Thomas Delaney and Denmark will be hoping to book their spot in the Euro 2020 final on Wednesday night when they come up against England in the mouth watering semi final clash in Wembley.
And although Ireland aren’t there, there will still be plenty of interest with some former Irish international on display for England.
Given England are our closest neighbours it is no surprise that many of the squad were at one time eligible to play for the Boys in Green.
Tottenham ace Harry Kane has strong Irish connections and would have qualified due to the ‘Granny Rule’ but never had any interest in playing while Declan Rice donned the green jersey three times for the senior side before making the switch and Jack Grealish has played underage for the country.
But Thomas Delaney will be one man looking to take down the Three Lions and stop football from ‘coming home’.
And with a name like that you would be led to believe that he has strong Irish roots and in an alternate reality could we have seen him in an Irish midfield trio alongside Rice and Grealish?
Despite the very Irish name, Delaney was never eligible to play for Ireland with the Borussia Dortmund star’s Irish links dating all the way back to the 18th century.
The Delaneys left Ireland a couple of hundred years ago to settle in New York before venturing to Scandinavia meaning that the Danish veteran never had any hopes of lining out for Stephen Kenny’s side.
And the former Werder Bremen star will be hoping to become a Danish hero as his side tackle tournament favourites England on Wednesday.
Gareth Southgate’s side are odds on favourites for the game but given Denmark’s recent history against the English they will be bullish going into the clash.
England and Denmark played each other twice in 2020 with the Danes drawing one of the ties and winning the other.
Delaney started both games and his side managed to finish second in their group ahead of England and Iceland.
Kick off for Wednesday’s game is at 8pm and will be shown live on Irish TV on RTE Two with coverage beginning at 7pm and can also be viewed on the RTE Player.
