Is Denmark's Kasper Schmeichel actually a better keeper than his dad Peter?

Kasper Schmeichel has long since moved out of the shadow of his father Peter.

He has enough of his own accomplishments in the game to stand alone, however legendary his dad was.

The latest of these was helping Denmark to the semi-finals of Euro 2020, a run ended by England after extra time on a euphoric night at Wembley.

It came just a few weeks after Kasper was instrumental in Leicester City's brilliant FA Cup win and Denmark's progress was all the more impressive after the trauma of Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest in their first match.

As England hammered on the Danish door in search of a winner on Wednesday night, it was Schmeichel who kept them at bay time after time.

He spread himself to deny Raheem Sterling from point-blank range, got down to turn away Harry Maguire's header and repelled Harry Kane's penalty, only to see it pop straight back out for what proved to be the winner.

If not for Schmeichel's string of saves, England would have cruised through to the final in normal time.

Peter's pride in his son shone through in the affectionate throwback picture he posted on social media ahead of the semi-final.

The young Kasper, wearing a colourful Danish goalkeeper top of the era, playing 'rock, paper, scissors' with his dad, wearing a novelty tie, on a flight somewhere.

And in so many areas of his game, Schmeichel Jr is just as good, if not better, than his dad.

SHOT-STOPPING

When Kasper spread his body to keep out Sterling's first-half effort at Wembley, you could blink and imagine Peter making an identical save for Manchester United.

The crucial one-handed 'starfish' save he made to keep out Ivan Zamorano's header in the 1999 Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan, for example.

Schmeichel Snr played handball growing up and such sprawling saves to fill as much of the goal as possible are a big part of it. Clearly, Kasper has inherited the skill.

For such big men - Peter is 6ft 3in and Kasper 6ft 2in - their reactions and reflexes are or were second to none.

One handed saves, whether on the ground or in the air, are a Schmeichel speciality.

Peter denying Jurgen Klinsmann in Denmark's win over Germany in the Euro 1992 final is a fine example of his ability to get down low and push a shot away, while the one-handed save made against Rapid Vienna in 1996 is arguably his best ever and, indeed, one of the best saves by anyone ever.

Kasper is equally as good, though. Take his remarkable low stop to deny Maguire's header on Wednesday night or a terrific one-handed push onto the crossbar for Denmark against Switzerland in a 2019 qualifier.

That was undoubtedly one of his finest hours as he'd made a similar flying save to push a Ricardo Rodriguez shot over.

He made a similar one for Leicester in a Premier League game at Wolves earlier in the same year.

The other notable quality of both is that classic goalkeeper mindset of 'just hit me' when an opponent takes aim from close range. It doesn't matter the body part.

PENALTY RECORD

Here's one thing Kasper definitely has over his dad. In his whole career, Peter saved only three penalties, which comes as something of a surprise. That's three out of 36 faced, a ratio of just 8.33 per cent.

Kasper, meanwhile, has kept out 23 of the 91 he has faced, according to Transfermarkt, which equates to one in four. Kane's was just the latest.

It seems to suggest that more penalties are awarded in the modern game, partially thanks to VAR, but the Leicester keeper is certainly talented at guessing what a penalty taker is going to do.

The most important penalty save Peter made was to deny Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay but more often than not at United, penalties against went in.

Kasper had a really good penalty record during the loan spells in the early part of his career and also when Leicester were in the Championship.

He's saved five spot-kicks during their time in the Premier League, two during their 2016-17 Champions League run after they won the title, and two during the 2018 World Cup, including one from Croatia's Luka Modric.

COMMAND AND LEADERSHIP

Peter was famous for his ferocious blasts at his defenders if they failed to clear danger quickly enough or made a mistake.

A giant character on the field, he commanded his back line brilliantly even if it often led to disagreements. It certainly made Schmeichel a trusted lieutenant of Alex Ferguson on the pitch.

Gary Neville has recalled how Schmeichel was 'brutal' towards him when he first broke into the United side.

'Schmeichel was constant, every single day in training at me. He told me day in, day out that he didn't think I was capable of replacing Paul Parker, nowhere near as good as him. Schmeichel saw me as a risk.'

But the tough love approach made Neville into a better player in the long run and was just an attempt to maintain the high standards at United.

There was also the infamous bust-up with Roy Keane in 1997 that resulted in a fight and the keeper nursing a black eye. It was certainly a collision of two big personalities but both were natural leaders.

Kasper doesn't quite shout with such hurricane force but certainly puts his defenders in their place if they step out of line.

There was a moment in a Europa League tie with Braga last season in which the Leicester stopper's expletive-filled rant at his defenders was picked up by TV microphones and prompted an apology by BT Sport commentators.

'F***ing slow, f***ing late, come on!' yelled the 34-year-old while waving his arms around in exasperation.

His club manager Brendan Rodgers certainly appreciates the leadership Kasper brings to the dressing room.

He said in December last year: 'Kasper is a great communicator in the game and he tells people, that's important, he's not waiting until we're sat there in the dressing room.

'He'll let people on the field know what their jobs are. That's the type of player you want, someone who leads in a positive way.

'Sometimes he's harsh, but he's having to be clear with players and team-mates.'

DISTRIBUTION

One of Peter's best attributes was his ability to throw the ball pretty much from the edge of his own area into the opponent's half.

It suited perfectly United's counter-attack style of the early Premier League era when a quick throw to a speedy winger like Ryan Giggs, Lee Sharpe or Andrei Kanchelskis could set up an attack in a couple of seconds.

His booming kicks downfield, especially out of the gloves, could also reach an opponent's penalty area and cause instant chaos.

It would be very hard for Kasper to match that and there have been some questions about his distribution during his career.

Sometimes a moment of hesitancy with the ball at his feet has led to disaster, such as Man United's Jesse Lingard pinching the ball off his toes to score on the final day of the 2019-20 season.

But even at 34 a player can still learn and Schmeichel has worked hard to eliminate such errors.

The game has moved on as well. We see fewer long kicks by goalkeepers in search of a towering centre forward and more passing out from the back.

England put the squeeze on well on Wednesday night as Denmark attempted to play their way out but, with the exception of one clearance that Kane charged down with his hand, Schmeichel didn't put a foot wrong.

SUCCESS AND SILVERWARE

Peter was one of the most decorated goalkeepers in football history, playing through a period of unprecedented success for Manchester United.

Five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, a League Cup and the Champions League represents and incredible haul of medals.

And that's before you factor in the four Danish league titles won with Brondby at the beginning of his career and that 1992 European Championship success against all odds with Denmark.

That tournament win, achieved after Denmark came in at the eleventh hour following the expulsion of Yugoslavia, was nothing compared to Leicester's 5,000-1 Premier League success in 2015-16.

That's the highlight of Kasper's career so far, to go alongside an EFL Championship winners' medal with them in 2013-14 and the FA Cup last season.

Schmeichel Jr is unlikely now to match the extraordinary medal haul of his father but his achievements are certainly remarkable stories.

CONCLUSION

Obviously few players, let alone keepers, can match up to the success achieved by Peter Schmeichel during a truly exceptional career for club and country.

But in terms of goalkeeping attributes, his son Kasper measures up to him in almost every regard.

An equally adept shot-stopper and a better penalty saver than his dad, he is eclipsed only on distribution and just shaded on command of his defence.

Peter probably edges Kasper out in that he maintained such high standards for such a long time in a Manchester United team that set such a high bar of success and demanded a flawless winning mentality.

But yet another excellent performance by Kasper against England proved there really is very little between father and son when it comes to the art of goalkeeping.