1:1 draw between England and Denmark

On Thursday, the 2021 European Championship finalist could only manage a 1-1 (1-1) draw against the 2021 semi-finalist Denmark in Frankfurt and, as in the 1-0 opening victory over Serbia, left a lot to be desired. After taking the lead through Harry Kane (18th), Denmark was the dominant team, especially in the first half, and also got a deserved equaliser through Morten Hjulmand (34th).

The minimalist England, which was also bid farewell with boos, is still on course for promotion as Group C leader with four points, behind them it remains tight between Denmark, Slovenia (2 each) and Serbia (1). England will face Slovenia on Tuesday, while Denmark will face Serbia.

Both teams came onto the field almost unchanged compared to their opening matches, with the only exception being Joakim Mähle, who replaced Alexander Bah in right midfield. Southgate left his team completely unchanged for the first time in 16 matches.

In the early stages, both teams let the other have possession of the ball without creating any chances. In the 13th minute, Phil Foden finally managed to create space for himself with a hook, but he clearly missed the Danish goal from around 15 meters. The action remained subdued, as did the courage to take risks.

A gift from Viktor Kristiansen finally paved the way for England to score. The winger failed to see Kyle Walker coming from behind after a harmless through ball, and with a bit of luck, his cross found Kane. The Bayern striker had no trouble scoring his 64th international goal from five meters.

Instead of pushing forward, the English invited their opponents to combine. The Scandinavians literally besieged the Three Lions’ penalty area, but initially only managed harmless attempts by Jonas Wind (25th) and Rasmus Höjlund (29th). Eventually, however, England got their comeuppance: ex-Admira player Hjulmand hammered the ball into the goal from around 25 meters with a real hammer shot that hit the inside of the goal post to equalize.

While the Danes continued to dominate visually and Höjlund tested goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (44th minute), the favorite remained in a state of shock. Only Foden bucked the trend with two harmless long-range shots (40th minute, 45th minute+1).

The second half saw a more active English side, who developed a little more offensive drive when Conor Gallagher was brought on for Trent Alexander-Arnold and were a little closer to the lead thanks to a header from Bukayo Saka that hit the side netting (50th minute) and a shot from Foden that hit the post (55th minute). Denmark were otherwise unimpressed and continued to play on equal terms.

However, England had the best of the few notable chances. Substitute Ollie Watkins was stopped by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (72′) after a great assist from Jude Bellingham. The European runners-up then struggled again in the finish. First they benefited from the hesitation of Bah, who was running alone towards the goal (83′), and a little later Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg narrowly missed England’s goal with a curling shot (85′).

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