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Key events
Denmark: Kasper Hjulmand and his players say they are not driven by thoughts of revenge for a boundary penalty awarded against them three years ago as they enter tonight’s game. Paul McInnes reports from Frankfurt…
Group C: Serbia’s late equalizer against Slovenia meant this win for England over Denmark today will guarantee them first place in the group.
If they beat the Danes, their last-16 match will be in Gelsenkirchen, where so many England and Serbia fans had a thoroughly miserable post-match experience trying to get home to their digs on Sunday. The runner-up in Group C will play their Round of 16 match in Dortmund.
Denmark squad: Kasper Hülmand made one change to the Slovenia-held side, bringing in Joakim Maele at right-back in place of Alexander Bach.
Gareth Southgate speaks…
“It’s really about putting 90 minutes together,” says the England manager in an interview with ITV. “”We had a lot of pour game elements that were good [against Serbia] and some that should be better. This is what we’ve been talking about for the past few days.
On managing energy levels for 90 minutes: “The good thing is that we have a strong squad. We have players who are training very well, pushing for a place in the team and we will definitely need this squad.”
Denmark vs England lineups
Denmark: Schmeichel, Westergaard, Andersen, Christensen, Christiansen, Hoiberg, Hullmand, Maele, Eriksen, Hoylund, Wind.
subtitles: Hermansen, Ronow, Kjaer, Jensen, Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Jorgensen, Damsgaard, Norgaard, Bach, Poulsen, Dreyer, Christensen, Bruun Larsen.
England: Pickford, Trippier, Guehi, Stones, Walker, Rice, Alexander-Arnold, Foden, Bellingham, Saka, Kane.
subtitles: Ramsdale, Henderson, Konsa, Dunk, Gomez, Gallagher, Gordon, Mainu, Wharton, Bowen, Eze, Palmer, Toney, Watkins.
England unchanged…
For the first time since the World Cup in Qatar, Gareth Southgate named an unchanged line-up. The same 11 players who started against Serbia will take the field against Denmark.
Casper Hülmand: “It’s a huge challenge, it’s one of the biggest challenges you can get in national team football,” the Denmark coach said in an interview with ITV yesterday. “I think England is a great country. I have a lot of respect for the quality of the players, for Gareth, for the way he works.”
On how he expects the game to go: “I think England have fantastic quality if they can dictate the game as much as possible and be on the ball as much as possible and attack. We must be brave and do the same.
“It will be a huge battle for the ball and we know we will have to suffer at some points in the game. We have to dig, dig deep, but we want to be on the front foot. We know it will be difficult, we are the underdogs, but we will try.”
Speaking of Serbia: Their football association called for sanctions to be imposed on Croatia and Albania after fans of both sides were heard chanting anti-Serbian slogans during their match yesterday.
Full time: Slovenia 1-1 Serbia
Group C: Coming on as a substitute in the second half, Luka Jovic equalized for Serbia with practically the last touch of the game! Deep into stoppage time, he headed home a corner to grab a valuable point for his side.
Kasper Schmeichel: “I think every time you play England you look around and they’re full of world-class talent,” the Danish goalkeeper said in an interview with ITV. “This version of England is no different. Every time you play England, if you want to beat them you have to be absolutely on top of your game, but we are well prepared, we have trained really well. We’ve had a few good days and we’re ready.”
On Jude Bellingham: “He’s probably the definition of a world-class player when you look at the steps he’s taken in his career. He is certainly one to watch out for. He is a top player and we will have to keep an eye on him.”
England: The players were baffled by the media reaction to their win over Serbia, but a jovial Kyle Walker told reporters he was ignoring social media and the press ahead of today’s game. Words: David Hytner in Frankfurt.
Slovenia vs Serbia: In today’s other Group C match, Slovenia lead Serbia thanks to Zan Karnicnik’s 69th-minute goal. Aleksandar Mitrovic and friends only had about five minutes to score the equaliser. Daniel Harris has the latest from Munich…
Denmark: Despite Christian Eriksen’s token brilliance, Denmark’s opening draw with Slovenia put pressure on the Euro 2020 semi-finalists and their manager Kasper Hülmand, writes Jonathan Wilson in Hamburg.
Match officials today
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Referee: Arthur Soares Diaz
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Assistant Referee: Paulo Soares and Pedro Ribeiro
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Fourth Referee: Mykola Balakin
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Video Assistant Referee: Thiago Martins
England: Harry Kane can drop deep or play as a classic No.9 and will mix it up depending on the opponent or the state of the game, writes Jacob Steinberg in Frankfurt.
Early team news
Denmark coach Kasper Hülmand has a full complement of players to choose from and may choose the same team that started against Slovenia. Assuming Christian Eriksen turns up today, the midfielder will equal Simon Kjaer’s record of 132 appearances for Denmarkbut if the Milan defender gets a run off the bench, he will progress to 133 again.
Gareth Southgate has no injury worries, but will almost certainly be aware of the legendary ‘boom’ that greeted England’s win against Serbia. On the back of a labored victory, a variety of armchair managers have called for Phil Foden to be dropped and Trent Alexander-Arnold to be replaced in midfield, so we’ll find out in due course if the England boss shares their view. For what it’s worth, I fully expect both players to start.
Group C: Denmark v England
At the Frankfurt Arena, where a win for England would guarantee their progression to the knockout stages with a spare game in the group. Following theirs victory over Serbia in Stuttgart, a win that wasn’t particularly convincing but got those all important three points on the board, they face a Denmark side that haven’t been particularly impressive when drawing their opener against Slovenia. We’ll find out which if any of the teams find the strength to up their game from 5pm (BST), but in the meantime we’ll have plenty of squad and build-up news.
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