England vs Denmark: UEFA EURO 2020 match background, facts and stats

England and Denmark meet at Wembley for a place in the final of UEFA EURO 2020 after taking contrasting routes to the semi-finals.

• While England have become the first side to keep clean sheets in their first five EURO matches, overrunning Ukraine 4-0 in the quarter-finals, Denmark recovered from defeats in each of their first two games to win their last three and reached the last four with a narrow 2-1 victory against the Czech Republic in Baku.

• This is England's third EURO semi-final and a first since losing on penalties to Germany in 1996, also at Wembley. Denmark have to go back to 1992 for the most recent of their three last-four appearances, beating the Netherlands, also on spot kicks, on their way to taking the trophy.

• Victory would make England the 13th country to reach a EURO final, and the first newcomers since Greece and Portugal in 2004.

• The winners will play Italy in the final on 11 July, also at Wembley.

Previous meetings

• Denmark have won only four of their 21 official games against England compared to 12 English victories – although the Danes were victorious in the most recent. Christian Eriksen's 35th-minute penalty earned a 1-0 success at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League on 14 October 2020, a game in which England's Harry Maguire was sent off just prior to the goal and debutant Reece James after the final whistle. Eriksen and Simon Kjær both won their 100th cap for Denmark in the match.

• The reverse fixture, at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on 8 September 2020, had finished scoreless. That was Kasper Hjulmand's second game as Denmark coach, in which Christian Nørgaard made his international debut for the home side and Kalvin Phillips, Conor Coady and Jack Grealish all won their first caps for England.

• That October victory was Denmark's third away to England and their second at Wembley, Allan Simonsen's penalty having secured a 1-0 win there in September 1983, a result that proved instrumental in the Danes reaching the 1984 UEFA European Championship at England's expense.

• Denmark were also 3-2 winners in an Old Trafford friendly in November 2003.

• The sides were also paired together in the 1980 UEFA European Championship qualifying competition, England winning 4-3 in Copenhagen and 1-0 at Wembley on their way to the final tournament in Italy.

• The sides' only EURO finals meeting came in 1992, a goalless draw in Malmö on Matchday 1. While England bowed out after failing to win a game (D2 L1), Denmark finished second in Group 1 behind hosts Sweden, then beat holders the Netherlands 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the semi-final before defeating world champions Germany 2-0 in the final to claim what remains their only major honour.

• England triumphed in the only game between the sides at a FIFA World Cup, first-half goals from Rio Ferdinand (5), Michael Owen (22) and Emile Heskey (44) sealing a 3-0 victory in the 2002 round of 16 in Niigata. Current head coach Gareth Southgate was an unused substitute.

EURO facts: England

• England have lost both of their UEFA European Championship semi-finals:
1968 L 0-1 v Yugoslavia
1996 L 1-1 v Germany (aet, 5-6 pens)

• This is England's tenth appearance in the UEFA European Championship; they finished third in 1968 and also reached the semi-finals on home soil in 1996.

• England failed to qualify for the final tournament in 2008, the only time they have missed out since 1984.

• A team managed by Roy Hodgson won all ten qualifiers on the way to UEFA EURO 2016, where they finished second behind Wales in their section after taking five points from three matches, only to be shocked by Iceland in the round of 16 (1-2).

• Southgate's side finished top of Group A in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying, winning seven of their eight matches (L1) to progress six points ahead of the Czech Republic. A 2-1 loss in Prague was England's sole defeat.

• In the group stage of this tournament England beat Croatia and the Czech Republic both 1-0 either side of a goalless draw against Scotland. All three games took place at Wembley.

• England then overcame Germany 2-0 in the round of 16, again at Wembley, thanks to second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. It was their first EURO knockout win since beating Spain on penalties in the EURO '96 quarter-finals, also at Wembley; their only other EURO finals win outside the group stage was a 2-0 defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1968 third-place play-off.

• England then enjoyed their biggest EURO final tournament victory in the quarter-finals, goals from Kane (2), Maguire and Jordan Henderson securing a 4-0 victory against Ukraine at the Olimpico in Rome.

• Kane finished as the overall top scorer in the qualifying group stage with 12 goals, including at least one in every game, and also provided five assists. The goal against Germany was his first in a EURO finals.

