Euro 2020: England vs. Denmark match preview- team news, lineups

Wembley Stadium is the host of a very exciting semi-final encounter on Wednesday, as

welcome Euro 2020’s surprise package, Denmark, to the capital for a place in this summer's final.

The Three Lions are coming off an easy win over Ukraine in the quarterfinals. While it was challenged against Germany to kick off the knockout stage, England has looked comfortable and remains the favorite to win Euro 2020. They thrashed Ukraine 4-0 to make the final four.

Denmark scraped past the Czech Republic 2-1 in the quarters, and Italy await the winner in the showpiece event on July 11. They have been labeled as the “team of destiny” in this tournament.

Only three weeks ago, the Danish team was praying for a miracle as medical personnel were saving the life of star player Christian Eriksen on the pitch. The Red and White victories against

and Czech Republic have set up the semi-final date with England.

England vs. Denmark match preview

England looks to take another step toward its first European Championships title when it hosts Denmark in Wednesday’s semifinal match at Wembley in London.

England

Twenty-five years on from his Euro 96 penalty miss, the 50-year-old Gareth Southgate has guided the Three Lions to back-to-back semi-final appearances at a major tournament.

Having passed their toughest test against

with flying colors, England travelled away from their Wembley headquarters to take on a Ukraine side who were highly fortunate to even be in the knockout rounds to begin with, but not even the most passionate supporters could have envisaged the Three Lions' dominance in Rome.

After Harry Kane took all of four minutes to break the deadlock, England's wise young heads would net a flurry of second-half goals as Kane,

and first-time international goalscorer Jordan Henderson rose highest to put the game to bed with just over an hour played.

These amazing scenes were coupled with endless renditions of Baddiel and Skinner, both demonstrated the pride of England supporters for their team as well as a much-needed release following the events of the last 18 months. However, the Three Lions' job is not over, and Southgate will know that better than anyone.

Having now gone seven games across all competitions without conceding a goal, England experience a first-ever appearance at a Euros final and their firm defense should produce the goods once more. It is worth mentioning that no team in history has navigated a Euros or World Cup campaign with six clean sheets to their name.

Southgate's struggles to get the best out of a bright attacking contingent have been well-documented, but England's thrashing of Ukraine also represented their biggest-ever margin of victory in a major tournament knockout match.

Denmark

Kasper Hjulmand's squad have coped far better than anyone could have imagined after witnessing the terrible scenes that they did on the opening matchday, and they followed up their thrashing of Wales in the last 16 with a 2-1 success over the Czechs in the last eight.

Thomas Delaney's header preceded a

finish which came via the assist of the tournament from Joakim Maehle, and even though the Czech Republic's main man Patrik Schick pulled one back within four minutes of the restart, the Danes pulled through to advance to the semis for the first time since 1992.

It should be mentioned that the last time that

made it this far was a fairytale ending during Euro 92 - their first and only triumph at the continental championships to date. Hjulmand's in-form attacking contingent has already notched up the most goals that their country has ever scored in a single major tournament (11).

Whichever team progresses to the final over the course of the full 90, 120, or a penalty shootout will be rewarded with a final appearance versus Italy, a powerhouse that has dazzled and delighted football fans so far at this incredibly late stage.

A penalty from none other than Eriksen propelled Denmark to victory over England in last year's Nations League, and the Scandinavian side also managed to hold Southgate's men to a goalless draw before that, meaning that we have a truly exciting battle on our hands in front of a 60,000-strong Wembley crowd.

Form analysis

Southgate has never been one to stick with the same winning formula throughout the tournament, but any outstanding change is unlikely to occur this time around as the England coach prepares to field a highly effective 4-2-3-1 once more.

caught the eye during his first start against Ukraine, but Bukayo Saka is expected to shake off a knock in time for this fixture and may be preferred on the right given his attacking and defensive abilities.

Maguire, Declan Rice, and Kalvin Phillips all managed to avoid a booking which would have ruled them out of this game against

, meaning that Henderson may be kept waiting for a start despite marking his 62nd cap with a first-ever England goal in the quarter-final.

England possible starting lineup:

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

Aside from the recovering Eriksen, Denmark are also well-stocked for the semi-final, although

was only fit enough to make an appearance from the bench against the Czechs and will struggle to displace the in-form Dolberg.

Daniel Wass should be fit enough to compete for a start on the right, but Jens Stryger Larsen provided the assist for Delaney's opener in the quarters and will not be prepared to cede his place at Wembley.

Captain

has overcome his own fitness concerns and is ready to lead his side out in the English capital, and it would not be a surprise to see Hjulmand name an unchanged XI for Wednesday's encounter.

Denmark possible starting lineup: Schmeichel; Vestergaard, Christensen, Kjaer; Stryger Larsen, Delaney, Hojbjerg, Maehle; Damsgaard, Dolberg, Braithwaite

England vs. Denmark - Head-to-head in all competitions

After a slow start to their Euro 2020 campaign, England have grown into the tournament. They now find themselves on the cusp of glory for the first time since their last European Championship semi-final in 1996.

Meanwhile, Denmark started their Euro 2020 campaign in the worst possible way. Talisman

suffered a cardiac arrest in their opening match with Finland – a game that Denmark then went on to lose.

England have played Denmark twice before at major tournaments, drawing 0-0 with them at Euro 1992 and defeating them 3-0 at the 2002 World Cup.

However, the most recent meetings between the two, in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, went in Denmark’s favor. Denmark were 1-0 victors the last time they faced England, with Christian Eriksen scoring the only goal in the UEFA Nations League tie at Wembley.

Prediction

While many websites offer different predictions and betting tips, we state here that underestimating a nation of Denmark's caliber would almost certainly prove fatal for England, who must prepare for a grueling evening of football against a side daring to dream just as much as they are.

It is anticipated that Southgate's exemplary defense will finally be breached at Euro 2020. The Danes obviously have enough energy to take the game to extra time and England's attacking options off the bench ought to see them get over the line and bring football one step closer to home.

England vs. Denmark Referees

Danny Makkelie, the part-time police inspector, will take charge of England vs Denmark in the semi-finals of Euro 2020. Dutch officials Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Bries will serve as assistant referees, while Pol van Boekel is the video assistant referee.

The fourth official is Ovidiu Hategan from Romania, while Dutch official Kevin Blom will act as one of three video assistant referees alongside Germany's Christian Gittelmann and Poland's Pawel Gil.

Viewing information

• Date: Wednesday 7 July, 2021

• Time: 20:00 UK, 3 p.m. ET

• Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England

• TV: ITV / ITV Player

• Odds: England -140, Denmark +425, Draw +260

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