09:04 PM
95 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Maehle and Vestergaard sandwich Sterling who catches the latter in the face with his hand as they come together. He requires treatment and England use the break to send on Henderson and Foden for Rice and Mount.
09:03 PM
93 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Poulsen brings down Grealish but nothing immediately comes from the free-kick. But England build on the second ball to send Kane into the box from the right and he scuds a daisycutter shot that Schmeichel saves smartly with his right hand at full stretch but there was no one there at the back stick to convert.
09:01 PM
92 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Foden and Henderson are about to come on for England. Nothing much happening on the pitch yet, apart from a good tackle by Rice and a better on still from Phillips.
08:59 PM
91 min ENG 1 DEN 1
The referee holds up play to talk to the fourth official after Denmark kick-off. About what, we do not know.
08:58 PM
Right here we go
No further changes.
08:55 PM
How are your nerves?
Holding up OK.
England have made only one substitution to Denmark’s five. That could be crucial now.
08:54 PM
90+6 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England throw on the right. Walker will Delap it into the box. He hurls it to the near post where it’s cleared out to Phillips. He whips in a cross that Maguire flicks on to the back post. Grealish picks it up and centres it into the box where Kjaer blocks its path to Kane and the referee blows to end normal time.
08:52 PM
90+5 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Mount takes and Maguire meets it at the back post, unable to get a proper run at it so he has to shoot up like a salted razor clam and can only steer it towards the bottom corner and Schmeichel snaffles it.
08:51 PM
90+4 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Vestergaard fouls Kane, inducing the push in the back. The free-kick is 25 yards out, wide right.
08:50 PM
90+3 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Twice Sterling is put down the right but the first time he can’t find the cross, the second time the ball is worked back to Phillips who takes on a shot with his left-foot swinger from 22 yards with predictable results.
08:49 PM
90+2 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Shaw stops the Danish counter and is fouled by Pulsen who would have been free. England free-kick 40 yards out.
08:47 PM
90+1 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Shaw works the ball to Kane in the area but he has his back to goal and can’t shake off Norgaard who forces him wide and then blocks his cross.
08:46 PM
90 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England keep probing around the box with Rice, Walker and Phillips to earn a throw.
Six minutes of stoppage time.
08:45 PM
88 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England free-kick from the Denmark corner after Vestergaard grapples with a white shirt.
Denmark replace Delaney with Jensen.
08:44 PM
87 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Grealish in his own corner tries to play it up the right and Poulsen cuts it out, goes to the byline and MAguire blocks his cross. Ball looked out before it was blocked but the referee gives a corner.
08:42 PM
86 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Grealish’s pass from the inside-right position up to Kane, with Sterling and Mount better places, is picked off and back come Denmark until Rice halts their progress.
08:41 PM
84 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Denmark are knocking it around at the back and then launch a raid up the right. Delaney can’t get beyond Shaw when Poulsen pushes up, spins and plays it back to him. He takes a cross on with his left and floats it harmlessly too close to Pickford,
08:39 PM
82 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Shaw duly fizzes in a shallow cross in front of the penalty spot and Shaw has to swan-neck it from behind him which makes him flash his attempt wide.
08:38 PM
81 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Rice breaks up a Denmark counter and sends Mount down the left. Delaney yanks his shirt and England have a free-kick, 40 yards out on the left.
08:37 PM
79 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Grealish sends Shaw down the left, the full-back whips over a cross to no white shirt, Denmark hack it away and Phillips meets it 25 yards out and pummels a right-foot shot about 3ft wide (and rising).
08:35 PM
77 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Christensen, who was limping earlier, leaps up and extends his right leg to hook away Maguire’s pass which would have sent Maguire free down the left. That’s the end for the Chelsea centre-half who is replaced by Andersen. Possibly cramp, possibly a twanged hamstring.
08:33 PM
75 min ENG 1 DEN 1
The replay of the ‘penalty’ and the punditry consensus is that ‘it could have gone either way’. Seems a fair assessment.
08:32 PM
73 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Kane is penalised when he falls in the box after tangling legs with Norgaard. He wants a penalty but the referee doesn’t agree and VAR does not ask him to have a second look. A moment earlier Mount’s cross turned into a shot as it arced towards goal and Schmeichel had to palm it over his bar for a corner.
08:30 PM
71 min ENG 1 DEN 1
The Denmark substitutions have definitely bolstered their energy levels. Phillips wins the ball in midfield by the centre spot, shifts it 10 yards up to Kane who flicks it to the left for Grealish and Wass runs across him to bring him down. Free-kick.
