England failed to guarantee its place in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after Morten Hjulmand’s spectacular strike earned Denmark a 1-1 draw on Friday morning AEST.
A point was the least the Danes deserved as England again flattered to deceive in Frankfurt after an underwhelming 1-0 win over Serbia to open their tournament.
Harry Kane had given the Three Lions an early lead as England pounced on a Danish defensive error.
Hjulmand’s rocket from outside the box levelled before half-time and Denmark were left to rue missing late chances to secure a famous victory.
England remain on top of Group C, two points clear of Slovenia, who they face in Cologne on Tuesday, and Denmark.
“There’s an imbalance in the team, square pegs in round holes,” Manchester United legend Gary Neville said on ITV.
“Because of that you start to drop deep as a protective measure because you feel like you are not comfortable. Then the third thing occurs, which has happened to England over the years, and you can’t play out through midfield and play out from the back. You end up giving the ball away and we look like a mess.
“We know how this ends. He has to change something now.”
Serbia’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia earlier on Thursday also keeps their destiny in their own hands.
“We said before the tournament there’s no easy games and I think that’s showing,” England captain Harry Kane said after the draw.
“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. Step by step, we’ll get there.”
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England boss Gareth Southgate said on Wednesday that he avoids media coverage during tournaments to escape negative stories.
But will be braced for more criticism after another flat display from one of the pre-tournament favourites.
“Gareth (Southgate) at the minute is not getting the best out of England’s best players,” former England striker Alan Shearer said on BBC.
Ex-England defender Rio Ferdinand continued: “The current balance of the team is not allowing the players to reach the levels that they have done for clubs.
“Phil Foden is out of position and not playing his best, maybe Jude Bellingham would be better playing at number eight. It is a big concern.”
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel claimed on the eve of the game they would not be fuelled by revenge for their Euro 2020 semi-final heartbreak to England three years ago.
However, the Danes were a different beast from the side that disappointed at the 2022 World Cup and in drawing against Slovenia to open their tournament in Germany.
“I can’t say we are disappointed but it’s a shame. There was a result there we could have gotten,” Hjulmand said.
“We believed we could win. We played well but the most important thing is that we play like we did today in the upcoming games.
“I know we have been looking for this kind of game for some time. It’s taken us a while.
“Today we showed how we really play and express ourselves – with quality, with fire – this is how we want to play.”
Denmark had made the brighter start as both sides struggled to cope with a bobbly pitch in Frankfurt that cut up badly in just its second game of five at Euro 2024.
Yet, England capitalised on a howler from Hjulmand’s men to take the lead on 18 minutes.
Victor Kristiansen was caught unaware of Kyle Walker’s run down the right and his deflected low cross fell perfectly for Kane to roll in his 13th goal at major tournaments.
Failing to build on early 1-0 leads has been a consistent criticism of England under Southgate.
In the 2018 World Cup semi-final and final of Euro 2020, Croatia and Italy were able to wrestle away momentum from the Three Lions.
This time Denmark were not deterred by conceding, although it took a spectacular strike to bring them level.
Hjulmand was given far too much room by the England midfield to take aim but he took full advantage form long range with a blistering shot that clipped the inside of the post on its way in.
Southgate made no changes at the break, but the future of his experiment of playing Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in a midfield role is in doubt after he was hooked for Conor Gallagher on 55 minutes.
Phil Foden’s form for England had been a source of much debate after he again failed to shine at international level against Serbia.
The Manchester City playmaker looked much more like the man that won Premier League player of the year awards this season and was inches away from restoring England’s lead with a low drive that came crashing back off the post.
Southgate’s caution has been criticised in the past, but he was bold with his changes in the search for a winner as Kane, Foden and Bukayo Saka were sacrificed for Eberechi Eze, Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen.
Watkins nearly made an immediate impact as he was denied by Schmeichel after a brilliant through ball from Jude Bellingham.
Yet, it was Denmark who had the better chances to take all three points in the closing stages.
Andreas Christensen spooned over when unmarked from a corner before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg curled inches wide.
Southgate admitted England’s lacklustre draw against Denmark showed they are struggling to cope with the pressure of being one of the Euro 2024 favourites.
“Clearly we are disappointed with the level of the two performances. We have to analyse that in depth and find some solutions to the issues we have. We will spend a lot of time doing that,” Southgate said.
“We know the level can be higher. Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment we are in and walk towards the expectations.
“These boys aren’t lacking effort. We have to find more quality in what we do. If anything they are showing they care too much.”
England would have wrapped up first place in the group with a win over the Danes, but instead were greeted with jeers by frustrated fans after their lethargic display.
“If we don’t win we have to accept what comes our way. I can completely understand the fans’ frustration with the way we played,” Southgate continued.
“That is my responsibility as the manager. I have to find solutions. England have never won back to back group matches I was told. There is a reason for that. We have to stay calm inside the group and find answers.
“The challenge is to do something that has never been done before. So it couldn’t be any bigger.”
Southgate said the key to England’s failings against a combative and intelligent Danish side was their failure to press hard enough and a lack of quality on the ball.
“We have to accept that we didn’t press with enough intensity. We kept conceding possession too easily. When you do those things it’s hard to have control, it led to an anxious performance,” he said.
“We have to be better if we are to progress to the later stages of the tournament and deliver what everyone expects us to do.”
