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Key events
35 minutes: Serbia he is yet to shoot at goal. But they’re not here to have fun like Carlton Palmer once was. They are here to win.
33 minutes: Eriksen organized an attack on the counter, but Serbia have covered all kinds of adventures. Two men where Pavlovich once was.
31 minutes: Hülmand is yellow cardboard for sliding paint. And he will miss the next game. Bach, dangerous from Eriksen’s pass, ping the ball. Pavlovic is the choice of defenders of Serbia. From a corner, Hoylund cuts the ball and fights into the goal. Good effort but not enough to beat Rajkovic.
29 minutes: Mitrovic was a long shot target but Serbia missing Dave Challiner and Ian Hutchinson, Andy Legg. Are such players only coming to the UK? Not enough buy for Mitro to get him on target.
27 minutes: Milenkovic is booked for a foul on Hoylund and it puts him in sudden death. Soon after, Wind and Pavlovic clashed, and Wind somehow received a yellow card. In both cases, the simulation helped speed up the judge. Whatever happened to it being broken.
25 minutes: Milenkovic crashes in Hoylund. He does nothing and Eriksen himself can be heard demanding more from both the referee and his teammates.
23 minutes: The ball is in the net…but Eriksen’s corner was bent offside to come back. He could open a can of beans with his right foot.
22 minutes: Chaotic scenes follow the second, third and fourth balls. Pavlovic saves Serbia with a knock on the back.
21 minutes: Eriksen turns and shoots from distance and Rajkovic dives in from the right and saves. Another angle.
20 minutes: Hoylund tries to spin and turn but can’t hold on to the rebound. The Serbs seem happy that Maele has the freedom on the left flank.
18 minutes: So far, Maehle has been Denmark’s main asset. He wins a corner on another clearance. The first was cleared, the second was claimed – and high – by Rajkovic.
16 minutes: Mitrovic runs a one-man press for Westergaard. The man from Leicester wins then too Denmark almost found a target. Maehle tags in and Bah looks hampered as he goes down headfirst. No decision given when a PL VAR guy might have taken it.
14 minutes: Lukic and Zivkovic connect, starting a rare breakthrough for the Serbian team. They choose to keep possession rather than take chances before Andreas Christensen comes on. Hoylund, like his day job, is asked to go to the front alone.
13 minutes: Russell Brady: “I really hope Austria equalise Denmark in the next round. With Sabitzer and Hojbjerg involved…we could finally get a Jon Snow/Littlefinger rematch from GOT series 4.”
12 minutes: Saša Lukić is on target for a cross from the left but can’t get to it. Stojkovic was not so impressed.
11 minutes: Niels gets in touch: “Thank you for your amazing coverage of football in general and your dry humor and wit during the podcasts! (Damn it). Just a small note. In Danish, the H in Hjulmand is not pronounced. You just pronounce it as if the name is spelled Julmand.
9 minutes: It’s treacherous as all such matches have been at this stage of the groups. The slow descent into performance begins, losing relevance after the results.
7 minutes: Hoiberg is as deep-seated as we know him, but Hoylund is slow to read attacking intent. Eriksen pulls back to sweep away any danger. Serbia is happy to go slow here. Denmark the chase, the push, as we should call it.
5 minutes: Denmark there is a free kick to be taken from the right side. Eriksen will take. He cuts, heads for Wind, but can’t turn and fire. Serbia were caught napping and the routine on the training ground was exhausted.
3 minutes: Stojkovic, the legend of Serbian football – what a player – made three changes – Srdan Mijajlovic – who made his first appearance for the national team in 12 years – along with Lazar Samardzic and Nemanja Gudel. The dropped players – Filip Mladenovic, Dusan Vlahovic and Dusan Tadic – are among his stars.
And we’re off to Munich!
1 minute: Christian Eriksen becomes Denmark’s all-time capped player as Simon Kjaer, his close friend, is still on the bench. That’s 133 caps. Schmeichel Senior, Rommedahl and Tomasson are next on the list. Denmark start slowly, their trio of defenders playing off each other.
The anthems are playing in Munich, and as Mac says, the Danes are much louder. The Serbs seem determined. Without that last-minute goal against Slovenia, they would have left Scotland by now.
Mac Millings connects: “John dearest, Well, here I am, at the Allianz Munich Football Arena. Consider me your insider (I mean, aside from the proper journalist your Super Soaraway Guardian actually has on the inside — I’m sitting under the media center, by the way, waving in the direction of…I don’t know…Jonathan Wilson?) Like and yes, the atmosphere is already great, the danes outnumber the serbs by a wide margin, but everyone is very friendly, and a happy reaction from all concerned when the PA announced that Austria had defeated the dutch. Updates as I get them.”
Anders Van Bruun connects: “The Guardian’s coverage of Denmark’s first game wrongly cast Viktor Kristiansen (“VK”) and Rasmus Nissen Kristensen (“RK”). VK played and scored the goal, RK still does not have a single minute in Germany, despite the player rating attributed to him. Hoping for an emphatic Denmark win (but realistically nervous 2-1).”