• Sterling was involved in 15 of England's 37 qualifying goals, scoring eight himself with seven assists, and also got the winners against Croatia and the Czech Republic before finding the net again against Germany.

• The defeat by Iceland in the last 16 at UEFA EURO 2016 is England's only reverse in 16 EURO finals matches (W9 D6), with the quarter-final eliminations on penalties by Italy (2012) and Portugal (2004) counted as draws.

• England have kept clean sheets in their last ten EURO matches at Wembley, qualifiers and final tournament combined. Indeed, the last goal they conceded there in the competition was a Henderson own goal in a 3-1 win against Slovenia in November 2014, a run of 932 minutes without conceding during which England have scored 31 goals themselves. The last opposition player to score against England at Wembley in a EURO match was Switzerland's Tranquillo Barnetta, who struck twice in a 2-2 qualifying draw on 4 June 2011.

• Their three wins and a draw at UEFA EURO 2020 mean England's record at Wembley is now W186 D73 L39. They have won 12 of their last 14 matches at the stadium, including UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic (5-0), Bulgaria (4-0) and Montenegro (7-0); they have lost only two of their last 26 matches at Wembley (W19 D5), most recently that UEFA Nations League defeat by Denmark in October.

• England have never lost in the finals of a major tournament at Wembley (W10 D4), with that 1996 semi-final against Germany classed as a draw.

EURO facts: Denmark

• Denmark's EURO semi-final record is W1 L2:
1964: L 0-3 v Soviet Union
1984 L 1-1 v Spain (aet, 4-5 pens)
1992 W 2-2 v Netherlands (aet, 5-4 pens)

• This is Denmark's ninth appearance in the UEFA European Championship, but only their second in the past four editions. They were eliminated in the group stage at UEFA EURO 2012, finishing third in their section behind Germany and Portugal with three points from three games.

• The Danes lost to Scandinavian neighbours Sweden in the UEFA EURO 2016 play-offs, going down 4-3 on aggregate (1-2 a, 2-2 h).

• Denmark were winners at EURO '92, finished fourth in 1964 and reached the semi-finals in 1984. Their most recent knockout appearance came in 2004, when they suffered a 3-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals. Before this tournament, they had not won a EURO knockout game since their 2-0 victory over Germany in the 1992 final.

• The Danes booked their place at UEFA EURO 2020 by finishing second behind Switzerland in Group D despite remaining unbeaten in their eight qualifiers (W4 D4). They reached the finals with a 1-1 draw away to the Republic of Ireland in their final qualifier.

• Denmark are one of five teams to have reached UEFA EURO 2020 unbeaten along with Belgium, Italy – who both won every game – Spain and Ukraine. They are the only one of the five who did not top their qualifying group.

• Åge Hareide, who oversaw the successful qualifying campaign, was replaced by Hjulmand following the postponement of UEFA EURO 2020; the former Nordsjælland coach had been due to take over from Hareide after the tournament.

• Denmark's three group games all took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where they lost to Finland (0-1) and Belgium (1-2) before a thrilling 4-1 win against Russia that snatched second place in the section.

• The Danes carried that winning form into the round of 16, brushing aside Wales at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam thanks to goals from Kasper Dolberg (27, 48), Joakim Mæhle (88) and Martin Braithwaite (90+4).

• Dolberg then scored what proved to be the winner in the quarter-final against the Czech Republic at the Baku Olympic Stadium, getting Denmark's second goal in a 2-1 victory three minutes before the break after Thomas Delaney's fifth-minute opener.

• The defeat of Russia ended Denmark's four-game losing run in the EURO final tournament. They have still won only five of their last 15 EURO finals matches (D2 L8), losing five of the last nine.

• Denmark's record at Wembley is W3 L6, the last visit that 1-0 win against England in the UEFA Nations League in October 2020. Their record in London overall is W8 L7.

• Denmark have won 11 of their 21 matches in England (D1 L9). As holders at EURO '96 they played their three games at Hillsborough in Sheffield (W1 D1 L1), but were eliminated in the group stage.