08:26 PM
69 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England substitution: Grealish on for Saka. Sterling switches to the right
08:25 PM
67 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Jack Grealish will join them in a minute. Saka is playing very well down the right and induced Vestergaard to hook a pass back into his area rather than let him head to the byline. The ball arcs very close to goal and Schmeichel hurries his step until he realises it’s not threatening it.
08:23 PM
66 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Denmark about to make three changes: Poulsen for Damsgaard, Wass for Stryger and Norgaard for Dolberg.
08:21 PM
64 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Mount has to dig the ball out from his feet after a good run by Saka down the inside left but he can’t get any purchase on it and chips it straight at Schmeichel. A minute before Phillips wedged a pass over the Denmark midfield pivot for Mount who got stuck in red-shirted congestion in the box.
08:19 PM
62 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Maguire can’t meet Mount’s corner with the meat of his forehead. This game is crying out for Foden, Grealish or Sancho in a few minutes.
08:18 PM
60 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Stryger is pushing Shaw back, feeds the pass through Braithwaite’s dummy to Dolberg who scuds it straight at Pickford. England knock it upfield, Sterling hangs on to the ball on the left of the box, waits for Shaw on the overlap and he prods a cross through the six-yard box that strikes Hojbjerg and goes out for a corner.
08:15 PM
58 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Corner for Denmark after good work from Dolberg to spin off down the right wing. Maguire heads it away but Saka can’t find Sterling which would have left him one v one from 70 yards and back come Denmark. They take it to the byline on the right, just keep it in and flay a cross over to the back post where Damsgaard is effectively closed down and bludgeons his volley wide.
08:12 PM
57 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Mount takes, arrowing it on to the head of Maguire who steers a header that was creeping inside the left post before Schmeichel reached it with his thumb and forefinger of the right hand to scoop it off the line and away from the post.
08:11 PM
56 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Kane buys a foul with one of his famous flops down the right wing, about parallel with the penalty spot, when Maehle puts his hand in the small of his back.
08:09 PM
54 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Denmark are enjoying another spell of troubling possession for England and Pickford comes out Superman style with a flying two-fisted punch to batter away Braithwaite’s cross.
08:08 PM
52 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Good save low to his right by Pickford but Dolberg was offside when he gobbled up the pass played down the left and cut inside to let one fly.
08:07 PM
51 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Kjaer is having a concussion test. Maguire keeps shaking his head, long after Kane had shepherded him away from the referee.
08:06 PM
49 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England free-kick 25 yards out by the right touchline. Mount swings it in and Maguire goes up to head it, doesn;t connect cleanly as he’s challenged and catches Kjaer with his arm. It’s a booking, one he protests.
08:04 PM
48 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Rice makes 20 yards but his pass out to his left while dribbling is picked off by Hojbjerg and Denmark switch but Phillips wins a tackle, slips it up the right to Saka who is obstructed by Vestergaard because he didn’t want him running at him.
08:02 PM
46 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England kick-off, attacking the old tunnel end, even if the footprint has changed beyond recognition. No changes. Dolberg shoves Maguire as they go up for a header. England free-kick 30 yards from their goal.
07:59 PM
Jamie Carragher’s half-time analysis
England were always going to suffer adversity in this competition at some point. The key was always going to how they reacted. The speed of that response was crucial. Psychologically, the timing of the equaliser is massive. Had they gone in 1-0 down at half-time, the tension and pressure would have started building. Instead, they can rebuild momentum. The front three have been excellent, the system working. When Kane drops deep, it is imperative that Saka and Sterling run in behind. That is what led to the goal. The Danes cannot cope with that kind of movement.
This game is everything you expect from a semi-final; tight, and tense. This is a fine Danish side.
But I think England just need to keep their nerve, relax and they will get the next goal and win it.
07:55 PM
England’s goal
07:53 PM
Denmark’s goal
Here’s why the free-kick was awarded …
The execution …
The outcome …
07:48 PM
Half-time ENG 1 DEN 1
Far from a sterling performance from England after a promising start they wobbled when Denmark began to get a grip on midfield and possession. England’s defence retreated, opening a gap between them, Rice and Phillips for Braithwaite and Damsgaard while Dolberg occupied the centre-backs with his running.
To haul it back to 1-1 when the wheels could have easily come off shows their resilience and intelligence but they have to maintain this offensive strategy because there’s so little space through the middle as Hojbjerg and Delaney are like a pack rather than a pair of terriers.
