Gareth Southgate has challenged England to exorcise the ghosts of their painful past in Wednesday’s Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark as they look to reach the final for the first time.
Since winning the 1966 World Cup, England have endured four agonising semi-final defeats in major tournaments, but Southgate is convinced his team are ready to rewrite that bitter history at Wembley.
Beaten in the last four at the 1990 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 1968 and 1996, England are favourites to advance to Sunday’s final after sweeping to the last four with impressive victories against Germany and Ukraine in the knockout stage.
“The prize is one that we’ve never experienced. We’ve never been to a (Euro) final, so it’s a great opportunity for our players to make some more history,” Southgate said.