England 0-1 Denmark
England are now in dire straits as they were upsetted by Denmark in what was a horrific performance last night over at the Wembley Stadium.
Three Lions supporters would surely like to forget this UEFA Nations League match especially since this puts their team in a perilous position in Group A2.
Gareth Southgate’s men are now third in Group A2 as they are level with Denmark in points, and a victory by Belgium over Iceland didn’t help their cause either.
England were simply lacklustre on both ends of the pitch last night. It was a rare occasion where both Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane were not on target and their misery was compounded when they couldn’t handle business on the other end.
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire was sent off the pitch after compiling two bookings in just 31 minutes, and then Reece James followed suit when he vented his ire over at the referees after the whistle.
With the victory, Denmark are no longer in trouble as they stayed alive in Group A2 and their UEFA Nations League 2020 odds of advancing to the next round has grown dramatically.
Today, SBOTOP recaps last night’s package of UEFA Nations League 2020 highlights.
Highlights of the game
This match was simply a case of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” for Gareth Southgate.
Despite witnessing new heroes in their recent friendly versus Wales, many fans were befuddled when the 50-year-old gaffer didn’t put them in the starting lineup and instead opted to stick to his old guns.
While many expected this to be a high-scoring tiff, it was actually quite the opposite.
The Danes’ defence was quite sturdy as they prevented any chances for the Three Lions, and on the other end, they got their own opportunities but they couldn’t convert at first.
Five minutes in the match, Harry Maguire was given a yellow card after a sliding challenge to Yussuf Poulsen and his confidence was shot for the rest of his stay.
Seconds later, Denmark almost punched in their first goal of the evening when Yussuf Poulsen volleyed the ball inside the box but Kasper Dolberg’s touch whizzed past the post unfortunately.
Dolberg had another chance when the Danes had a corner kick in the eighth minute. However, his low shot was blocked by Jordan Pickford.
Mason Mount was one of the bright spots for England especially when he almost slotted the ball home in the 13th minute. But Kasper Schmeichel was quick enough to eliminate the threat with a save.
England hitmen Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane had their own chances early, but both were thwarted by the swarming defence of Denmark.
Then come the 31st minute, the Three Lions were downsized to 10 men when Harry Maguire issued another reckless challenge – this time to Kasper Dolberg.
The Danes would pounce on the opportunity by being more aggressive on the attack, and it clearly paid off when Kyle Walker conceded a penalty in the 35th minute to which Christian Eriksen scored.
In the second half, England tried to put up resistance when they were the ones who were pushing the tempo.
Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker both launched a couple of long shots to start but both were parried away by Kasper Schmeichel, and then Mason Mount almost scored via a header in the 66th minute.
But after those chances, England no longer threatened as Denmark came away with the much-needed win.
Reece James ruined all his good work on this pitch when he got into a verbal altercation with the referee and he was given a red card.
Key statistics
Denmark have been quietly superb all along as they dealt England’s third home defeat in their past 50 competitive games on their home pitch. They also scored their ninth clean sheet in the past 11 games too.
Christian Eriksen has had a hand in 32 goals in his last 35 appearances for Denmark (24 goals, eight assists).
Last night’s game marked Marcus Rashford’s 40th cap for the Three Lions, making him the third player to reach the milestone before turning 23 years old.
Reece James became the first player to be sent off on his debut for the Three Lions.
What’s next?
Now that the international break is over, it is back to club football for all of the players here.
Denmark will face Iceland and Belgium next to round out their group stage fixtures next month, while England’s next two assignments will be versus the same two opponents but in reverse order.
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