England vs Denmark: Shaw and Maehle battle for supremacy in Euro 2020 showdown
Leonardo Spinazzola's Euro 2020 ending Achilles injury against Belgium means the battle to be crowned the best left-back at the competition comes down to two names. Prior to being stretchered off against the Red Devills on Friday, Spinazzola perhaps had the accolade wrapped up, but if either Luke Shaw or Joakim Maehle can help England or Denmark, respectively, to silverware this summer, then voters may have to think twice.
Euro 2020 glory is within their grasp. For England, they'll seek to utilise home advantage as they pursue a first major international trophy since their 1966 World Cup win. The Danish Dynamite, meanwhile, are aiming to replicate the great Denmark side of 1992 that went all the way in Sweden.
And while each nation has their star players, it's the battle of the marauding left-backs that could prove decisive at Wembley. For 'Shawberto Carlos', Euro 2020 has been the reward for a season of redemption. When Alex Telles moved to Manchester United last summer, the Brazilian was expected to leapfrog Shaw in the United pecking order.
Yet the former Porto man was restricted to just eight league starts for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side as Shaw consolidated a starting spot. Even at Euro 2020, Shaw was set to play second fiddle to Ben Chilwell under Gareth Southgate, who intially sprung a surprise by starting Kieran Trippier at left-back for England's 1-0 win over Croatia in their Group D opener.
However, any doubts over who is first choice in the role for the Three Lions have been well and truly quashed. Shaw's pair of assists against Ukraine took him to three in four Euro 2020 appearances; only Switzerland's Steven Zuber (4) has more at the competition. What's more, only Gareth Bale (5) has created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than the 25-year-old (4) this summer with Shaw transferring his fine attacking performances in a United shirt to the international stage.
Crucially, too, has been the ease with which Shaw has adjusted his game accordingly to play at left-back or left wing-back. Solid in the former position, Shaw excelled in the latter against Germany, providing the assist for Raheem Sterling's opener at Wembley. The versatility in either role is a huge asset for Southgate, who can elect to use a 4-2-3-1 or revert to a three-man backline to mirror Denmark and help contain Maehle.
Not necessarily a breakout star at the competition, Maehle has certainly become a household name across Europe on the back of a series of standout displays in a Denmark shirt. Having moved to Atalanta at the turn of the year, Maehle is recognised as a right-back or right wing-back, battling with Hans Hateboer for a place in the Italian side's starting XI, yet with Kasper Hjulmand able to call upon Daniel Wass or Jens Stryger Larsen in the role, he elected to use the 24-year-old on the left.
There are immediate concerns with a lack of balance that comes with playing a right footed full-back on the left, but as Maehle displayed against Czech Republic, that was no major concern as he picked out Kasper Dolberg with an impressive outside-of-the-boot cross from the left for the Nice striker to ultimately fire Denmark into the semi-finals.
Only Frenkie de Jong (16) has completed more dribbles than Maehle (11) at Euro 2020 as the latter maximises the space in front of him that comes when starting at wing-back to gain a head of steam that allows him to beat an opponent to create space for himself down the left. And with two goals and one assist to his name already, it's an approach that evidently works well for both Maehle and Denmark.
For years now, there has been a greater onus on full-backs to provide the width for teams, particularly in systems where the winger looks to cut infield, and both Shaw and Maehle abide by these demands impressively. Given the space to exhibit the creative weapons in their arsenal, this crunch clash between two bombarding full-backs could prove to be the difference in the second Euro 2020 semi-final.
