Kane plan Den for

STARVING HARRY WON’T STOP US

Expert eye on the key battles at Wembley

IF DENMARK really do have a plan to stop Harry Kane, as they’ve been suggesting, then it will involve starving him of the ball.

They’ll get their defenders, Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer and Jannik Vestergaard to swarm around him – with Pierre-emile Hojbjerg joining in – which most other teams have tried.

The thing is, there are so many other points of attack in the England team, as we saw against Ukraine.

Also, we all now know that Harry only needs one chance and he will stick it away. In fact, start fast and England can beat the Danes before they even get their plan in motion.

That’s not buying into any jingoism or taking them for granted. That’s a football assessment based on the abilities of both teams.

Denmark are a good, well-organised side. They’ll set up in a similar way to Ukraine, Czech Republic and the teams that have looked to frustrate Gareth Southgate’s side.

In defence their backline is very strong. Hojbjerg will sit in front of the back three and look to frustrate. They will defend as a unit and look to catch England on the counter-attack.

The question is, can we get that early goal? Grab it and we can take control of this match. The importance of it will not be lost on the players but it won’t weigh them down.

They also know if they come out of the blocks quickly, with Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka attacking the Danish defence, they are likely to get some joy.

Mount was playing almost as high as Harry Kane at the start of the Ukraine game. He was trying to press defenders into a mistake. That’s what

England need to do again tonight. Denmark will look to target England’s left side in the same way Ukraine did.

They’ll be encouraged by the fact that the Ukrainians managed to get some joy at the back end of the first half down that side. It’s probably why Gareth has looked to change things with his team selection.

Kyle Walker has been one of our best players and terrific going forward, but Gareth will feel Kieran Trippier is more solid defensively.

I don’t see any weaknesses in the midfield. I saw Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips getting the better of Toni Kroos and Leon Goretzka in the Germany midfield, so I don’t see the Danes coming out on top.

England are under more pressure for sure. We’ve not reached a final since 1966. It’s a home crowd, we have the better squad.

When

Christian

Eriksen was taken ill the

Danes probably thought their tournament was over.

They are legends – win, lose or draw.

The pressure is on

England – and we need to rise to it.