Denmark 1-1 England: summary, score, goals, highlights Euro 2024
Denmark vs England: as it happened
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That's all from me - many thanks for reading, and be sure to follow our coverage of today's final game at the Euros, between Spain vs Italy. That big-name Group B match-up kicks off at 3pm ET/12 noon PT.
Join Calum Roche for live-text commentary of Spain vs Italy.
Bellingham a bust against Danes
After he played so well against Serbia, we saw a disappointing display from Jude Bellingham in Frankfurt:
What do England and Denmark need to qualify?
England will win Group C if they beat Slovenia, and - depending on the result between Denmark and Serbia - a draw may also be enough.
Although a point might not be sufficient for England to win the group in the end, it will guarantee a top-two finish.
The Three Lions can no longer come lower than third - and with four points to their name, would almost certainly be among the four best third-placed finishers even if they lost and slipped down two places.
The Danes will qualify with a win over the Serbs. If England beat Slovenia, a draw will also definitely be enough for Kasper Hjulmand’s team.
If Denmark finish on three points but in third, that could take them through as one of the top third-placed sides.
"Very disappointing from A to Z"
This is the opinion of Per Mertesacker, a World Cup-winning former Germany defender, on that England display. Hard to disagree:
Who do Denmark and England face next?
In their final group games, Denmark take on Serbia and England face Slovenia.
Those matches take place on Tuesday 25 June, with both kicking off at 3pm ET/12 noon PT. England are in action against the Slovenians in Cologne, while the Danes' match-up with the Serbs is to be played in Munich.
Group C standings after matchday two
England miss the chance to seal qualification as group winners today.
Gareth Southgate's men stay top, though, with a two-point advantage over Denmark and Slovenia. Serbia bring up the rear, with just the one point to their name.
Group C table:
1. England - 4 pts
2. Denmark - 2 pts
3. Slovenia - 2 pts
4. Serbia - 1 pt
Denmark 1-1 England: full-time thoughts
As in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, England didn't take long to open the scoring. As in Gelsenkirchen, they went on to disappoint.
Having gone ahead thanks to Harry Kane's 18th-minute goal, England immediately retreated rather than trying to press home their advantage. Denmark deservedly levelled a quarter of an hour later. It was a special goal, too: Morten Hjulmand fired in a peach of a long-range strike.
England never really managed to get a grip back on the game; given that performance, they'll take a point all day long. As the game wore on, Denmark seemed much likelier to find a winner than the Three Lions.
Peeeep peeep peeep! Boos from the England fans greet the final whistle. It ends all square in Frankfurt.
England's free-kick comes to nought.
Denmark launch a break, but Skov Olsen is deemed to have pushed Trippier over, and England win a free-kick deep in their half.
Denmark are incensed when Poulsen and Guéhi come together on the halfway line - and the free-kick goes England's way.
The Danes were convinced it was Guéhi who fouled Poulsen.
Stones sends a long ball forward into the Denmark box, where it's headed away.
Three minutes of time added on at the Frankfurt Arena.
Walker launches the ball forward... but succeeds only in shanking it behind and for a Denmark goal-kick.
The camera pans to Gareth Southgate, who is visibly telling his players: Calm down.
By the way, we also have live-text commentary of today's final game at the Euros, as Spain and Italy face off in a heavyweight Group B clash.
Norgaard is booked for a foul on Gallagher.
If either side is going to win this, it looks like being Denmark.
The corner is delivered into the six-yard box, where Christensen is there first to it - but shoots over!
A moment later, Denmark again get Hojberg into a shooting position on the edge of the box. He can't trouble Pickford, but England are flirting with defeat here.
Blimey. Guéhi almost gifts Denmark a fine chance to score there, before recovering.
He loses it to Bah, who suddenly has space to scuttle into the right-hand side of the England area. Guéhi races back and, as Bah dallies, throws himself in the path of the cross when Bah finally plays towards the middle.
A double substitution for Denmark. Hjulmand and Eriksen are off for Norgaard and Skov Olsen.
Both teams take it in turns to pop it about amongst themselves.
Finally, Bellingham plays it to Bowen, who tries to slip Watkins into the box. He can't.
Eze receives, turns and tries to feed a long, low ball into Watkin's run towards the left wing. It's just too long for the striker, who can't quite prevent it from going behind for a goal-kick.