Links and trivia

• Have played in England:
Kasper Schmeichel (Manchester City 2002–09, Darlington 2006 loan, Bury 2006 loan, Cardiff City 2007/08 loan, Coventry City 2008 loan, Notts County 2009/10, Leeds United 2010/11, Leicester City 2011–)
Jonas Lössl (Huddersfield Town 2017–19 & 2020 loan, Everton 2019–21)
Joachim Andersen (Fulham 2020/21 loan)
Jannik Vestergaard (Southampton 2018–)
Andreas Christensen (Chelsea 2013–)
Mathias Jørgensen (Huddersfield Town 2017–19)
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham 2013–20)
Christian Nørgaard (Brentford 2019–)
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Southampton 2016–20, Tottenham 2020–)
Mathias Jensen (Brentford 2019–)
Martin Braithwaite (Middlesbrough 2017–19)
Andreas Cornelius (Cardiff City 2013/14)

• Have played together:
Jordan Pickford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin & Jonas Lössl (Everton 2019–21)
Ben Chilwell & Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City 2015–20)
Harry Maguire & Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City 2017–19)
Ben Chilwell & Andreas Christensen (Chelsea 2020–)
Reece James & Andreas Christensen (Chelsea 2018–)
Mason Mount & Andreas Christensen (Chelsea 2017–)
Harry Kane & Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City 2013)
Harry Kane & Christian Eriksen (Tottenham 2013–20)
Kyle Walker & Christian Eriksen (Tottenham 2013–17)
Kieran Trippier & Christian Eriksen (Tottenham 2015–19)
Harry Kane & Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham 2020–)
Jadon Sancho & Thomas Delaney (Borussia Dortmund 2018–21)
Jude Bellingham & Thomas Delaney (Borussia Dortmund 2020–)

• Kane scored past Schmeichel on the final day of the 2020/21 Premier League season, finding the net in Tottenham's 4-2 win at Leicester on 23 May to clinch the league's top scorer crown for the third time.

• That was Kane's 14th club goal past Schmeichel, a total that includes a four-goal haul on 18 May 2017 and a hat-trick on 21 March 2015, both in the Premier League for Spurs against Leicester.

• Jack Grealish and Luke Shaw both scored their first Premier League goals past Schmeichel, the former in a 3-2 defeat for Aston Villa at Leicester on 13 September 2015, the latter in a 2-1 home win for Manchester United against the same opponents on 10 August 2018.

• Christensen's substitute appearance in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League final win against Manchester City on 29 May made him the first player to appear in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League (2019) and UEFA Youth League (2015) final victories, all with the Blues.

• Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling were all in the City team beaten by Christensen's Chelsea in Porto; Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount all started for Chelsea.

• Schmeichel was a recent visitor to Wembley for the 2021 FA Cup final, making two important saves from Chilwell and Mount to help Leicester to a 1-0 victory against Chelsea that gave them the trophy for the first time.

• Mathias Jensen also played at Wembley on 29 May, helping Brentford beat Swansea City 2-0 in the Championship play-off final to secure promotion to the Premier League for the first time. Nørgaard was an unused substitute for the West London club, having started the previous season's Wembley play-off final alongside Jensen that Brentford lost 2-1 to local rivals Fulham.

• Sancho and Bellingham helped Borussia Dortmund win the 2020/21 German Cup final against Yussuf Poulsen's RB Leipzig, Sancho scoring twice in BVB's 4-1 victory to finish as the competition's top scorer with six goals – one more than second-placed Poulsen.

• Schmeichel and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg both played every minute of the 2020/21 Premier League season for Leicester and Tottenham respectively. Højbjerg's first Spurs goal came on 28 January in a 1-3 home defeat by a Liverpool side captained by Jordan Henderson.

• Calvert-Lewin scored twice in England's 5-1 win away to Denmark in an Under-21 friendly on 20 November 2018. Foden was also in the England team.

• Denmark coach Hjulmand was in charge of the Nordsjælland side beaten 4-0 at home and 6-1 away by Chelsea in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Penalty shoot-outs

• England's record in nine competitive penalty shoot-outs is W3 L6:
3-4 v West Germany, 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final
4-2 v Spain, EURO '96 quarter-final
5-6 v Germany, EURO '96 semi-final
3-4 v Argentina, 1998 FIFA World Cup round of 16
5-6 v Portugal, UEFA EURO 2004 quarter-final
1-3 v Portugal, 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-final
2-4 v Italy, UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-final
4-3 v Colombia, 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16
6-5 v Switzerland, 2019 UEFA Nations League third-place play-off

• Denmark's shoot-out record is W2 L2:
4-5 v Spain, 1984 UEFA European Championship semi-final
5-4 v Netherlands, EURO '92 semi-final
4-2 v Mexico, 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage
2-3 v Croatia, 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16

Latest news

England
• In reaching the UEFA EURO 2020 semi-finals without conceding a goal in their opening five matches, England have set a new competition record – though Spain also managed five in a row en route to winning UEFA EURO 2012, a run they extended to a record seven successive games without conceding four years later.

