SEMI FLOP SPURS ON TRIPPIER
Kieran: England won’t make same mistake as World Cup
KIERAN Trippier says England are a much better and smarter side than the one that missed out on the 2018 World Cup final.
The Three Lions had heartbreak when losing to Croatia in Russia two years ago.
England went 1-0 up in that semi before letting the lead slip away as the Croats went through in extra time.
Gareth Southgate’s men are trying to bury a major tournament hoodoo against Denmark tonight.
They have played in three big semis since 1966 and been beaten each time — twice on penalties.
Trippier believes this England squad have enough class and ability to go all the way this time. He said: “I think from the two years the team has changed a lot and we are in a position now where we just want to create our own history. That’s all we want to do.
“There are only maybe six or seven of us from that World Cup team, we have got so much good young talent now.
“It is there for everyone to see the attacking players we’ve got and I think we’ve taken that step forward from 2018.
“The Nations League we were in the semi-final and now we are playing Denmark — we have made a real good progression over the years.”
Trippier is a former Tottenham team-mate of Christian Eriksen who collapsed in the first game of the tournament.
That has brought the Danes together on a wave of emotion that has seen them win their past three games to make the semis.
Trippier is just relieved that Eriksen appears to be making a full recovery.
Better
He said: “We were on the coach, before the Croatia game. We saw it on the screens.
“It’s just important that he is here with us. He’s getting better, he’s making progress. It’s just hard to put into words because I have played with him. I was close with Christian.
“The most important thing is he is getting better. I messaged him. I didn’t do it straight away, I messaged him through social media.
“This is the time to give him privacy, with his family and his children. We just want him to make progress in his recovery.”
Harry Maguire is another player who was in action for that World Cup semi-final.
And he wants to remember the bad feeling at the final whistle to spur him on tonight.
Maguire said: “It’s the semi-final of the European Championship. Losing the semi-final at the World Cup hurt a lot.
“So we need to make sure when it comes we get a positive feeling rather than the one we got against Croatia.
“I think we’re in a lot better place than we were. The experience of
that, we’ve learnt from it and also the experience of the games in between as well, for example the Nations League.
“We’ve had a lot of big games in that period to improve and a lot of time spent together on the training pitch, friendlies and qualifiers. Every game we play we feel we improve.
Leaders
“In this tournament, from the first game to the Ukraine game, there’s a lot of differences in the principles that we’re demanding from each other.
“Of course we’re in a better place now, but we’ve still got a long way to go.
“Denmark are a good team. They’ve proved that for years, they’re a top team, the highestranked team we will have played in this competition.
“They’re a strong team with great leaders in their team, great experience.
“We know it will be a tough game, but we’re just really focused on ourselves.”
Maguire believes the credit for England doing so well at the past two tournaments is down to gaffer Gareth Southgate.
He added: “He sits here and gives us all the plaudits.
“But we appreciate the job he’s doing and the way that he sets us up and his man-management skills.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Gareth and his coaching staff and the way that he’s gone about his business over the last four years.”