The Three Lions are the highest-ranked side left in the tournament and they appear to have discovered their best form during the knockout stages, following up a historic victory over Germany in the last 16 by thrashing Ukraine 4-0 in the quarter-finals.
Standing in the way of England and a maiden appearance in the European Championship final are Denmark, who have made it through to their first major tournament semi-final since their shock title success at Euro 92.
The Danes have used the collapse of Christian Eriksen during their opening match of the tournament to inspire them through to the last four, with their knockout stages victories over Wales and Denmark showing they are also capable of winning in a variety of different ways.
The winner of Wednesday’s tie will face Italy in the final at Wembley on Sunday and they will also be potentially just 90 minutes away from being crowned European champions.
England Hoping to End Danish Fairy Tale
England have already made history at Euro 2020, as they have become the first team to not concede a goal in any of their opening five matches at the tournament, a staggering statistic considering their defence was being questioned heading into the finals.
In truth, Gareth Southgate’s side have been defensively sound for some time, conceding just once across their last 11 matches, while they have also kept two clean sheets from their previous three meetings with Denmark.
The Danes did claim a victory the last time the two teams met at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League last autumn, but that was in front of a near-empty stadium, with as many as 60,000 fans set to be cheering on England on Wednesday.
That home support should be enough to get England over the line and the Three Lions can be backed at 6/4
to preserve their standout defensive record by winning the match to nil.
Wembley Clash to Follow Familiar Pattern
Semi-finals at major international tournaments tend to be cagey affairs and the Euros is no exception, with under 2.5 goals having been scored in four of the previous five such games, including Tuesday’s first semi-final between Italy and Spain.
England have also tended to be involved in low-scoring matches, with six of their last seven having seen under 2.5 goals scored – the only exception being the rout of Ukraine in the quarter finals.
Meetings between England and Denmark also tend to be tight, with just two goals having been scored across their last three clashes, and with the stakes undoubtedly being raised for Wednesday’s contest, it would be no surprise to see under 1.5 goals scored, which is available at 17/10
.
Kane Could Prove England’s Hero…. Again
It is hard to believe that some England fans were calling for captain Harry Kane to be dropped following some low-key performances during the group stage, but Southgate stuck with his skipper and that decision has certainly been justified.
Kane broke his tournament duck against Germany before grabbing a brace in the emphatic victory over Ukraine, meaning he is now being talked about as a potential Golden Boot winner, just as he was at the 2018 World Cup.
The Tottenham forward is also just one behind Gary Lineker in the race to be England’s all-time leading scorer at major tournaments, with his three strikes this summer having taken his total to nine.
It would be no surprise to see Kane equal that record on Wednesday and the 28-year-old can be backed at 6/5
to be an anytime scorer.
*All odds correct at time of writing