THE countdown is on to England facing Denmark for a place in the Euro 2020 final tonight.

The last time they met in the Euros was in the opening group game in 1992, in Malmo, as the Danes took their first step towards a remarkable tournament victory.

Latics boss Keith Curle remembers it well.

For the former Manchester City defender was in the England side that day.

And while it was a disappointing competition for the Three Lions, of the occasion overall, Curle said: "It was a fantastic experience.

"Probably the worst thing Graham Taylor and Lawrie McMenemy said to me going out was - not just to me personally but to everybody - 'There's millions of people supporting you'.

"Just before that I'd managed to blank that out and focus on the game and suddenly you're realising the enormity of it, and you're thinking, 'I didn't need to hear that'.”

Curle says the tournament came at a time when media scrutiny of players and performances was intensifying and it proved difficult for the dressing room to handle.

But he feels Gareth Southgate is not only good at preparing his players, but protecting them too.

"When I played the microscopic examination of players from the media had started and there was a nervousness and a tension about the squad. Whereas now, there's a youthfulness about it and there's an excitement and expectation and they just want to go out and they want to play football,” said Curle.

"Gareth's got to take credit for that because he's directed and shielded the players away from a lot of the media attention that at times they can get caught up in.

"I think he's a very balanced individual.”