England’s pursuit of European glory was off to an unconvincing start, but they can secure progression from Euro 2024 Group C with a game to spare with a win against Denmark.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park sets the stage for Thursday’s mouth-watering match-up between the two nations most heavily fancied to progress from this section.
Slow start
Jude Bellingham’s 13th-minute header made the difference at the final whistle. The Real Madrid talisman took his team by hand and dragged them to the finish line with another emphatic performance.
However, except for a fearsome start before grabbing the opening goal, England failed to live up to their tag as the tournament favourites, performing well below their household stature.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag made his first public appearance since being confirmed as the Red Devils boss for the 2024/25 season, and he delivered his verdict on Southgate’s tactical set-up.
“England were playing very passive. I actually saw them moving backwards. They kept Serbia coming at them,” the Dutchman said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“It’s the vision of the manager [Southgate]. England will take a 1-0 lead, then he [Southgate] decides to start gambling with making his team compact and relying on moments for the remaining minutes of the game.”
Ten Hag’s statement was on the money, as the beaten Euro 2020 finalists finished the game with only three shots on target and had to survive a late scare to take a vital three points.
Fortune reversal
England’s gutsy win was still more than Denmark could say about their curtain-raising fixture against Slovenia at Stuttgart’s MHPArena earlier in the day.
Christian Eriksen scored his team’s opening goal at Euro 2024 to put Kasper Hjulmand’s side in front after just 17 minutes, but it wasn’t enough for three points.
Slovenia hauled back the Danes’ narrow lead with Erik Janza, whose outside-of-the-box effort took a deflection off Morten Hjulmand and caught Kasper Schmeichel on the wrong foot.
Precisely 1,100 days after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 group-stage fixture against Finland, the Man United playmaker scored with a delightful finish to fire his side 1-0 up against Slovenia.
Eriksen’s performance against Matjaz Kek’s side, described as a ‘masterclass,’ was the most dynamic showing by a midfielder at the Euros since Mesut Ozil tormented Greece at Euro 2012.
According to Opta, the 32-year-old had his hand in 12 shots towards Jan Oblak’s goal, mustering five shots and creating seven chances for his teammates.
Denmark vs England Head-to-Head
As the two highest-ranked teams in Euro 2024 Group C, it’s no surprise that Denmark vs England tickets are in high demand, especially given the importance of the upcoming showdown in Frankfurt.
It will be the 23rd encounter between these two nations, with the Three Lions boasting a clear upper hand in the H2H stakes, having won 13 of their 22 previous meetings.
Denmark have only managed four victories, while the other five games ended as a draw, though they’ve given England a run for their money in their most recent duels.
After holding Southgate’s side goalless in both 2020 UEFA Nations League matches, including a 1-0 win at Wembley Stadium, the Danes nearly ended the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 run in the semi-finals.
Mikkel Damsgaard fired the Scandinavian outfit 1-0 up before Simon Kjaer’s own goal took the tie to extra-time, where Harry Kane’s winner condemned them to a 2-1 defeat.
Ominously for England, they have failed to score more than once in regulation across all four games against Denmark since 2014, a feat they’re all too familiar with at the Euros.
Underachieving all-star team
England finished top of their Euro 2020 group ahead of Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic, racking up two wins and a draw.
However, like in the match against Serbia, their two group-stage victories at the previous tournament came by an unimpressive 1-0 scoreline, while they shared the spoils with Scotland in a scoreless stalemate.
Southgate’s lads laid the demons of their heartbreaking Euro 2020 campaign to rest at the 2022 World Cup with two scintillating group-stage wins against Iran and Wales.
After a 6-2 demolition of the Asian country in their curtain-raising contest, the Three Lions drew 0-0 with the United States in round two, only to humble Wales 3-0 in the group-phase finale.
When they thumped Senegal 3-0 in the round of 16, everyone thought it was England’s turn to shine at the grandest international stage before France sent them packing in the quarter-finals.
Euro 2024 is a ‘make or break’ tournament for Southgate, and England will have to fare far better than they did against Serbia to live up to the nation’s lofty expectations.
Revenge is a dish best-served cold
It will be Denmark’s motto in this match.
Hjulmand’s men have had three years to lick their wounds after England denied them a shot at their second Euros title.
Over the past three years, the Danes have plotted their revenge, accumulating wins and encouraging results to prepare themselves for this moment.
Denmark pieced together a near-flawless qualifying campaign (W7, D1, L2) and continued to shine in their warm-up games (W3, D1) before a harsh reality check against Slovenia.
But they’ll approach this match-up with a different mindset, looking to erase painful memories of last tournament’s semi-final heartache.
With a game against Serbia waiting in the wings, Denmark can ill-afford a sub-par result against England and will turn to their recent encounters for inspiration.
If the Three Lions fail to improve on their opening-day performance, this could be an unpleasant experience for one of the most formidable squads in the world.
Denmark vs England Potential Line-ups
Denmark (3-4-1-2): Kasper Schmeichel; Andreas Christensen, Jannik Vestergaard, Joachim Andersen; Victor Kristiansen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Morten Hjulmand, Alexander Bah; Christian Eriksen; Jonas Wind, Rasmus Hojlund.
England (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kieran Trippier; Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka; Harry Kane.
Denmark vs England Prediction
England’s hopes of delivering a more reassuring display against Denmark will rest on Harry Kane’s questionable ability to perform at the high-stakes tournaments.
Despite his well-documented scoring prowess, the Bayern Munich ace has developed a habit of underperforming in crucial matches, as most recently evidenced in the game against Serbia.
He was a marginal figure in Gelsenkirchen, and the same goes for the Premier League Player of The Season award-winner Phil Foden.
Southgate must find a way to get his talismanic forwards more involved against Denmark’s physically intimidating backline to increase England’s chances of avoiding another mediocre showing.
Goals could again be at a premium as we back the Three Lions to post another one-goal margin win.
