England take on Denmark in the semi-final of the European Championship on Wednesday and according to Alan Smith, the Three Lions have a key advantage going into this game.
Firstly, the English will be playing at the Wembley Stadium so the home crowd will act as a major catalyst for Gareth Southgate’s side. England played their quarter-final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome so it will nice for them to play this crucial game in front of their home fans.
Apart from this, Alan Smith has also claimed that the depth of the Three Lions squad could also help tilt the match in their favour.
Smith told Sky Sports: “As we’ve seen throughout this tournament, substitutions and strength off the bench have been just as important as the starting line-ups.
“It’s a fantastic situation Southgate finds himself in with an abundance of attacking options. To have that quality sat behind him on Wednesday night is a huge bonus for him, especially if the game is tight and goes long.
“One player who could have a key role from the bench is Grealish.
“He showed against Germany he’s ready. He doesn’t sulk about not starting games and why should he? He’s new to the international arena.
“But any team would definitely be wary of him if he comes off the bench with 20 minutes to go and some tiring legs.
View this post on Instagram
“He’s a nightmare to face in those circumstances because he just asks so many questions of a defence and forces defenders to commit. If needed, Southgate will certainly have no hesitations in using him.
“It is about handling the pressure, but they’ve done it once against Germany which was arguably a bigger occasion. We’re one game away from the final of the European Championships so that brings with it added pressure. Denmark are going into the game with less weight on their shoulders.”
Squad depth to help England in the semi-final?
England have one of the best squads amongst all the national sides in the current tournament and there’s no doubt this huge squad will come real handy for the manager.
We do not expect Gareth Southgate to make too many changes to his starting line-up for the semi-final but if the match goes into extra time then it will be an advantage for England.
England will have quality players like Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the bench so if the Three Lions cannot break down Denmark in the regulation 90 minutes then the manager can easily make changes without compromising on quality.
But having said all this, the home side are yet to concede a goal in this tournament so we doubt if the match will go into extra time – more so since they have scored six goals in their previous two matches.