07:45 PM
44 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Shaw and Walker bypass the box with crosses that find each other. Kane almost finds Sterling with a wonderful pass down the inside-left but there are too many red shirts.
07:43 PM
43 min ENG 1 DEN 1
England look dangerous down both wings. They have to keep their width.
07:42 PM
42 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Saka has led the fight since Denmark’s dominance began and twice in a minute he set up gilded opportunities. That’s why he’s in the team.
07:41 PM
41 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Correction: the goal has been attributed to Kjaer (og)
07:41 PM
40 min ENG 1 DEN 1
Brilliant save from Schmeichel as Saka with a fine pass round the corner sends Kane down the right and he centres for Sterling whose bullet of a shot is saved at point-blank range. Back come England and this time Kane with a diagonal pas sends Saka down the right and he beats the trap, scurries into the box and whips a cross through the six-yard box that Kjaer and Sterling meet simultaneously and divert past a scrambling Schmeichel.
07:39 PM
GOOOOOOAL!!!
England 1 Denmark 1 (Sterling)
07:38 PM
38 min ENG 0 DEN 1
England under the cosh here when Denmark break and go through England’s midfield like it isn’t there. It’s six v four as England scramble back but the cross from the right lacks the precision to fine Dolberg and Stone sees it away.
07:36 PM
36 min ENG 0 DEN 1
Sterling takes the free-kick and clips it into the wall, Kjaer jumping and wearing the ball in the mush. Throw-in for England.
07:35 PM
35 min ENG 0 DEN 1
England free-kick 25 yards out when Delaney slides through Kane.
07:34 PM
33 min ENG 0 DEN 1
Pickford shanks another clearance straight to Braithwaite 30 yards out but Maguire snuffs it out. Southgate and Kane are both emphasising the same point: ‘Calm down!’
07:33 PM
31 min ENG 0 DEN 1
Damsgaard hits it with his laces, chopping down on the ball and it loops over the wall, fairly centrally, with Pickford guarding the left half of his goal. It then dips menacingly and curves away from Pickford’s right hand as leapt to his right.
It’s the first goal scored direct from a free-kick all tournament.
It’s been coming. England are disjointed.
07:30 PM
GOOOOOOOOAL!
ENG 0 DEN 1 (Damsgaard)
07:30 PM
29 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Rice clatters into Dolberg 40 yards out on the right, from which Shaw is penalised 25 yards out for grabbing Shaw round the waist.
07:29 PM
28 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Saka tries to haul England up the pitch and is fouled for his initiative. England work the free-kick from the left and whip over a cross that just eludes Maguire at the back post.
07:26 PM
25 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Damsgaard shoots from the left of the box, wrapping his instep around it but not shaping it back towards the frame. It came at the end of a worrying passage of play for England after Kane was tackled in the centre-circle and some after you Claud defending from Rice and Phillips and England retreating too far too quickly.
07:24 PM
23 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Good spell of Denmark possession draws some whistles from the crowd as Hojbjerg pierces the lines with a pass up the inside left ad England retreat too far and only get the ball back when Braithwaite tries to turn a pass round the corner blindly and knocks it Walker.
07:22 PM
21 min ENG 0 DEN 0
The game has definitely swung to parity if not in Denmark’s favour because they are getting first to the ball. Twice in a minute Vestergaard beats Mount on the ground and Kane in the air.
07:20 PM
19 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Phillips is finding Hojberg his toughest test of the tournament so far and England can’t maintain the midfield grip they held for the first 10 minutes which has quietened the crowd. Fouls on Mount and Sterling halt Denmark’s burgeoning momentum.
07:18 PM
17 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Two mistakes in 15 seconds, the first from Phillips with a misdirected pass which allows Denmark a run on goal and a weak shot from 25 yards that Pickford calmly deals with before shanking his clearance straight to a red shirt and it takes a deflection from Delaney’s shot to spare his blushes and send it out for a corner.
07:16 PM
15 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Walker whips a pass 30 yards up for Kane on the edge of the box. Sterling takes his marker with him opening up the space for Kane to turn and thump a half-volley into the crowd.
07:14 PM
14 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Denmark defend the corner but after a wobble from Phillips win the second ball and play Sterling in down the left. He faces up Christensen, skitters and shimmies and the Chelsea centre-back allows him in on his right. Ideally he would do what Chiesa did last night and bend it in to the far corner but instead he scuffs it straight at Schmeichel who falls forward to gather.
