Euro 2020: For this England team, reaching a semi-final is simply not enough

If you could manufacture a situation giving you the best possible set of circumstances to make it through to a major tournament final, there would be a couple of non-negotiables. They would be to play at your home ground in front of a large partisan crowd and to go into the match-of-your-life, undefeated, having not yet conceded a single goal. Sound familiar?

Gareth Southgate’s team have all those advantages tonight as their near faultless journey through these championships continues, so the only concern, perhaps, is how will they react, how will they cope, when adversity strikes? That could come in the form of the defence finally being breached, an injury to a key player or even a red card.

In his eve-of-match media conference, Southgate said the squad talks through these scenarios regularly, they also try to replicate any set-backs on the training ground. But like penalties, it is one thing role playing and quite another putting plans into practise in front of tens of thousands in the stadium whose frustration is tangible.

If you’re an England football fan, however convincing what has come before may be, your mind will inevitably focus on potential calamities. You have been burnt too many times before.

Steve Scott at Wembley looks ahead to tonight's match

You hope it doesn’t come to that, but Denmark are a dangerous opponent, an even bigger challenge than Germany, although without the emotional baggage that went with that fixture.

Denmark are ranked higher than the Germans in the world charts, they beat England in a competitive match at Wembley only last year and of course have been carried through this tournament on the powerful wave created by Christian Eriksen’s near death experience on the pitch in their opening group game. There is no question that has galvanised this team who play each match to win for him. 

But this England team is not “Old England”, it is not infected by inter-club rivalries that other talented teams of the past have been, it is not even the England team that made it to the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia.

Yes, many of the personnel are the same, but the 2021 version is better and wiser. Better because many of the squad have played in big, big games for their clubs since then and better because the strength in depth is far superior to what it was in Moscow.

And it also has Gareth Southgate a further three years into the top job. He is an assured leader who does not listen to any outside noise and trusts his own instincts. He also has faith in everyone around him.  

Those that experienced that semi-final loss, don’t want to experience it again and you could detect that determination after the demolition of Ukraine.

The on-field celebrations were muted, they told you that for this group of players reaching a semi-final is simply not enough.    

Watch England v Denmark live on ITV and ITV Hub on Wednesday 7 July - coverage begins from 6.30pm, kick off at 8pm