England are hoping to reach their first major tournament final since 1966 as they take on Denmark tonight.
Gareth Southgate’s men will walk out at Wembley knowing a win will set up a first-ever Euros cup final tie with Italy next weekend.
National optimism and pride is at an all-time high following England’s performance in the knockout stages – which saw the Three Lions defeat old foes Germany in the round of 16 before walloping Ukraine 4-0 in the quarter-finals.
These pulsating victories followed 1-0 wins over Croatia and Czech Republic in the group stage, where England also drew 0-0 with Scotland.
Southgate’s men are yet to concede a goal all tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nonetheless, their opponents for the evening are sure to provide a stiff test.
Denmark have defied all expectations by making it to the semi-finals – with many predicting the squad to crumble in the wake of the horrific incident during their opening Euros group game.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Danes’ talisman Christian Eriksen collapsed suddenly and unexpectedly after suffering cardiac arrest in the game with Finland. The midfielder was given emergency medical assistance and has since recovered in hospital – much to the relief and delight of the footballing world.
Denmark went on to lose their first two matches of Euro 2020 – 1-0 to Finland and 2-0 to Belgium. But since then the side have shown tremendous resolve to turn into the surprise package of the tournament – proceeding to wallop Russia 4-1 in their final group game before battering Wales 4-0 in the last 16.
They defeated Czech Republic 2-1 in the quarter-final on Saturday – and are now hoping to write an even greater fairytale than the one that saw them lift the continental trophy at Euro ’92.
ADVERTISEMENT
And it sounds like they’re confident they can do it.
When Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was asked about what Denmark would be doing to prevent ‘football coming home’, the Leicester goalkeeper responded with a cheeky dig.
“Has it ever been home? I don’t know, have you ever won it?”
🗣 "What would it mean to you guys to stop it 'coming home' tomorrow night?"
Support for this gutsy Kasper Hjulmand Denmark side has grown louder with every passing day – but cheers for the Red & Whites will be largely drowned out by a raucous England following this evening.
60,000 fans are allowed into Wembley – but travel restrictions will prevent many Danes from attending. 6,000 tickets have been made available to Danes living in the UK – with the Danish FA sending 1,000 jerseys to London.
ADVERTISEMENT
The winner of England v Denmark will meet Italy in the final – who edged out Spain on penalties last night (July 6) following a 1-1 draw after extra-time.
The hype has been building all week. But Southgate says he is keeping his feet on the ground.
“Our preparations have been calm and we know we are playing a very good opponent,” the England manager stated.
“It’s going to be a really tight game and an exciting game for everybody.”
Sport
Manchester’s National Football Museum to screen England’s Euro 2025 matches for free this summer
Emily Sergeant
England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 matches are to be shown on big screens for free in Manchester this summer.
As England women’s national football team look to retain their title and continue to build on their ever-growing success as one of the best national football teams in the world, Manchester‘s National Football Museum is set to host a series of family-friendly watch parties after hours for the UEFA Women’s Euros this summer.
Visitors of all ages are welcome to support and celebrate England as they kick-off their campaign against France in the group stages on 5 July, followed by matches against the Netherlands on 9 July, and Wales on 13 July.
As Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses head to Switzerland with the hopes of being crowned European champions, you can head to the National Football Museum for some safe and inclusive fun.
Not only will the matches be shown in all their glory for free on a big screen, but you can also expect an on-site bar, and even the option to pre-order pizza ahead of time to feast on while you’re watching the action.
Watch parties will be taking place at the National Football Museum on the following dates:
France v England – 5 July at 8pm
England v Netherlands – 9 July at 5pm
England v Wales – 13 July at 8pm
To mark the beginning of the tournament, the museum will also be hosting a vibrant weekend of events on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July, so get ready to strike a pose in Lionesses’ kits, create your own dazzling banner, and drum-up support with your very own chant.
Manchester’s National Football Museum is screening England’s Euro 2025 matches for free this summer / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“This promises to be an exciting summer for football,” said Tim Desmond, who is the CEO of the National Football Museum.
“We want to bring the powerful sense of community that tournament football delivers to our museum, helping both new and returning visitors understand why football matters, and witness the impact our pioneering Lionesses can have in inspiring generations of budding young footballers.
“That’s why we are so delighted to be able to offer watch parties for this year’s tournament, providing a safe, inclusive, and exciting place for all fans to cheer on England.”
Featured Image – Molly Darlington / The FA (via England on Facebook)
Sport
Manchester City confirm fourth signing of the summer as spending spree continues
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially revealed their fourth signing of the summer window after confirming the transfer of top target Tijjani Reijnders.
The highly sought-after Serie A midfielder joins the club from AC Milan on a five-year contract for an initial fee of approximately £46.5 million, after having been tracked by a number of clubs across Europe over the past season or so.
Reijnders, 26, registered 15 goals and five assists from central midfielder last season (more than any other player in the league) with Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki stating that he models his game on Kevin De Bruyne, making him the perfect replacement for the Belgian – on paper, at least.
Finally unveiled on Wednesday, 11 June, he is arguably the statement signing of what looks to be a continued spending spree which began back in January.
With Man City splashing roughly £200m to kick off the 2025 calendar year as they brought the likes of Omar Marmoush and a trio of defensively geared players in Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and CDM Nico Gonzalez, it seems like they started as they mean to go on.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak assured fans that the club would be picking up “several players” in a recent interview after he argued they hadn’t been aggressive enough last summer, and given that the current main window hasn’t even been open for a fortnight yet, we’d say he’s sticking to that promise.
This year actually marks a rare instance of the transfer window being broken up into two parts due to the FIFA Club World Cup (which City are among the favourites to win) and will then re-open on 16 June.
Nevertheless, the Blues look to have got plenty of their business done already, not only with the arrival of Reijnders but the acquisition of left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri earlier this week, plus another attack-minded midfielder, Rayan Cherki.
The second player of Algerian descent and the second signing of the summer window was quickly announced by the Man City social media team just before the Dutchman.
Along with the signing of a new shotstopper, Marcus Betinelli from Chelsea – set to replace former reserve goalkeeper Scott Carson, who left the club after six seasons on Monday – that makes it four new incoming already.
Once again, not only do these latest additions to Pep Guardiola’s squad take their transfer total to over £300m on new talent in 2025, but there is still plenty of time for City to sign even more players with the summer window not closing until 7pm BST on 1 September.
Although the club have now acquired all of the players they have been most publicly linked with so far, it’s unclear whether their spending will continue or if the focus now turns to the Club World Cup getting underway this month and preparing the current squad for next season.
What do you make of Man City‘s latest recruits? Don’t forget, there have been some new arrivals in the backroom as well.
The Manc -
7th July 2021 
