great for Denmark, the togetherness they have in their group means they’re going to be an extremely difficult opponent to beat.”

2) Who do you think will be the key players and why?

“I think the key players for England will be the spine of the team, as it has been, there’s no denying Harry Kane’s goals are crucial, but I’ll go back to the spine. I’ll go back to Rice, to Phillips, to Stones, to Maguire, to Henderson, because that backbone is giving the team the foundation for us to play with a little bit more freedom, to allow the likes of Raheem and Harry to express themselves, and I think they are the real unsung heroes. I think they deserve the real credit for the platform they’ve provided England.”

INTERVIEWS BELOW:

MARK POUGATCH

1) What are your thoughts on how this game will go, and why?

“I hate it when I tip England to win because it feels bad karma to do so – but I just think with their momentum, form, Kane back in the goals and the crowd, England will do it.”

2) Who do you think will be the key players and why?

“England’s strength is their team and their unity and we haven’t always been able to say that. Foden, Grealish, Sancho, Rashford are fantastic attacking players, none of them possibly are going to start. England’s key is their collective – from a back five who haven’t conceded to two defensive midfielders doing an outstanding shielding job to Sterling and Kane in the goals.”

SEEMA JASWAL

1) What are your thoughts on how this game will go, and why?

“England face a tougher test against Denmark than they did against Ukraine. Denmark have shown tremendous spirit and character to get to this stage given what happened to Christian Eriksen but as their manager said, ‘We’ve carried Christian with us all the way.’ They will fully believe they can make it to the final.

“That said, England look so in control and so composed, they’re a joy to watch! They’ve also kept seven consecutive clean sheets for the first time in their history and are coming off the back of their biggest ever victory in a major tournament knockout match. They’re in a great place! The atmosphere at Wembley for the Germany game with 42,000 fans was special- add 20,000 more, Wembley will be rocking and the support will without a doubt help them.”

2) Who do you think will be the key players and why?

“Every single player in the England team when called upon has delivered. Harry Kane is off the mark, Raheem Sterling has caused defences all sorts of problems, Harry Maguire has shown he could play a key part in set pieces and Jordan Pickford has made some crucial saves. I’ve loved watching Kalvin Philips, and Declan Rice is such a key part of this team. Add to that the sparkle that Saka, Grealish and Mount add, this for me is about the team as a collective and each and every player has delivered so far.

“As far as Denmark are concerned, Joakim Maehle produced a pass that will surely go down as one of the best of the tournament against Czech Republic. The front three of Braithwaite, Dolberg and Damsgaard have been impressive and let’s not forget they have a reliable pair of hands in goal in Kasper Schmeichel. Also the likes of Vestergaard, Højbjerg and Christensen know the England team very well from playing in the Premier League so will no doubt play a key role in preparing their team for this game.”

Both BBC and ITV will show the final. On ITV Hosted by Mark Pougatch, coverage from Wembley begins at 6.30pm, with the match to kick off at 8pm