07:13 PM
12 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Mount and Saka diddle Maehle and leave him on his backside with a slick one-two that sends Mount into the area but his cross is quickly closed down by Vestergaard and rebound out for a corner.
07:11 PM
10 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Excellent from Walker to read Dolberg’s run when Maguire and Stones were suckered upfield and left themselves exposed to the long ball over the top and the centre-forward springing off Maguire’s shoulder. Walker diligently and with his jet-heeled speed raced across from the right of England’s defence to snuff out the danger in Denmark’s inside-right channel, fully 30 yards.
07:09 PM
8 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Sterling soft-shoe shuffles down the left and stands up a cross towards the back post that Denmark clear. It’s all England so far, dominating the left wing.
07:07 PM
Sam Wallace reports
Atmosphere in Wembley is like nothing the new stadium has seen for an England game. Crackling with anticipation, lots of singing and very obvious delight in the faces of the people here. They know they are at a special game. Famous faces in the crowd too: loyal England fan, and 34-cap international, Adam Lallana is back again at Wembley. He has been here for other games at this Euros. It certainly looks like the former Spurs player, and most recently the club’s interim manager, Ryan Mason is here with the Kane family. Mason won a single cap for England as a substitute against Italy in Turin in March 2015. John Terry has had very little to do with the FA since his abrupt retirement from international duty in 2016. He is here – possibly at the invitation of a broadcaster. He has been giving an interview in one of the broadcast positions by the touchline.
07:07 PM
5 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Maguire fires a pass up the left that Shaw turns round the corner first time but Denmark turn it away. Back come England up the right, Kane getting behind Maehle and whipping over a cross towards the back post that Sterling just can’t reach.
07:05 PM
4 min ENG 0 DEN 0
England have started with impressive, positive intensity, pushing the full-backs high and Mount popping up all over the central third with his hand grenades a la Keegan.
07:04 PM
3 min ENG 0 DEN 0
Saka and Mount pierce the heart of the Danish defence and cause some panic with their high press, claiming that the way Denmark got out pf trouble was via a backpass picked up by Schmeichel but the referee rules that it was accidental.
07:03 PM
2 min ENG 0 DEN 0
England pressing high, too high in fact and Stryger bears the scars as Shaw snaps in and stands on his foot.
07:02 PM
1 min ENG 0 DEN 0
England take the knee in support of racial equality and justice, Denmark applaud them and then Denmark kick off, attacking from left to right. Immediate free-kick for England when Sterling snaffles possession and goes barellinhg through the centre-circle. Huge cheer. England can’t hold on to the ball and Rice and Phillps combine to stop Hojbjerg illegally in his own half.
06:58 PM
The anthems
Some meat-headed booing for the Danish anthem but it doesn’t reach a particularly loud volume.
The team bellows out God Save the Queen, the crowd flying ahead of the music and finishing a second early.
England discard their tops.
Next up, the knee and kick-off.
06:55 PM
Out come the teams
England in their navy tracksuit tops covering their white shirts, Denmark all in red.
They line up for the anthems, starting with Der er et yndigt land
06:54 PM
Sweet Caroline resounds around the 60,000 crowd
Mark Pougatch asks Roy Keane to join in. He grins but demurs. Earlier they asked him whether it was true he had seen Neil Diamond in concert: “Yeah, about 10 years ago. I ended up arguing with the woman next to me – she kept singing the songs out loud, so I ended up in a bit of a trouble that night. But brilliant concert.”
06:38 PM
Meanwhile in Croydon
06:37 PM
A thought
I understand what he means but would also say it’s about a bond between the team and who they represent and in that respect, Southgate’s greatest achievement is that it already has come home.
06:31 PM
Sam Wallace reports from Wembley
At the very least their famous song must surely secure them a few tickets for every big England game from now until the end of time.
06:24 PM
Gareth Southgate speaks
[Tonight’s message]: Keep it as simple as possible.
We have fantastic options but for tonight Bukayo provides the right balance
We feel we’ve got to defend in the way we have done and we know we have to be able to deal with their play between the lines and stop their crosses.
Then we have to use the ball the way we have in the last couple of matches and have the movement to cause them problems. We’ve played at home in big matches already, we’ve had to deal with the expectation of being at home and we’ve coped with that. It’s great to play at Wembley.
We’re hope [the nation is] enjoying this as much as we are and we hope we can give them the result they want.