Denmark play it long down the right wing, and Guéhi is across to meet Poulsen.
Poulsen feels he has been tugged over by the England defender, but he doesn't get a free-kick. Guéhi shepherds it out for a goal-kick.
There's a loud rendition of "God Save the King" from the England fans - who, let's be honest, have had little to sing about today.
Again Hojberg shoots from range, and again it's a low, bobbling shot. It's not too much trouble for Pickford.
England win a corner, which Bowen will take. He whips it in at pace towards the near post, but it's headed away.
Fifteen minutes to go in Frankfurt. As at Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022, are England headed for another underwhelming draw in their second group game?
Maehle is booked for a foul on Bowen.
Now Hojberg shoots for Denmark! Cutting in from the left, he digs out a low, bouncing shot, but Pickford saves!
There's a chance for Watkins!
From deep, Bellingham slips a lovely low ball into the Aston Villa striker's run into the area. With Schmeichel coming out to narrow the angle, Watkins shoots from an acute angle - but the keeper beats it out!
On the right, Walker latches onto a loose ball out from the back.
Denmark hold England up, though, and the ball is fed back into the midfield.
A triple substitution for England. Eze, Bowen and Watkins are on, with Foden, Kane and Saka all making way.
The striker and both wingers off, in one fell swoop.
Denmark replace Hojlund with Yussuf Poulsen.
Eriksen takes the free-kick, which eventually falls to Damsgaard at the back of the box. He shoots high towards Pickford's near post, but he can't beat the goalkeeper.
Ah, just as I say that, Rice shanks a pass behind for a corner for Denmark.
Back come England, feeding it right to Saka. He cuts back onto his left and whips a ball over to Foden at the far post, but it's too long.
A few flickers of improvement from England, though.
Walker thrusts forward down the right, before feeding it inside to Bellingham.
Bellingham jinks inside, flops to the turf, and doesn't get a free-kick.
England sit and wait for Denmark, as the Danes pop it about in front of the Three Lions' defence. Finally, Bah can't find Damsgaard on the right, and Trippier and Foden can bring it away.
A moment later, however, Rice makes a mistake and allows Eriksen to shoot from 25 yards. Eriksen can't find the target, though: it flies over the bar.
Eriksen's delivery is not on point, and England clear.
As England come forward, however, Gallagher overruns it and brings down Christensen. He's booked.
On the right flank, Walker gets himself in a tangle and can only bring down Hojberg.
That gives Denmark a highly enticing free-kick, which Eriksen can send into the box.
Again England get it right to Saka, Foden lifting a pass out to the Arsenal man.
Saka twists, turns and drives towards the byline... but his cutback can't find a white shirt!
Now it's England's turn to attack. They work it out to the right to Saka, who has two men on him. Nonetheless, he jinks into a yard of space to let fly from the right-hand corner of the box - but his shot flies past the far post!
Right away, Damsgaard hooks a ball into Hojlund at the near post, but the Manchester United striker can't get a shot away.
Denmark make a double change, bringing on Bah and Damsgaard for Kristiansen and Wind.
Foden hits the post! The Kane goal aside, he's been England's most dangerous attacking player today.
Receiving an inside pass from Saka, Foden surges towards the Denmark box and shoots - but his strike bounces back off the near upright!
England replace Alexander-Arnold with Conor Gallagher.
Saka goes close! It would have been the least aesthetically-pleasing goal you could hope to see.
Chasing a high, long pass forward, Saka gets to the bouncing ball before the onrushing Schmeichel, and heads it over the keeper. It loops towards goal... but drops just past the right-hand post.
Still, at least England are creating something again.
England launch a break, attacking at pace (how many times have we been able to say that).
It's finally lifted from the right to Foden at the back post, where he can't get his shot away. It's recycled back to Rice, who's in space to shoot from outside the box - but he can't trouble Schmeichel.
Denmark keep the ball for a good minute or so, before lifting it forward to Hojlund on the edge of the England box. He tries to nod it down to Eriksen, but he can't get hold of the ball.
England pop it about just inside the Denmark half, before giving it right back to the Danes. Southgate's men look in a very worrying place right now.
Denmark launch their first attack of the second half - and create a shooting chance.
Maehle plays it inside from the right, for Wind to contol and shoot from the edge of the box. That he does, but it takes a big old deflection and loops up into the six-yard box.
Hojlund goes after the dropping ball, but is muscled off it. England clear.
