Morten Hjulmand cancelled out Harry Kane’s goal as Denmark fought back against England in a scrappy 1-1 draw at UEFA Euro 2024.
Kane put England into an 18th minute lead after he converted Kyle Walker’s pass via a minor deflection.
Denmark found a 34th minute equaliser through Morten Hjulmand’s low long-range strike from Victor Kristiansen’s pass.
England remain top of Group C on four points, albeit two points ahead of Denmark and Slovenia – who drew 1-1 against Serbia in the mid-afternoon kick-off after Zan Karnicnik initially put the Slovenians on course for the win until Serbia’s Luka Jovic nodded in a last-gasp equaliser.
Across in Group B, Spain stayed top with a narrow 1-0 win over second-placed Italy after Riccardo Calafiori deflected Gianluigi Donnarumma’s 55th minute save of Nico Williams’ cross into his own net.
Slovenia’s 1-1 draw against Serbia earlier in the afternoon meant that England began the match knowing that victory would wrap up top spot in Group C, but Denmark matched Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions in a cagey start.
England eventually began to carve open opportunities as Phil Foden curled wide in the 13th minute from Walker’s cutback pass.
Walker though was involved in the breakthrough goal five minutes later as he intercepted Kristiansen, from which he teed up Kane to calmly slot into the bottom-left corner to put England ahead.
Denmark however refused to settle and almost equalised in the 32nd minute if not for Jonas Wind’s shot being deflected over the bar.
That chance sparked further life into the Danes who found their equaliser two minutes later as a English long-throw, which fell for Kristiansen who opted to pass for Hjulmand to rifle in off the left post beyond Jordan Pickford’s reach.
The remainder of the first half became scrappy and sluggish as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Foden saw chances saved for Denmark and England respectively, as the scoreline remained level into half-time.
That low quality continued early into the second half despite Denmark looking the more aggressive but Bukayo Saka nodded wide in the 53rd minute for England from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long ball.
Alexander-Arnold however was hooked barely a minute later for Conor Gallagher as England chased a second goal, which almost came in the 56th minute as Foden hit the right post and Saka blasted wide on the rebound.
Pickford spared England’s blushes in the 67th minute as a Danish corner fell for substitute, Mikkel Damsgaard to curl towards the top left corner, but England’s new record appearance maker in major tournaments made a crucial save on his 21st such outing.
England manager, Gareth Southgate consequently substituted Saka, Foden and Kane for Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins respectively, in desperation of fresh pace and intensity.
That bold gamble almost paid off two minutes later as Watkins latched onto a through ball but Kasper Schmeichel managed to deflect the shot behind.
As the second half wore on towards its conclusion, Denmark raised their intensity and Marc Guehi was forced to make a 83rd minute block of Alexander Bah’s run, from which Yusuf Poulsen flicked the corner over the bar.
Hojbjerg then curled wide two minutes later after Jude Bellingham gave possession away in a sloppy moment which characterised England’s sloppiness in this game.
England now face Slovenia in their last Group C match on Tuesday 25 June, whilst Denmark take on Serbia at the same time as both games commence at 9pm CEST.
Speaking to BBC1 post-match, Kane felt that England need to find ways to hit the higher quality levels but believes that they are steadily progressing as a team.
“We’ve got levels we can reach and we can be better both with and without the ball. I think the sign of a good team is when you’re not playing at your best and still find a way to get results like we have in the last two games.
“We’re top of the group. We know we can improve. I know there will probably loads of noise and a bit of disappointment back home but we experienced this in the last Euros as well when we drew to Scotland.
“Step by step, we’ll get there.”
Teams
Denmark – Kasper Schmeichel, Jannik Vestergaard, Andreas Christiansen, Joachim Andersen, Victor Kristiansen (Bah 57′), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Morten Hjulmand (Norgaard 82′), Joakim Mæhle, Christian Eriksen (Skov Olsen 82′), Rasmus Højlund (Poulsen 67′), Jonas Wind (Damsgaard 57′)
Substitutes: Simon Kjaer, Mathias Jensen, Andreas Skov Olsen, Kasper Dolberg, Mathias Jørgensen, Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Norgaard, Mads Hermansen, Alexander Bah, Yussuf Poulsen, Frederik Rønnow, Anders Dreyer, Rasmus Kristensen, Jacob Bruun Larsen
England – Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold (Gallagher 54′), Bukayo Saka (Eze 69′), Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden (Bowen 69′), Harry Kane (Watkins 70′)
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Ezri Konsa, Lewis Dunk, Conor Gallagher, Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Joe Gomez, Dean Henderson, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton, Kobbie Mainoo
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