I do think it has underlined the difficulty for those teams that have travelled from day one of the tournament and it may be something that gives England the edge even if all four Semi Finalists are heading to London after Quarter Final wins littered around Europe.
Hosting both Semi Finals and the Final is huge for England though and many believe 'it's coming home', although I think Italy, Spain and Denmark will all be heading into these remaining ties filled with much belief of their own.
Hopefully we have three fun matches left to watch before the attention will soon turn to the World Cup that begins in less than eighteen months time.
Tuesday 6th July
Italy vs Spain Pick: The last time Italy played at Wembley Stadium they produced their worst performance of the Euro 2020 Finals when narrowly getting past Austria having needed Extra Time to beat the underdog. They were much better in their win over Belgium in Munich, but Roberto Mancini will return to England with his players knowing they can't have another sub-par performance in London if they are going to progress to the Final of Euro 2020.
It has been a remarkable turnaround from Italy who have been courageous going forward but without losing their strong defensive identity. Belgium created chances, but Italy held firm in their Quarter Final win and they are now coming up against a Spain team who have been inconsistent in the final third.
Spain are coming back from St Petersburg where they needed Penalties to see off Switzerland, but it was another match in which loose finishing threatened to cost them. This is a team that has looked good going forward until the final shot/pass and that kind of level is not going to be good enough to beat Italy.
Luis Enrique will know that, but his Spain team are still in the tournament and surpassing most expectations by reaching the Semi Final. They have largely been in control defensively, but Spain make too many mistakes and a high pressing Italy team is likely going to be in a position to turn the ball over and cause massive problems for the Spanish.
If Italy can get Spain chasing the fixture, it could be a match in which the counter attack is hugely effective and I do think Italy are the better team.
However, Spain can play their part in the fixture with their strong attacking approach and I would not be surprised if it is similarly open as the Belgium-Italy Quarter Final was a few days ago.
The longer trip Spain have been on and the emotional match they were a part of may ultimately cost them though and I think Italy will likely win a high-scoring game.
Wednesday 7th July
England vs Denmark Pick: Both England and Denmark would have welcomed being in the weaker half of the Knock Out draw and I think both teams have played well enough in their wins over the last ten days to give themselves a lot of confidence.
England have beaten Germany and Ukraine in the last two Rounds and have yet to concede a goal in the tournament and hosting the Semi Final will surely give them a real advantage through the remainder of the tournament. Earlier on they were being criticised for a lack of goals, but England have scored 6 goals in their Knock Out wins and Harry Kane is back amongst the goals.
Gareth Southgate will be confident, but England are also under some pressure to deliver a first major international tournament since 1966.
That is a far longer wait than Denmark have had who won the 1992 European Championships and looked like real dark horses in this tournament. They have only lost 4 of their last 33 games and 3 of those came against Belgium, while the other to Finland was in extraordinary circumstances after Christian Eriksen's collapse and all of the worry that his team-mates had surrounding that moment.
It might have become a rallying moment for Denmark though and the team have won 3 games in a row while scoring 10 goals in those wins.
This isn't just a fairytale for Denmark though and I think there was a genuine feeling they could have a big tournament before a ball was kicked. A good manager and a team that is greater than the sum of its parts could not be underestimated and Denmark have played really well in the tournament to feel like they can upset the odds here.
They have done it before- it isn't that long ago since Denmark took four points from England in the Nations League, although the win at Wembley Stadium came after the hosts had been reduced to ten and then nine men. Even then it was a tight victory for Denmark and the game in Copenhagen ended goalless which suggests we could see some nervous moments when the teams clash in a much bigger situation in the Euro 2020 Semi Final on Wednesday.
While England deserve their spot as favourites and especially with Denmark travelling to London from Baku after their Quarter Final win, I do think the Danes can make things very difficult. They have the size to cope with the set pieces and Denmark have some real pace and quality in the final third which will make them dangerous.
My feeling is that both managers are going to urge a touch of caution despite the goals each team have been scoring in the Knock Out Rounds and we could see something similar to the two Nations League meetings. A single goal was scored across two matches and even that was through a Penalty and my feeling is that both England and Denmark have played well enough defensively to see at least one clean sheet produced in this Semi Final.
An early goal will change the whole picture, but I think this will be the tighter of the two to be played and backing one, or both, to fail to hit the back of the net is the play.
MY PICKS: Italy-Spain Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.37 Bet Victor (2 Units)
England-Denmark Both Teams to Score- NO @ 1.72 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Quarter Final: 2-2, + 0.50 Units (8 Units Staked, + 6.25% Yield)
Last 16: 2-6, - 8.30 Units (16 Units Staked, - 51.88% Yield)
Group Stage: 21-15, + 11.96 Units (71 Units Staked, + 16.85% Yield)
Match Day 3: 9-3, + 12.40 Units (23 Units Staked, + 53.91% Yield)
Match Day 2: 5-7, - 3.54 Units (24 Units Staked, - 14.75% Yield)
Match Day 1: 7-5, + 3.10 Units (24 Units Staked, + 12.92% Yield)
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