Denmark vs Belgium summary: score, goals, highlights, Euro 2020

Denmark 1-2 Belgium: on the whistle report

The phrase 'a game of two halves' is somewhat overused but I feel confident using it for this thoroughly absorbing clash.

World number one side Belgium arrived as clear favourites with question marks also surrounding the emotional state of the Danish players of the back of what happened with Christian Eriksen. The first half couldn't have flipped that idea on its head more dramatically.

A Poulsen goal inside two minutes seemed to stun the Red Devils for the whole of the first 45 and thrust belief into the Danes. How they weren't more than that one goal ahead by the break was the only disappointment for them.

And it proved to be costly.

Martinez brought on De Bruyne to start the second half, and soon he was joined by the introduction of Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel, while Lukaku was deployed slightly wider with freedom to roam. They all played their part but it was the Man City man who drove them forward, expertly creating a tap-in for Thorgan Hazard before finishing off a slick move himself.

Denmark looked dead and buried but they found a second wind from somewhere and fashioned several more attempts to get a deserved something from the game.

It never came, but they will go out of this tournament with plenty of pride no matter what.

Peep, peep, peeeeep! It's all over!

Belgium win, but there was so much about that game to love.

Thorgan Hazard is booked for a foul and a last-chance free kick is handed to Denmark.

Schmeichel is up to do an Allison... but it's Lukaku who heads clear and Belgium hit on the break.

With no keeper in sight, Meunier goes for goal from just inside the half but the defender gets back to block.

Belgium appear to have remembered that keeping a hold of the ball as far away from Courtois as possible is the best way of minimising the Danish chances.

De Bruyne and Lukaku have a couple of one-twos but the offside flag is offside and Schmeichel is going long.

Cornelius looks like he's in here but slips as he attempts to turn onto it and Courtois is quick to react and gather.

We'll be having five more exhilarating minutes

Cornelius and then Jensen, both with hits towards goal.

It feels, understandably, a little desperate right now but Belgium have lost all threat and control in the last 10 minutes.

Braithwaite onto bar

The Barça man has had a number of chances to beat his LaLiga rival and this time he has Courtois stranded.

A controlled header has the Copenhagen crowd on their feet but it clangs off the crossbar.

Another couple of chances for Denmark, first with Cornelius who cuts into the area and draws a save from Courtois.

Then a brilliant low cross from the left cuts between Courtois and his defenders but Braithwaite cannot get on the end of it.

This game is far from over... (checks clock, realises that's not a true statement)

Jensen latest to go into the book, after a 'firm' tackle

A long ball forward from Denmark has the fans screaming for a free-kick as Courtois slides out to meet it on the edge of his area, but didn't handle it outside.

He's done that a few times for Madrid.

Showboating

De Bruyne scoops the ball over the closing defender in a tight space, and Hazard gathers it with a rainbow flick. This is why it's called the Beautiful Game.

More, more...

Courtois is down getting some attention after a collision. At first glance it didn't look too bad and he should be fine to continue.

Schmeichel denies De Bruyne

From that moment of danger, Lukaku bursts away up the other end and as he is tackled the ball falls to De Bruyne who tries his luck but can't curl it around Schmeichel.

I'm not sure about the players but I'm tiring just keeping up with this!

Belgium are in a different gear but the Danes are not done with quite yet.

The ball drops to Braithwaite near the penalty spot and his drive to the right corner is pushed away well by Courtois.

Cornelius ON, Damsgaard OFF

Jensen ON, Delaney OFF

Immediately after that attempt, Damsgaard is fed into the left side of the area and goes down looking for a penalty.

Kuipers has the card out quickly for an embarrassing dive.

Denmark have really struggled to make things happen in this half but Maehle moves himself to the edge of the area and drills it goalwards.

Plenty of pace but straight at Courtois who holds.

More clever play from Hazard opens up space in the middle of the park but red shirts swarm all over it and any threat is gone... for the moment, but more is likely given the flow of things now.

Foul given against Lukaku for an off the ball incident. The Inter striker looks at Kuipers rather bemused.

