ENGLAND fans have experienced mixed emotions this week.

On the one hand, seeing their national side kick off their Euro campaign with three priceless points was cause for celebration. Remarkably, last Sunday evening was only the second time ever England have started the Euros with a win.

Only then, soon after gaining a first-half advantage courtesy of a Jude Bellingham header the Three Lions regressed terribly, ceding possession and all impetus. Players that had been sprightly and propelled by momentum when approaching the 20-minute mark now looked panicked and uncertain, and with shape and structure lost Jordan Pickford began hoofing the ball long to nobody in particular.

Against a side ranked 29 places beneath them Gareth Southgate’s men resembled a cup minnow hanging onto a lead for dear life.

It is not the first time this has happened, far from it, and it is entirely on their manager.

Even so, a win is a win, isn’t that what they say? But within the truth of that mantra lay an ominous portent of what’s to come. It was a victory despite themselves.

It’s little wonder then that England supporters have been in two minds since the weekend. They were gifted a Kinder egg with no toy inside.

Ten of England’s last 14 goals have come after the break. Back Southgate’s men to win the second half this Thursday at Evens

For Denmark too it’s been a week of conflicted feelings.

Their display against Slovenia was in the main encouraging, even if once again they looked suspect at set pieces, with an inability to pick up runners.

At the heart of everything that was good about them Christian Eriksen pulled the strings and picked the locks, a player who has almost become a forgotten figure in the Premier League but at international level remains a playmaker of high regard.

In the first half especially the 32-year-old was excellent, scoring, and accruing multiple key passes, seven all told across the game. In doing so he extended on an impressive qualifying campaign that had him create the fifth most chances of any player.

Elsewhere, there were other pluses, not least a superb performance from Jonas Wind that compensated for an ordinary performance from Rasmus Hojlund.

Only then came the sucker punch. Then came the late equalizer.

It means the Danes are now winless in five in major tournament clashes, their last victory securing them a semi-final spot at Euro 2020 where they were eventually downed in extra-time by England.

That semi from three years ago is briefly worth staying with incidentally as it highlights the different trajectories the countries have since taken.

England have evolved, retaining the same spine of Pickford, Rice and Kane but bringing through the ludicrous talents of Phil Foden and Bellingham. On the bench meanwhile, ready to stake their claim, there is Wharton and Mainoo; Eze and Palmer.

England’s pitiful corner count vs Serbia was an anomaly with 20 won in their two preceding friendlies. Go for over 5.5 for the Three Lions at 13/10

Naturally, the Danes would give just about anything to have one of those players born and raised in Copenhagen, but the point still stands that Denmark have stalled, their manager Kasper Hjulmand staying overly loyal to the group that nearly pulled off a minor miracle in 2021.

Eight of their squad is thirty-plus. Theirs is a squad that has 436 more caps than England’s.

This won’t be an issue looking ahead to Frankfurt this Thursday teatime. It could well be as the tournament further unfolds.

So to the game, one that will seismically determine the shape of Group C and the quality of opposition lined up thereafter.

It will take no more than ten minutes to figure out if Gareth Southgate has got to the bottom of his two biggest structural concerns that came to light last Sunday, namely Phil Foden labouring on the left and Harry Kane stationed as an old-fashioned centre-forward instead of thriving as the modern-day 9-and-a-half he really is.

In truth, both should be straightforward to rectify, the first being an exaggerated problem anyway. Foden put in a decent defensive shift against Serbia and won all of his ground duels. A series of misplaced passes do not occur because of where a player is positioned on the pitch. It suggests instead he had a rare stinker.

Saka’s assist vs Serbia makes it three in six starts for the Arsenal flyer at international level. Back him to create more assists than Foden at 9/2

As for Kane, it is imperative that Southgate realizes that for all that Bellingham is undoubtedly a generational talent, to sacrifice the world’s archest goal-scorer purely to create greater room for the future Ballon d’Or winner to roam into amounts to sheer insanity.

We can expect Kane to both drop deep and prowl the penalty area many times over on Thursday.

Which for Denmark doesn’t bode well. Taking last Sunday’s uncharacteristic outing out of the equation Kane has scored or assisted every 69 minutes since the start of Qatar 22. He has also previously come up against Jannk Vestergaard three times for club and country and scored on each occasion.

Back Kane to score the first goal at a terrific price boost of 17/4

Historically, the Danes have been responsible for some high-scoring affairs at the Euros – 2.79 goals per game to be precise – but this one doesn’t feel like a thriller.

Instead it will be bitty and tense, each side ironing out kinks and addressing flawed mentalities that has one incapable of holding onto a lead at a major tournament and the other petrified of that happening.

It’s England for the win but the margin will be minimal.

England to prevail and under 2.5 total goals is a shout at 9/4