Mourinho brands Ukraine ‘easy’ ahead of ‘difficult’ Denmark

Toby Bowles
Mourinho England Ukraine

Jose Mourinho anticipates a tougher test for England in the semi-final after they breezed past Ukraine on Saturday.

Playing away from Wembley for the first time at Euro 2020, Harry Kane notched his second goal of the tournament inside five minutes and was joined on the scoresheet by Harry Maguire shortly after half-time.

Kane then raised his goal tally to three with a header through the legs of the Ukraine goalkeeper before Jordan Henderson got on the end of a corner to seal an emphatic 4-0 win in Rome.


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While England’s performance was impressive, Ukraine barely managed to lay a glove on their opponent’s defence and looked disorganised at the back as Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho et al. ran amok. Their waning spirit as the game progressed was also noticeable.

Mourinho feels that Denmark, who have drawn motivation from the tragic events involving Christian Eriksen, are much more formidable opponents for England in the semi-finals.

He told talkSPORT: “Of course, it was a good performance by England and they made it easier for themselves but, as I was expecting, it was always going to be easy.

“They were always on the front foot and it could have been 5-0. They had no problems at all. They had no injuries and had no suspensions.

“Gareth Southgate wanted to play his best team regardless of the suspensions — he was proven right with his selection by not resting players. And now they have a semi-final.

“It is going to be more difficult, as Denmark are much better than Ukraine, but England are strong and playing well and are confident.

“They have a feeling it is coming home — but it’s going to be a big semi-final. Denmark are solid and they have found a different way to play without Christian Eriksen.

“With Eriksen they played with four at the back and a No 10. But now they are playing three at the back and they have solid, good players in the best leagues with lots of experience.

“They are very positive, despite what happened, and look to be emotionally strong plus controlled and with a great team spirit.

“Tactically, they know what they are doing — they have found a way of playing football that is solid and effective.

“I think it will be a difficult match for England even if they are playing well and are at home — they have got to play well.”