Tielemans and Lukaku almost combine on the right of the Denmark area but a sliding challenge ends in a corner for Belgium.

De Bruyne delivers but it's well cleared.

Fresh legs for Denmark

Norgaard ON, Poulsen OFF

Stryger Larsen ON, Wass OFF

It didn't take long for the Real Madrid winger to get his twinkle toes going. Three players avoided by quick touches between his feet.

Ancelotti will have smiled at that!

Martinez reminding us of the depth in this squad

Eden Hazard ON, Carrasco OFF

Witsel ON, Dendoncker OFF

Wass booked for a late challenge.

Corner to Denmark after Braithwaite gets wide and fires in a low cross which is blocked.

Belgium do well to deal with it and then look to break at pace. Their Devilish tails are up!

On the break and Lukaku gets a run at the Danish defence. Great covering snuffs out the threat. Better from them though.

A free-kick chance in a good position just outside the Belgium area is offered to Damsgaard but his effort can't get above Dendoncker who blocks then clears.

Rather than his more fixed central position in the first half, Lukaku appears to be given more license to shift himself wide and get involved.

A decent cross is met in front of Schmechiel is half connected with by Meunier but it's no danger.

First effort from Danes

Shot from distance comes from Delaney after being fed into space by Braithwaite. It was almost as if the defenders were standing off him and asking him to have a go.

In the end it's dragged well wide.

Belgium, in white today, get the ball rolling and attempt to get some early rhythm.

Working it out wide to the newly introduced De Bruyne the red shirts surround him and they win back possession.

Peeeep! The second half is go...

#BEL | De Bruyne ON, Mertens OFF

The teams are heading out of the tunnel and there is a big (and not very surprising) change coming for Belgium.

Half-time musings

What a half that was! Nobody could have predicted that it would have panned out in such a one-sided fashion...well certainly not with Denmark being the dominant team.

From the emotional tears during the national anthem, with thoughts on Christian Eriksen, to a goal inside two minutes to set the mood.

The Danes have been as impressive as the Belgians have disappointed. A lazy thought would be to say that Martinez's side cannot be that bad again in the second half - whether due to placing a rocket where it needs to go or making changes to the personnel - but then again we never predicted the first 45.

Hjulmand's only grievance will be that there isn't a bigger advantage on the scoreboard. But what a performance. And there will be a very proud teammate watching from afar.

The 10th minute moment

Peeeep! Kuipers brings the half to an end.

It's almost a second for the Dane's as Braithwaite enters the area and lets fly. He slightly cuts across the ball and the curl that creates takes it a couple of feet wide. Decent chance.

One minute to be added.

Just before the end of this first half, Carrasco has a chance to deliver from a free kick out wide on the right.

Oh dear! Too long, over everyone, out for a goal kick.

Lukaku has a couple of opportunities to make something happen, as space opens up in front of the Danish penalty area. On both occasions he plays a loose pass and the red shirts come away with the ball.

It is as though we have imposters playing for Martinez's team today.

Belgian have a free kick after a late tackle by Vestergaard, although it's not one they can do much with. And true to form in this half they don't.

Another chance opens up for Denmark, Poulsen finding himself in the area but unable to escape his tight marker while attempting to control the ball and turn away.

Damsgaard close to second

What a magnificent attempt from Damsgaard, who runs into the Belgian area before firing goalward.

The ball slides wide of the post with Courtois looking beaten. So close!

Two corners in quick succession won for Belgium as they try desperately to get some sort of foothold on this game.

Both are dealt with, the latter by a punching Schmeichel.

The free-kick isn't high enough to beat the first man and it's Dendoncker again involved heading away the danger that he had caused in the first place.

What a waste.

Dendoncker gives away a blatent foul as Delaney skips past him. A chance to deliver into the area from wide.

Wass from distance

More neat play ends with the ball at the Valencia player's feet around halfway inside the Belgian half. He steps forward into space and then let's rip from about 25 yards.

Plenty of power but Courtois can watch it fly high over the bar.

Possession is switched from one team to the other but there is much more of a spark about the passing of the Danes. Quick touches, triangles created and sought out, forward and back at speed.

