Watch Denmark vs England live on Sky Sports Football HD from 7pm on Tuesday; Kick-off 7.45pm
Tuesday 8 September 2020 19:55, UK
England continue their Nations League campaign against Denmark on Tuesday evening, with Gareth Southgate expected to make changes to his side following Saturday's narrow win over Iceland.
England emerged 1-0 winners in Reykjavik thanks to Raheem Sterling's late penalty, but they almost threw the three points away when Joe Gomez conceded a spot kick up at the other end moments later - only for Birkir Bjarnason to fire his effort over Jordan Pickford's crossbar.
England, who also had Kyle Walker sent off midway through the second half against Iceland, will hope to avoid any similar pitfalls in Copenhagen, where they face a Denmark side beaten 2-0 by Belgium in their opening game, but Southgate's preparations have not gone smoothly.
Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood will play no part in Tuesday's game after being found to have breached UEFA's coronavirus protocols during the squad's stay in Reykjavik. The FA are still investigating the alleged incident, but Southgate has confirmed that Foden and Greenwood - who have both issued apologies - will travel back to England instead of joining the rest of the squad in Denmark.
It is just the latest off-field controversy to overshadow an England game. In November, a clash between Gomez and Sterling resulted in the latter being dropped for a Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro.
Only two weeks ago, Harry Maguire had to be withdrawn from the squad after he was handed a suspended jail sentence by a Greek court after being found guilty of assaulting a police officer, swearing, resisting arrest and bribery. The Manchester United defender maintains his innocence and has lodged an appeal with the Greek court system.
The incidents are less than ideal for Southgate, but during a press conference on Monday afternoon, the England boss rejected any suggestion that he has failed to lay down the law to his young squad about what is and isn't acceptable.
"This is a job like no other in terms of the things you have to deal with," he said. "All management roles are difficult, but this is another level.
"I think the players who have been with us for a long time know exactly what's expected. I think whenever people have stepped over that line when they've been with us, we've dealt with it responsibly."
Southgate and the FA certainly appear to have dealt with Foden and Greenwood's indiscretions responsibly, but in footballing terms, with England now shorn of two of their brightest young talents, the challenge against Denmark has become a more difficult one.
Southgate admitted England's laboured victory over Iceland left him and his players feeling "a bit flat" in his interview with Sky Sports afterwards, adding that he would need to "assess the freshness of everybody" ahead of Tuesday's game and hinting at possible line-up changes.
Could one of those changes could see Harry Kane drop out?
The England captain looked off the pace at times against Iceland after his early effort was ruled out for offside and that's hardly surprising given that a period of post-holiday quarantine interrupted his pre-season schedule back at Tottenham.
Given Greenwood's absence, the obvious candidate to step into the central striking role would be Danny Ings. The Southampton striker made only his second England appearance against Iceland, replacing Foden in the 68th minute. If Southgate does decide to rest Kane, Ings will now hope to make his first start.
It remains to be seen how Southgate's attack will line up, but with players in varying states of fitness and with only two days to recover between fixtures, there are sure to be changes elsewhere in the team, including in central midfield, where, according to Sky Sports News, Kalvin Philips is expected to step in alongside Declan Rice for his England debut.
At right-back, Walker's suspension has opened the door to Trent Alexander-Arnold or perhaps even Ainsley Maitland-Niles, another potential debutant, while in goal, Nick Pope and Dean Henderson are pushing for inclusion in the event that Southgate decides to let someone other than Pickford stake their claim for the No 1 shirt.
One player unlikely to miss out is Sterling.
The 25-year-old has split opinion among England supporters in the past, his performances at major tournaments prompting fierce criticism at times, but Southgate lavished praise on him after his coolly-taken penalty against Iceland on Saturday and the stats show he has contributed 11 goals and six assists in his last 12 international appearances.
Southgate puts Sterling's improvement down to his mentality.
"His hunger to score, his hunger to win things, his hunger to drive himself, you really can't underestimate it," said Southgate after Saturday's game. "It has a massive impact on everybody around him and really has taken his game to another level.
"I can't speak highly enough of him really. It would have been very easy to have another few days on the beach, not report in, get himself right for his club at the beginning of the season. But his mentality the whole week has been exceptional. Desperate to be here, desperate to play, desperate to stay on. I thought he carried the fight when we went down to 10 men."
With Kane still getting up to speed, it is likely that Southgate will look to Sterling to carry the fight against Denmark too.
Sterling was guilty of spurning a golden opportunity in his last appearance for Manchester City, against Lyon in the Champions League quarter-finals, but he is in clinical form for his country and recent evidence suggests he is becoming a leader and talisman too.
Denmark may have lost to Belgium in their opening game but there is no shame in losing to the side ranked best in the world by FIFA and there is little doubt that they are a stronger proposition than Iceland. The Danes are ranked 16th by FIFA - 23 places higher than England's opponents on Saturday.
They are entering a new era after Kasper Hjulmand, the former Mainz manager, took over from Age Hareide, who had been in charge since 2016, in July, and Hjulmand will be eager to kickstart that era against England in what will be only the second game of his tenure.
There is plenty of quality in the squad at his disposal, with Christian Eriksen the star. The former Tottenham man has struggled to make an impact since joining Inter Milan midway through last season but he remains a key figure for his country, with 31 goals in 96 appearances.
Eriksen is not the only Denmark player who will be familiar to Premier League viewers. There is also Leicester's Kasper Schmeichel in goal, Chelsea's Andreas Christensen in defence and Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the heart of the midfield alongside Eriksen.
They remain something of an unknown quantity under Hjulmand, who is yet to put his own stamp on the team, but it should be remembered that Denmark were unbeaten in their previous 15 games before Saturday's loss to Belgium. They will provide a stern test for Southgate's men.
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