LONDON: Gareth Southgate believes England can end the ‘bad’ semi -final by beating Denmark and insists they will not be satisfied if they fail to do so.

Since winning the 1966 World Cup, England have lost three times in the semi -finals of major tournaments including the 1996 European Championship which saw Southgate fail to block a deciding penalty.

Southgate also handled England as they lost in the 2018 World Cup semi -finals at the hands of Croatia but won more knockout matches than all England handlers in their history.

“We’ve erased a lot of bad or perceptions that have arisen before and I think players see this as the next challenge.

“What is interesting to us is that we will not be satisfied if we just go to the semi -finals compared to three years ago. Although we are very disappointed, we have improved a lot.

“Now we will do the same but this is not enough for us. That is a positive sign.

“Another very positive thing is these young players – 18, 19, 20, 21 years old – they get more of a very positive and good experience to get a feel for how to don an England jersey and win a match.

“That’s very important for all the players. Their talent will continue to grow if we maintain that relationship with the fans,” Southgate said.