There is only one team in this game at the moment...and we're a third of the way through it.

The Scandinavians have sat back a little more here and offer the chance for their opponents to do something. Which they can't.

Belgium show faint signs

The last few minutes have seen the first period of real possession with intent from Belgium but as the ball is worked to Lukaku on the edge of the area, he is unable to hold it up and it's lost.

Barcelona striker Braithwaite again gets his head to a cross but puts it wide.

It's been a stunning performance thus far from the Danes but they only have that one goal to show for it. Surely at some point Belgium will start playing.

More waves of Danish attacks cause problems for, let's not forget, #1 team in the world. Damsgaard then Braithwaite then the goalscorer Poulsen get into the danger area but are unable to make it count.

Will the real Red Devils please stand up?

A rare chance for Belgium to make something happen but Tielemans can’t find a teammate.

Minute's pause for Eriksen

As planned ahead of this game, the ball is knocked out of play as we enter minute 10. The fans and players applaud.

Denmark the devilish of the two

Belgium look shellshocked and cannot get a hold of the ball. Even when they get a half chance to do so their pockets are picked and pressure mounts.

Maehle has an effort as the red wave continues, and then a cross to the back post is met with the head by Wass.

Courtois is quickly down to collect as others swarmed in.

This cannot be what Martinez had expected for his players. They can't get out.

Denmark are on it again. A period of pressure in and around the opposition area ends with a low cross from the right, which Braithwaite tries to flick in.

It's hectic!

No sooner has the whistle gone to start the game than Bjorn Kuipers has it in his mouth again. Denmark hard in!

Peeeep! We're off!

It's almost time for us to get going...

A reminder of the teams: Denmark

Anthem time

The country anthems get off to an emotional start here in Copenhagen. Tears rolling down some of the Danish players' faces as Der er et yndigt land (There is a lovely country) is belted out.

Will the emotion linked to the situation help or hinder their performance? Let's see...

Christian: YNWA

As the players walk out onto the pitch the crowd sing the famous Liverpool (and others') anthem You'll Never Walk Alone.

Nice touch.

KO getting closer

The teams are now in the tunnel waiting to come out. As they mingle, a huge Eriksen shirt is carried across the pitch.

Denmark-Belgium: H2H

As you can see in the graphic (h/t SofaScore) the head-to-head between these teams over recent years is equal. The Belgians come into this as favourites - number one in the world rankings - and I for one cannot see them getting less than three points.

I have been wrong in the past!

Group B: how it stands

We normally wouldn't pay much notice to a league table after just a single round of fixtures but this is rather different.

A win for Belgium would guarantee them safe passage through to the knockout phase, although it wouldn't necessarily secure top spot, while a Danish win would put all four teams on the same points.

That would certainly make Game 3 a fascinating affair.

Stopping Lukaku

The Inter striker is one of the main favourites for the competition's Golden Boot so what can be done to stop him today?

One thing is by adding an extra man to the centre of defence and that's exactly what Kasper Hjulmand has decided to do. The opening few minutes will give us an idea of how they face up against the prolific forward.

Eriksen thoughts

No matter the importance of this second group game, there is no doubt that minds cannot be taken away from what happened the other day.

Scary fans

The Devils are in the Parken Stadium house.

Lukaku's Eriksen love

Romelu Lukaku scored his 61st international goal to put Belgium ahead against Russia.

After the goal he immediately ran towards the nearest camera and shouted, "Chris, Chris! I love you."

Since then, Lukaku has stated that Belgium and Denmark will temporarily stop play in minute 10 tomorrow to pay tribute to his Inter Milan teammate, #10 being the Dane's kit number.

Eriksen's heart implant

Christian Eriksen is to be fitted with an implant to help to regulate his heart rhythm after suffering that cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 match with Finland.

The midfielder was given CPR on the pitch during the first half of the match in Copenhagen last week before being taken to hospital, where he is stable.

Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said on Monday that Eriksen was "smiling and laughing", while the Inter player himself thanked fans for their messages of support as he underwent tests.

On Thursday, the Danish Football Association confirmed specialists had recommended he be fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a device that uses electrical pulses to regulate potentially dangerous heart rhythms.