06:21 PM
Jamie Carragher’s pre-match thoughts
How can we question the selections of Gareth Southgate after everything he has done so far in this tournament? He sees Saka as the right man for the job tonight, so there must be a reason for it. Having said that, I am surprised. I would have played Jadon Sancho again. England’s movement was so good against Ukraine, with Sancho and Sterling interchanging, and that brought the best out of Harry Kane. I know Saka was also outstanding against the Czech Republic and Germany, but I thought Sancho had done enough to stay in.
What we really need from the first whistle is the players using the energy of the crowd to their advantage. When the fans are up for it, it is a weapon. That needs to be reflected on the pitch. Denmark are a better team than they have been credited. This will be a fight for the final. Starting with intensity and keeping the crowd engaged is a way to unsettle any opponent. England did that well against Croatia in the opening game, when they started very well. They need the same again and more.
06:15 PM
Mason Mount speaks
We know the occasion, it’s something we’re thriving off. We’re just very focused on how we perform now, it’s down to us to get the job done. It’s a semi-final, so the pressure is on both teams.
We have to think of the way we performed in the last game and bring it into this one.
06:07 PM
Luke Edwards is in the house
Our North-East football expert will be joining you in the comments section during and after the match tonight.
Meanwhile at Wembley:
06:00 PM
Meet the referee Danny Makkelie
The Dutchman was in charge for England’s victory over Germany and is, by original trade, a police officer.
05:51 PM
Here’s Denmark’s formation
05:50 PM
Your teams in black and white
England Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Substitutes Johnstone, Ramsdale, Grealish, Henderson, Rashford, Trippier, Mings, Coady, Sancho, Foden, James, Bellingham.
Denmark Schmeichel, Christensen, Kjaer, Vestergaard, Stryger Larsen, Hojbjerg, Delaney, Maehle, Braithwaite, Dolberg, Damsgaard.
Substitutes Lossl, Ronnow, Andersen, Skov, Skov Olsen, Mathias Zanka Jorgensen, Norgaard, Wass, Wind, Poulsen, Cornelius, Jensen.
Referee Danny Makkelie (Holland)
05:46 PM
Denmark are unchanged
I’ll type out their XI in a moment.
05:45 PM
Three players out of the matchday squad
Ben Chilwell and Ben White and also, more surprisingly, Dominic Calvert-Lewin who came off the bench in Rome last Saturday
05:43 PM
England’s starting XI
05:40 PM
One change for England
Bukayo Saka for Jadon Sancho:
05:37 PM
England have arrived
After an overcast day of intermittent showers at Wembley, the sun is out tonight and the temperature up to 20C
05:35 PM
Gary Neville on his feelings
[The Germany game] was the first time I’ve ever been emotional about England. This team are shattering nightmares from the past, no cynicism, no ego. We like them, we like the manager.
05:31 PM
ITV coverage has begun
And Mark Pougatch has gone the full Southgate 18, with brown shoes and a waistcoat.
05:30 PM
The team news drifts later
At the business end of the tournament. The teams have usually been announced 90 minutes before kick-off though there’s no stipulation that they have to be published more than an hour ahead of the first whistle. Last night Spain were the first to blink and released theirs at 6.48. Italy’s came five minutes later. We expect it to be no earlier tonight.
05:17 PM
England have left The Grove
04:45 PM
Executive vox pops
They all boil down to ‘Carpe Diem’:
Gary Neville says he has “genuine confidence in this manager and players” but insisted nothing less than their best display will be enough to carry them into Sunday’s showpiece.
Just hours before kick-off, Neville wrote on Instagram: “History beckons for this team. To reach back-to-back Semi-Finals is incredible, but it’s not enough. You become nearly men!
“I do have genuine confidence in this manager and players that this time a semi-final isn’t the end! To win any semi-final takes a great performance. This is a really good Denmark team and anything less than our best and/or luck will not be enough.
“The only danger is that the lads don’t see the danger. When you’re euphoric and on a wave in sport or life you can have that feeling it’s never going to end and something becomes your right. It doesn’t work like that.
“Tonight is a night to be cold, don’t let emotion take over, stick to the manager’s plan and focus. Go for it lads! Focus and grab this chance!”
Neville was part of the England coaching staff in their last appearance at the European Championship when they were defeated by Iceland, working under Roy Hodgson, who believes the current crop have been “absolutely perfect”.
“I’m very confident indeed because I think the England team is playing so exceptionally well from the start of the tournament really,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“In fact, they have been faultless. I can’t think of anything to criticise, although I’m sure there are people who do find something. But they must be hard pushed to find something. It’s been absolutely perfect.”