VK is the lad from Leicester, RK you might recognize from Leeds.
Second place in this group travels in Dortmund to play Germany and the winner will go to Gelsenkirchen. Having visited both cities in recent days, it’s a mix of bad draw but good city and vice versa.
Here are the group tables before we start tonight.
This news from the team: Just one change of Denmark after that game with England in Frankfurt – there was another team playing – Viktor Christensen (who made an early mistake for Harry Kane’s goal) is out and Alexander Bach is in the starting XI.
Dragan Stojkovic was honest, made three changes. Filip Mladenovic, Dusan Vlahovic and Dusan Tadic are out, a trio of big names.
Tonight’s earlier results from Group D
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Poland 1-1 France
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Netherlands 2-3 Austria
Austria top the group, France are second – they’ve been slow – and the Dutch will be the third-placed team and could face the winner of that group.
There is now a strong possibility that England, if they win the group, will play the Netherlands in the Round of 16.
England could use a big win over Slovenia to avoid that.#NEDAUS #Euro2024
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) June 25, 2024
The teams
Denmark: Schmeichel, Andersen, Westergaard, Christensen, Bach, Hülmand, Hoiberg, Maele, Eriksen, Wind, Hoylund. subtitles: Kjaer, Jensen, Delaney, Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Jorgensen, Damsgaard, Norgaard, Hermansen, Christiansen, Poulsen, Ronow, Dreyer, Christensen, Bruun Larsen.
Serbia: Rajkovic, Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Mijajlovic, Ilic, Gudel, Zivkovic, Samardzic, Lukic, Mitrovic. subtitles: Stoic, Maksimovic, Vlahovic, Jovic, Tadic, Petrovic, Babic, Ratkov, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Gacinovic, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Spaic, Mladenovic, Birmancevic.
Referee: Francois Letexier (France)
My former colleague and still friend (?) Dale Johnson is the permutation guru and on ESPN’s website, these are the scenarios for tonight’s teams. Don’t forget that England also play Slovenia.
DENMARK:
They would qualify on a draw as they would be guaranteed to be one of the best third teams at worst.
I’m winning
If Denmark and England win, Denmark finishes second.If Denmark win and England draw, first place is determined by goal difference, and the Danes will take first place if they win by 2+ goals. If Denmark win by one goal it will go down to goals scored and if it ends in a draw (eg Denmark 1-0, England 0-0) it goes to Fairplay (England -1, Denmark -4). If this finishes level, it is a European qualifying ranking (England 5th, Denmark 9th).
If Denmark and Slovenia win, they take the top two spots, with top spot determined by goal difference, which is now identical at 2-2. The team with the biggest win or the biggest win by the same margin (eg 2-1 and 1-0) will finish in first place. If they both win by the same score, it comes down to Fairplay (Denmark -4, Slovenia -4). If that stays the same, that’s the European standings (Denmark 9th, Slovenia 15th).
I’m drawing
If Denmark draws and England wins, Denmark finishes second.If Denmark and Slovenia draw, second place will be determined by goals scored, so the team involved in the tie with the higher score goes through. Therefore, Denmark 2-2 and Slovenia 1-1 finish in second place. If both tie on the same score, the runner-up is decided on fair play points (Denmark -4, Slovenia -4). If it is a level, it is the European qualification ranking (Denmark 9th, Slovenia 15th).
If Denmark draws and Slovenia wins, Denmark finishes third and qualifies.
Loss
Although two points are still mathematically possible as a best third place, it will not be enough.SERBIA:
I’m winning
Will certainly qualify with a win over Denmark and finish second if England win/draw.If Serbia win and England lose, Serbia will finish third against each other and qualify.
I’m drawing
Although two points are still mathematically possible as a best third place, it will not be enough.Loss
Unable to rank.
Early team news
Denmark welcome back Thomas Delaney, who has recovered from illness, and veteran captain Simon Kjaer could also return for Denmark, but Serbia will be without Juventus winger Filip Kostic after picking up a knee injury against England. Dragan Stojkovic said “there will be changes” to Serbia’s starting XI after the 1-1 draw with Slovenia.
Preamble
What do you mean you clicked on this by mistake? Consider this a debate-free zone in Trent, a safe place away from the panic that surrounds every England game. Do you want to talk to Conor Gallagher? Click the link above. Kieran Trippier the scapegoat? Rob Smith is your man there. Which leaves us to debate the merits of a game where the permutations are pretty wild, and to bank on whatever happens in Cologne.
Victory will see England progress as group winners. Denmark and Slovenia will advance automatically with wins. Serbia will finish in the top two if they beat Denmark and Slovenia fail to beat England. It is so easy. Until things are looked at for third place.
Do you understand? There will be reminders. Join me for kick off at 8pm UK time.
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