UNE 20: On June 20, 2024, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Morten Hjulmand of Denmark celebrates scoring the equalising goal during Denmark’s group stage match versus England at Frankfurt Arena.
It seemed as though England would never win a European championship again, with too many square pegs in round holes and too many famous names missing the mark.
Harry Kane made an early impression at Euro 2024.
For Denmark, Morten Hjulmand equalised.His powerful long-range shot struck the post and flew in.The second half saw the removal of Kane.Halfway through the second half of England’s Group C match, Gareth Southgate hooked the whole England forward line, leaving many more questions than answers for the remainder of the campaign.England had taken the lead through Harry Kane, but with the game still in the balance, he was replaced along with Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.That was the least Denmark deserved, as a long-range equaliser by Morten Hjulmand handed them a point in the first half.Furthermore, Foden’s effort was totally inconsequential when he struck the post early in the second half.If England wins this group in Cologne on Tuesday against Slovenia, they will virtually definitely advance to the round of 16.But with no suitable left-back in the lineup, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s disastrous attempt at central midfield, and now a debate over all three of England’s front players, this is looking like a disorganised campaign.
Due to Serbia’s draw with Slovenia, England would have needed to win to secure the top spot in the group with one match remaining, which would have put Southgate’s squad in the round of 16.Despite fielding the same lineup as in the first game against Serbia on Sunday, England struggled early on, primarily due to Trent Alexander-Arnold.The intention of this midfield endeavour was not to play Hollywood passes to Danish players.Kyle Walker was the centre of attention when England made a threat. The right-back first squared a pass to Phil Foden, his colleague with Manchester City, who did a good job of creating space for himself before missing the mark with a high shot.Victor Kristiansen, the Danish wing-back, had a personal nightmare when the breakthrough occurred at minute eighteen.Kristiansen looked like he was dragging a caravan, and the City guy robbed him while he sat there, while Walker blue-lighted it along the flank.After Andreas Christensen tripped over Walker’s cutback, Kane scored from six yards out.With three goals more than any other English player, it was the captain’s thirteenth goal in major competitions.
Nevertheless, careless passing and defensive panic prevented England from making any gains.After a strange five minutes, Jordan Pickford gave over the ball to Christian Eriksen in the six-yard box, but Alexander-Arnold intercepted it before Rasmus Hojlund could score.The England custodian was soon fumbling at a cross, and Marc Guehi’s attempted clearing was deflected into the net’s roof following an Alexander-Arnold error.Denmark’s equaliser was well-deserved, and their passing was much more assured.Deep in England’s half, after Kieran Trippier had sent in the ball, Kane misplayed a pass that Kristiansen intercepted, allowing Hjulmand to shoot off the post from 30 yards.Pickford won’t think he should have saved the shot because it wasn’t flawless from that distance.When the Danish fans started to perform a Viking thunderclap, reminding England of their terrible experiences in Iceland, England became more and more furious.At the Azteca Stadium, Foden started to resemble Diego Maradona. However, following an impressive dribble, he failed to play the apparent pass to Kane, who was clearly agitated.It was a miserable forty-five minutes, akin to the second half of England’s match against Serbia.
More energy was evident in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and Alexander-Arnold’s finest moment arrived right before Southgate was set to take his place.Saka was uncontrollably unleashed by the Liverpool player’s dipping long-range delivery, and he headed into the side netting.In the 54th minute, Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Conor Gallagher, bringing the experiment to an end.Saka supplied Foden shortly after, and Foden struck the post from outside the area.But things started to slip away from England; after a mistake by Declan Rice, Eriksen had a chance to score, but he missed. Eriksen plays for Manchester United.Then, halfway through the second half, Southgate made a stunning triple switch, substituting Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, and Eberechi Eze for his front three of Kane, Saka, and Foden.Soon after, Watkins started putting Kasper Schmeichel to the test.
Initially, Bellingham produced a lovely ball, but the Danish keeper moved in to physically block Watkins.England gained momentum when Schmeichel blocked another Watkins shot around the post.Still, there were still times when I was worried. Alexander Bah was almost let in by Rice’s poor ball, but Marc Guehi made a spectacular intercept.Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg curled a shot wide from the edge of the box as the Danes ended with a strong finish.