Belgian bench threat

Although De Bruyne and Witsel had missed the opening group game victory, there had been suggestions that they would come straight back into the starting line-up.

As we've seen, Martinez has decided to keep them on the bench, but will almost certainly get them out on the field at some point.

Starting XI: Belgium

Courtois, Alderweireld, Denayer, Vertonghen, Meunier, Tielemans, Dendoncker, Thorgan Hazard, Mertens, Carrasco, Lukaku

Starting XI: Denmark

Schmeichel, Christensen, Kjaer, Vestergaard, Mhaele, Wass, Hojbjerg, Delaney, Poulsen, Damsgaard, Braithwaite

Team news incoming...

Belgium growth in Euros

The Red Devils' biggest achievement to date was reaching the final of this tournament in 1980, when they lost 2-1 to West Germany in Rome.

This time round, Roberto Martínez's side won all ten of their qualifiers to finish first in Group I, increasing the number of countries to have reached the finals with a perfect record to eight, Italy also having achieved the feat in the UEFA Euro 2020 preliminaries. Of the previous six to have won every qualifier, however, only Spain (2012) went on to win the tournament itself.

During qualifying they conceded only three goals, the joint best record along with Turkey, while Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne both provided seven assists.

When Denmark shocked Europe

Watch the best moments from that final in Gothenburg as Denmark sealed a famous success with victory against Germany.

Great Danes of the past

This is Denmark's ninth appearance in the UEFA European Championship, but only their second in the past four editions. They were eliminated in the group stage at UEFA Euro 2012, finishing third in their section behind Germany and Portugal with three points from three games.

Denmark were winners at Euro '92, finished fourth in 1964 and reached the semi-finals in 1984. Their most recent knockout appearance came in 2004, when they lost 3-0 to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.

Eriksen tips to stop Lukaku

Denmark will use some tips from their stricken team-mate Christian Eriksen as they look to thwart Romelu Lukaku.

Kasper Hjulmand's side are back in action for the first time since the ordeal of witnessing Eriksen's sickening cardiac arrest on the turf at Parken Stadium just before half-time in last Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Finland.

But Hjulmand told reporters that Eriksen's insight into his San Siro team-mate Lukaku could prove invaluable.

Lukaku scored twice in Belgium's 3-0 win over Russia, dedicating his opening goal to his close friend Eriksen.

That made him the second Belgium player to score in at least two European Championships after Jan Ceulemans in 1980 and 1984.

"Due to Eriksen's absence, we will have to do things differently, but Belgium will have to be top to beat us." Hjulmand said. "We have to make sure that Lukaku is as uninvolved as possible. 

"Once he's on the ball, he can't be stopped. Eriksen – his team-mate at Inter – also pointed out that danger to us." 

UEFA preview

You just can't get enough background reading ahead of a key match-up. Here's a wealth of info from the folks at UEFA.

Danes look to surprise favourites: match preview

Denmark and Belgium go head-to-head today at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen in the second game of an exciting day at Euro 2020.

Denmark have had a week full of emotion after the collapse of Christian Eriksen on the pitch against Finland. Eriksen's life was saved and he remains in hospital as he continues to recover from suffering a cardiac arrest. The Danish players returned to the pitch in Copenhagen less than two hours after Eriksen fell to the ground on Saturday, eventually losing 1-0 to Finland. It remains to been how Denmark will recover from the events last weekend, but face tough opposition in the Belgium, the world’s top-ranked nation.

Belgium can secure their spot in the knockout stage with another win, having taken Russia apart in the first round. Both Kevin De Bruyne and Axel Witsel could return to the starting XI for Roberto Martínez.

Denmark vs Belgium live: welcome

Hello and welcome once again to live Euro 2020 coverage with us at AS. And this one could be very interesting indeed.

Belgian are one of the potential winners for this year's trophy - boasting the Premier League and Serie A players of the season in their ranks - and they face a Denmark side without the influential Christian Eriksen.

The devastating onfield heart attack suffered by the Inter Milan midfidler will be remembered during this game. More on that later.

Our build-up to the game starts here...