• This is England's third semi-final in successive tournaments under manager Gareth Southgate. They lost the previous two, both after extra time – 2-1 to Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 3-1 to the Netherlands in the 2019 UEFA Nations League.

• Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has now gone 696 minutes without conceding an international goal – 25 minutes shy of Gordon Banks's record that incorporated England’s first four games in their 1966 FIFA World Cup triumph.

• England's 4-0 win against Ukraine was not only their biggest margin of victory at the EURO finals but also the first time they have scored four goals in a major tournament encounter since the 1966 World Cup final, when they defeated West Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley.

• The four goals scored in Rome doubled England's tally at UEFA EURO 2020 to eight, although that is still the lowest total of the four semi-finalists.

• The 2-0 win against Germany in the round of 16 ended a run of four successive knockout phase defeats for England at EURO final tournaments. They had lost three successive penalty shoot-outs – against Germany in 1996, Portugal in 2004 and Italy in 2012 – before going down 2-1 to Iceland in the round of 16 five years ago.

• After seven games at the EURO finals without a goal, England captain Harry Kane broke his duck against Germany before adding two more against Ukraine. With 15 goals in 13 qualifying appearances, his competition total of 18 is just two behind England's all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney. The winner of the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, with six goals, Kane now has nine at major tournaments – just one behind England record holder Gary Lineker, whose ten all came at World Cups.

• Raheem Sterling scored England's first three goals at UEFA EURO 2020 – match-winning strikes against Croatia and the Czech Republic and the opener against Germany. Prior to Matchday 1 he had failed to score in 14 final tournament outings. He now has 17 goals in 66 internationals, all in competitive fixtures, including 15 in his last 21, and England have won all 13 matches in which he has scored. His next competitive appearance for England will be his 50th.

• Jude Bellingham's appearance as a substitute against Croatia made him, at the age of 17 years and 349 days, the youngest player ever to feature at a EURO final tournament. However, six days later he lost the record to Poland's Kacper Kozłowski, who was aged 17 years and 246 days when he came off the bench in his team's Matchday 2 draw with Spain. Bellingham did, however, set a new mark as the youngest player to feature in a EURO knockout game when he came off the bench against Ukraine aged 18 years and four days.

• The 0-0 draw against Scotland on Matchday 2 ended England's seven-game winning streak, the previous three matches having all been won 1-0, including both UEFA EURO 2020 warm-up fixtures in Middlesbrough against Austria and Romania. Bukayo Saka notched his maiden international goal to win the first game, and Marcus Rashford scored the penalty that decided the second.

• Jordan Henderson, who had a second spot kick saved against Romania, finally ended his long quest for a first international goal with the header that put England 4-0 up against Ukraine. It came on his 62nd appearance, over a decade after his debut.

• England have kept clean sheets in ten of their last 11 matches, conceding just one goal over that period, to Jakub Moder of Poland in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win at Wembley on 31 March.

• Ben White made his England debut as a substitute against Austria and was subsequently called up to the UEFA EURO 2020 squad to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, injured late in the same game. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone kept a clean sheet on his debut against Romania, when White made his first start. During the group stage England brought uncapped goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale into the squad to replace Dean Henderson, who had to withdraw with a hip injury.

• Seven members of England's squad featured in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final – Chelsea trio Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Mason Mount and Manchester City quartet Sterling, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Mount, Sterling, Stones and Walker all started the quarter-final against Ukraine.

• In addition to those three European champions at Chelsea and four Premier League title winners at Manchester City, the three foreign-based players in Southgate's squad all picked up winner's medals in 2020/21, Kieran Trippier helping Atlético de Madrid to the Spanish Liga title and Jadon Sancho and Bellingham scooping the German DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund.

• Sterling, Stones and Walker are among just six of the UEFA EURO 2020 squad members who were involved at the 2016 tournament in France, the others being Henderson, Rashford and Kane.

