England defeated Denmark 2-1 after extra time in Euro 2020 semi-final to reach Euro final for the first time. Denmark forward Mikkel Damsgaard opened the scoring in 30th minute before England equalized after a 39th-minute own goal by Danish defender Simon Kjær. England captain Harry Kane scored the winner in 104th minute by scoring a rebound after a saved penalty.
In the second semi-final, England will lock horns with Denmark at Wembley Stadium on July 8 (India time). The winner of second semi-final will square off with Italy, who defeated Spain in the first semi-final on Wednesday in penalty shootout after the match ended in a 1-1 draw at extra time.
For England, a win in the semifinal clash against Denmark tonight will lead to their first major international final in 55 years. The nation that is credited for giving the beautiful game to the world has so far just won one major trophy — a World Cup title in 1966. Denmark too has just one major international title — an European cup in 1992.
What else is at stake for England and Denmark? Let’s find out.
England will be playing in front of its home crowd at the Wembley Stadium in London. If they win against Denmark, a massive crowd of 60,000 will be attending the final, majority of them being English, waiting for it to come home.
A win against Denmark could help England get its hands on a second major international title and its first European title. However, their performances in semi-finals in major tournaments in the past are not much to take inspiration from.
The three lions have played a total of 5 semi-finals out of which the team managed to win just once during the 1966 World Cup. The last semi-final appearance in the European Championship came in 1996 when England was the host. The team played against Germany at the Wembley Stadium and lost on penalties. A penalty miss by the current manager Gareth Southgate as a player in the Euro 1996 led to their defeat. Southgate will hope to have a different outcome this time. England’s most recent appearance in a semi-final came in the 2018 World Cup in Russia when they lost out to Croatia.
England’s road to the semi-final
England started as a big favorite in the tournament. They won their first group match against Croatia 1-0 and then drew the second match against their old rivals Scotland. In the third match, England defeated Czech Republic 1-0 to top the group. Although initially there was a concern that strikers, especially Harry Kane, were not performing up to their standards, they soon dispelled all doubts. England defeated Germany 2-0 in the round of 16 and made its intention about the tournament loud and clear. In the quarterfinals against Ukraine, the three lions registered their biggest victory in the Euro cup with a 4-0 win. It was also their first four-goal haul since the 1966 World Cup final. On their way to the semi-final, England are the only team yet to concede a goal in Euro 2020. They have demonstrated that they are strong on both ends of the pitch.
England vs Denmark head-to-head
The two teams have met a total of 21 times and out of them the English side has registered victories in 12. Denmark could manage just 4 wins. However, the last meeting between the two sides came in the UEFA Nations League and ended in Denmark’s favor.
Denmark national football team
Denmark has been the dark horse of the tournament. They have surprised everyone with their performance. Although losing in the semi-final against England won’t be a failure, the team would still want to repeat the result from their previous meeting.
A win against England will see the Danes return to the final after a gap of 29 years, the longest in the tournament’s history. Denmark are the underdogs against the three lions. However, if they manage to beat England on Thursday and Italy on Monday (Indian time), the underdogs won’t be considered underdogs anymore. Before the 1992 Euro final, Denmark had twice reached the semis.
Denmark’s road to the semi-final
Out of the four semi-finalists, Denmark had the worst possible start to their campaign. Christian Eriksen had to be hospitalised after he fainted because of cardiac arrest during the opening match against Finland. The team lost the match 1-0 and then suffered another defeat against Belgium. A 4-1 win against Russia helped the team finish as runners-up in the group. In the round of 16 clash against Wales, the team continued its performance with a 4-0 win. In the quarterfinal, the team fought a tight match to get a 2-1 win over Czech Republic. The team scored a total of 11 goals on their way to the semi-final, a national record in European campaigns.
In the 1992 Euro final, the team defeated Germany 2-0. Can they spring another surprise on Thursday? We have to wait till 2:30 am (IST) to know.
