It's coming home... to Denmark?
England and Denmark are both one step away from reaching their first final in a major tournament in 55 and 29 years respectively when they meet at Wembley on Wednesday night. The Three Lions, Scotland stalemate aside, have been deeply impressive throughout Euro 2020, and have yet to concede a goal this summer. Perhaps only De rød-hvide have had a more remarkable story, having lost their opening two matches after Christian Eriksen's horrific on-field cardiac arrest, only to rally round as a group to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, improving with every subsequent fixture after that infamous opener with Finland. Though the odds might be against them yet again, few neutrals won't have their corner, but more pertinently, they have the quality and team spirit to finally upset the 'hosts'. Read our preview here:
You've got Mæhle
Head coach Kasper Hjolmund will be cognisant most of the focus outside, and support inside, will be heavily on England, but he can use that to his potential advantage with his already more than galvanised squad. Both Yussuf Poulsen and Daniel Wass were able to make substitute appearances in the quarter final victory over the Czech Republic, and whilst neither might start on Wednesday, he'll have the full gamut of options, Eriksen aside, to call upon should he need to avail himself of them. The spine of the side looks very strong, and the operators in wider spaces cannot be discounted either. Left wing-back Joakim Mæhle has been particularly excellent, scoring twice and laying on a superb crossing assist in his last three encounters. Elsewhere, Kasper Dolberg has come into form up front, and now had three goals in the tournament. He'll be ably supported by the mileage and diligence of Martin Braithwaite, and the creativity of Mikkel Damsgaard. Chelsea star Andreas Christensen, despite coming off late on last time out, should be in the backline, and he knows all too well what the forwards in white can do, but also maybe how to stop them, too.
Train. Bane. Kane.
Despite still not appearing fully fit, Tottenham Hotspur striker (at least for the time being) Harry Kane still plundered two goals in the utterly dominant 4-0 thrashing of Ukraine, and it was hard to pinpoint any weaknesses in Gareth Southgate's charges. The manager also had the rare luxury of withdrawing players on a yellow card, thereby avoiding the potential risk of having key men suspended for the semis. Additionally, he'll likely keep both the media and Denmark's coaching staff guessing with his final selection, especially in the areas supporting Kane. Luke Shaw has been able to gallop forward from left-back with near total abandon, and his temporary adversary Jens Stryger Larsen down that flank will need support from Christensen - almost all of England's goals during the competition have originated from that area.
North gate, Southgate
On paper, England will indeed be favourites, and have had for all but one match home comforts to call upon, much in the same way to different extents all of the final four nations have. Even so, there are sometimes events that can overtake that, such as the combination of collective team spirit and quality Denmark possess. A below-par performance against their neighbours north of the border remains the only occasion they've even looked under threat. That will change on Wednesday, and the match could go the entire distance. bet365 have odds of 3.25 for one last twist in the tale before the final on Sunday - Denmark to qualify.
For more on Euro 2021 betting sites, Euro 2021 promos and team by team coverage visit our dedicated Euro 2021 betting guide.
