Beware England, Danes are a dangerous outfit: Michel Sablon

With a European Championship semi-final at Wembley and fans singing "Football's Coming Home", I'm sure some older England fans might feel like it's Euro 1996 all over again, only better.

But Denmark have me reminiscing about Euro 1992.

Both this Danish side and their title-winning predecessors were underdogs missing their star playmaker - for Christian Eriksen, see Michael Laudrup.

                SEMI-FINAL

ENGLAND

DENMARK

Both teams have had to deal with unprecedented circumstances. Denmark's European champions of 1992 took part in the tournament only to replace the then-Yugoslavia.

The current team witnessed their talisman Eriksen suffer cardiac arrest on the pitch.

 

I am not surprised Kasper Hjulmand's men managed to recover from what happened to Eriksen because I have seen that strong mentality before.

How many teams can go from being on holiday to winning a tournament with just over a week's preparation?

It's a testament to the mentality of Danish players.

But it's not just about mentality, this Danish team have quality as well.

They played England in the Nations League last year, drawing 0-0 in Copenhagen and winning 1-0 at Wembley.

Besides the defeat by Finland in their Euro 2020 opener, which was understandable considering what happened to Eriksen that day, the only side to beat Denmark since September 2018 are Belgium - the No. 1 team in the Fifa rankings.

And for all the talk of them being underdogs tomorrow morning (Singapore time), Denmark, at No. 10 in the world, are the highest-ranked team England (4th) have faced so far.

Above Germany (12th) and World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia (14th).

I can assure you they will be nothing like Ukraine, whom England rolled over 4-0 last week.

That was more of a friendly than a quarter-final. Look how easy it was for England to score from set-pieces.

Denmark will be far tougher opposition, not least because they win more aerial duels than anyone left in the competition.

There is also a good degree of flexibility in their line-up, which helps them respond to in-game changes that can tilt the balance of the match.

The best example of this was their last-16 win over Wales.

For the first 10 minutes or so, the Welsh were clearly on top and Gareth Bale looked dangerous every time he got the ball.

So Denmark switched from a 3-4-3 to a flat back four by pushing Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen into midfield.

This helped stifle Bale and allowed Denmark to take control of the game, which they then convincingly won 4-0.

It's very important to have a coach who can analyse the game and make changes to alter the course of the match.

That was what the prime Jose Mourinho used to do so well, every substitution or tweak he made changed the dynamic of the game.

It's also important to have players who are tactically flexible and have the mentality to be able to respond to new instructions and carry them out well.

For all the praise England have received for their switch from a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3 in their last-16 win over Germany, I think this Denmark team are more flexible and mentally adept at in-game changes.

I don't anticipate that Gareth Southgate will again switch to a 3-4-3 to mirror Denmark's formation, and Hjulmand will have his side well-drilled to combat England.

Key to Denmark's chances will be their wing-backs Joakim Maehle and Jens Stryger Larsen and their ability to transition quickly.

England will likely try to overpower the Danes with hard running and overloads on the flanks, but Denmark will be focused on being organised and resolute without the ball and deadly when they have it.

We have already seen how well they can transition from defence to counter-attack, with three to four players springing forward rapidly to create chances within seconds of winning the ball.

In Kasper Schmeichel, Denmark also have the best goalkeeper left in Euro 2020. He can be a difference-maker, both in terms of shot-stopping and build-up play.

England beware, this Danish team are dynamite.

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 • United Arab Emirates technical director Michel Sablon occupied the same role in Singapore from 2015-2018. He was part of Belgium's coaching staff at three World Cups, including 1986, when they finished fourth. The former Belgian FA technical director is credited with developing the blueprint that produced their current golden generation of footballers.