• There are nine survivors from Southgate's 2018 World Cup squad in Russia, where England finished fourth – Kane, Stones, Trippier, Henderson, Rashford, Sterling, Walker, Pickford and Harry Maguire. Sterling and Henderson are two of three UEFA EURO 2020 squad members who played at the 2014 World Cup, along with Luke Shaw.

• Maguire's two tournament goals have both been set-piece headers in quarter-finals, the defender having put England in front in their 2-0 win against Sweden at the 2018 World Cup before doubling his team's lead last time out against Ukraine.

Denmark
• Denmark's victory against the Czech Republic in Baku was their third in a row at UEFA EURO 2020 – the first time they have ever strung together three successive wins at a EURO final tournament, their semi-final success on penalties against the Netherlands at EURO '92 officially classed as a draw.

• With the two goals scored against the Czech Republic lifting their tally at UEFA EURO 2020 to 11, Denmark have found the net more often than at any previous major tournament, their highest previous total being the ten they registered at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

• Denmark became the first team in EURO final tournament history to score four goals in successive matches as they followed up their 4-1 win over Russia on Matchday 3 with a 4-0 victory against Wales in the round of 16. However, two days later Spain eclipsed that record by scoring five goals for the second EURO game running.

• The first team to reach a EURO semi-final after losing their opening two matches, Denmark are also the first to have qualified as group runners-up for the knockout phase of a EURO final tournament with one win and two defeats. Northern Ireland came through their section at UEFA EURO 2016 with the same record, but as one of the best third-placed teams – a feat repeated at this tournament by Ukraine.

• The success against the Czech Republic was Denmark's 12th win in their last 16 matches (D1 L3); they have failed to score in just one of those fixtures, notching 42 goals and conceding 11 over that stretch. Despite the earlier Group B defeats against Finland and Belgium they have lost just four of their last 33 games (W20 D9), the other two having also been against Belgium, in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League (0-2 h, 2-4 a).

• Yussuf Poulsen's goal against Russia was his second in successive games at UEFA EURO 2020 and his third at a major tournament following his winner against Peru at the 2018 World Cup. He now has ten goals in 58 internationals, returning as a substitute against the Czech Republic after missing the win against Wales through injury.

• Kasper Dolberg marked his first major tournament start with Denmark's first two goals against Wales and then scored what became the winner against the Czech Republic, thus becoming the third Danish player at UEFA EURO 2020 to score in successive games after Poulsen and Joakim Mæhle, who was on target against both Russia and Wales. Four other players – Frank Arnesen, Preben Elkjær, Henrik Larsen and Jon Dahl Tomasson – have also found the net in two successive Denmark games in previous EURO finals. No one has managed to make it three in a row.

• With his three goals Dolberg is now level with Arnesen, Larsen, Tomasson and Brian Laudrup as Denmark’s leading scorer at the EURO finals.

• Mikkel Damsgaard, Andreas Christensen and Mæhle all found the net for the first time in a major tournament – and in the UEFA European Championship, qualifying games included – with their goals against Russia. Damsgaard's was his first in a competitive game.

• Martin Braithwaite's late strike against Wales was the Barcelona forward's tenth international goal and his first at a major tournament. Thomas Delaney's opener against the Czech Republic was also his first tournament goal.

• Christian Eriksen and captain Simon Kjær were the only two members of Kasper Hjulmand's squad to have previously played in a EURO final tournament before Matchday 1. They both started all three matches in 2012, when Kasper Schmeichel and Daniel Wass were unused members of the 23-man party.

• No fewer than 14 of the players selected for Denmark;s 2018 World Cup squad in Russia, where they reached the round of 16, are in the 26-man party for UEFA EURO 2020. Russia 2018 ever-presents Schmeichel, Christensen and Delaney are all in line to make it ten tournament starts in a row, while Kjær has featured from the outset in Denmark’s last 12 tournament matches.

• Kjær won his 112th cap in the quarter-final, moving level with Jon Dahl Tomasson in joint third place in Denmark's all-time appearance list. Only Peter Schmeichel (129 caps) and Dennis Rommedahl (126) remain above him.

• Eriksen was an Italian Serie A winner with Internazionale in 2020/21, while Christensen assisted in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League triumph. Domestic cups were also won in England by Schmeichel (Leicester City), in Germany by Delaney (Borussia Dortmund) and in Spain by Braithwaite (Barcelona).