Hodgson said the Wembley crowd will “play a major part” but is dreading the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.
“My main hope tonight is that the game won’t go to penalties,” he added. “You can argue that the penalty shoot-out is better than the flip of a coin, but it is a very cruel way to lose matches.”
Jose Mourinho also expects England to progress to the final and feels they have too much firepower for the Danes to contain.
“I expect the talented players of England, because they have so many on the pitch, and so many on the bench, that they can come later and create new difficulties and new intensity in the game,” Mourinho told TalkSport.
“England has better players in attack and hopefully from there they’re going to beat [Denmark], if England dominate them from a defensive point of view, which I think they will.
“If you compare the talent of especially the England attacking players and the Danish attacking players, there is clearly a difference.”
04:24 PM
You don’t have to be mad to work here …
One of the great grifts of the past 20 years are shops selling all manner of tat inscribed with inspirational platitudes. Wembley, it seems, is not immune from the curse of fridge magnet philosophy.
04:18 PM
You can take the boy out of Brent …
04:09 PM
Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy
The elder Schmeichel on beating the holders Holland in the 1992 semi-final, via Uefa:
That comes from, not defiance, but not accepting that we are a small country. We have exactly the same opportunity to go and better ourselves and be the best professionals, and if we get the right circumstances we can go and do whatever job we want to do. So it’s more a mentality, I think. And I think that, more than anything, was why we won the European Championship.
04:04 PM
The end is nigh?
03:38 PM
Combining two great interests
Actually three – football, beer and confectionery.
03:32 PM
Tactical considerations
Playing with a back four was done only with Christian Eriksen in mind and since he was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a heart attack on the first Saturday, Denmark have reverted to a back three. The one change they have made in the subsequent four games was in pushing Braithwaite and Damsgaard higher in the rout of Wales until they were virtually level with Kasper Dolberg but we would expect them to be tucked behind this evening in a 3-4-2-1.
For England, Southgate introduced a back three for the victory over Germany to go like for like, 3-4-3 vs 3-4-3. Otherwise they have stuck to a fluid 4-2-3-1 that can switch to 4-3-3 or even 4-3-2-1. They used three at the back throughout last autumn’s Nations League group games, including the 1-0 defeat by Denmark at Wembley which was enabled, partially, by Maguire’s red card. Southgate chose to send Mings on following the sending off rather than adjusting to a four but he has stuck with four ever since, Germany apart, in the three World Cup qualifiers in March and for Euro 2020, even against Poland, who lined up 3-5-2, Scotland (5-3-2) and Ukraine (5-3-2). It seems likely. therefore, that he will go with four again.
03:05 PM
Hello
It took 28 years from England’s first European Championship semi-final in 1968 to qualify for their next one in 1996 and it has taken a quarter of a century to get through to a third. That’s almost a lifetime … in fact it’s almost the span of this author’s life … the point being that these opportunities are remarkably rare for England and have remained, so far, stubbornly unfulfilled. Seldom are the times when sport lifts a nation’s brow – born a year too late for 1966, only 1990, 1996, and perhaps 2018 stand out in this lifetime. And each ended in failure, glorious failure on a couple of occasions but failure nonetheless.
Tonight England have the chance to reach their first major final for 55 years and with each step along the way through the knockout stages Gareth Southgate’s team have looked more assured, clinical and savvy. Three years ago it seemed like a bonus; today it seems they deserve their place at the highest table, having worked so hard to banish the flakiness and flaws of previous regimes with a manager determined to eradicate the laissez-faire approach, doubts and tactical inferiority that ultimately wrecked his own chances of winning something as a player at four tournaments. Whatever happens at Wembley, this team looks as though it belongs here and there is still plenty more to come.
Denmark’s resurgence under Kasper Hjulmand, who has successfully refined their attacking strategy in only a year in charge, his been galvanised by his players’ determination to win it for Christian Eriksen, to prove that lightning can strike twice after 1992 and enjoy the esteem in which their parents’ generation, literally so in the goalkeeper’s case, is held. They will be formidable opponents – not least because they have Joakim Maehle, so brilliantly schooled by Gian Paolo Gasperini at Atalanta, Jens Stryger Larsen, who has flourished at Udinese under Luca Gotti and Kasper Dolberg, living up to his early promise after some wobbles at Nice.
The tournament so far has given us compelling evidence to suggest that confidence and composure has been transfused into this England squad in the five years since Gareth Southgate succeeded Sam Allardyce. Today should be graduation day.