England begin the second half in possession of the ball, until Walker plays his pass to Saka out of play.
Peeep! Artur Soares Dias gets us back underway in Frankfurt.
It doesn't appear that either side has made any substitutions at the break.
Teams coming back out!
The players are just emerging from the tunnel.
I'll let you know ASAP if there are any half-time changes.
John Sibley / REUTERS
England's Phil Foden looks to the sky in frustration during the first half against Denmark.
Hjulmand opens Danish account
Incidentally, that's Hjulmand's first goal for Denmark. (No relation to the coach, I should add.)
England beat hasty retreat
It's really quite something, the extent to which England immediately set up camp on the edge of their box after Kane's goal.
ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP
Morten Hjulmand scores Denmark's equaliser in Frankfurt.
"Frustrating half for England"
Speaking on BBC One, former England captain Alan Shearer has said this:
"A really frustrating half for England. I thought once they got the goal they would push up and get more of the forward players on the ball and go for the next goal. We haven't seen any of that."
Lots of long-rangers
We're only midway through matchday two, and we've already seen more goals from outside of the box than in the whole of the group stage three years ago.
Peeep peeep peeep! That's half time.
England have utterly disappeared since Kane's goal. Denmark are level, more than deservedly so, and Gareth Southgate has work to do at the break.
If England don't get a grip of this game, they're in grave danger of a first defeat to Denmark at a major tournament.
England finish the half on the attack.
Alexander-Arnold tries to lift a ball into the Denmark area, but it's repelled. Finally, England recycle it out right to Saka, who plays it inside to Foden.
Foden shoots from 25 yards, but his dipping strike flashes just a couple of yards over the bar.
One minute of time added on in Frankfurt.
England clear a cross from the right, but Kane immediately loses it.
Back come Denmark, working it to Hojberg in a pocket of space on the right-hand corner of the box. He gets plenty behind his shot, but it can't beat Pickford.
Denmark are on top; England are not playing well.
For pretty much the first time since scoring, England enjoy something approaching a sustained period inside the Denmark box.
From the left, Bellingham slips it just inside to Foden. He carries it forward and crosses, but his delivery is just overhit. It flies across the box and out.
That's a bit better from England. Foden goes another jinking run, dropping a shoulder and drifting into a space to shoot inside the left-hand channel. He finally does shoot, but it's a tame effort. Schmeichel claims it with ease.
Again England lose it, and Denmark get Maehle streaking forward down the right wing.
He slices his cross, and it flies high and behind. But England are looking like a team who need the break; Denmark have their tails up.
Eriksen drifts a corner high over to the far post, where Andersen meets it. His header loops up into the air, and drops just over the England bar.
Denmark are firmly on top right now.
Having equalised with that Hjulmand stunner, the Scandavians work it to the midfielder in another good shooting position, just outside the box. This time his strike is closed down, but it'll be a Denmark corner.
England's run of clean sheets in the Euros group stages ends at five.
It's been a fine reaction from Denmark to the concession of Kane's opening goal.
Goal! Denmark 1-1 England - Hjulmand levels!
England have done nothing but sit back since scoring, and they pay the price.
From the left, Kane tries a cross-field ball - but succeeds only in giving it away. Kristiansen plays it inside to Hjulmand, who lets fly from about 30 yards out, and finds the net!
It flies past Pickford and in off the post. A lovely strike.
From the corner, Vestergaard is penalised for a foul and England can clear.
Denmark are really taking the game to England right now.
They work it to Wind, who has peeled off into shooting space on the right-hand side of the box. He doesn't need a second invitation before pulling the trigger, but Guéhi does very well to stick a leg in. The ball flies over for a corner.
Just for a moment, it's chaos in the England box - but Alexander-Arnold snuffs out the danger.
On the right, Hojberg just keeps it in play, poking it to Eriksen at the near post. Eriksen tries to wriggle into space to cut the ball back to one of the red shirts waiting in the middle, and plays it to Hojlund.
However, Hojlund can't sort his feet out quickly enough, and Alexander-Arnold gets a toe in. It rolls into Pickford's grateful arms.
From the free-kick, Alexander-Arnold clips the ball high towards Guéhi on the right-hand side of the Denmark box, but the defender can't get his head to it. It flies out for a goal-kick.
Having been on the back foot since going ahead, England finally break forward, Saka leading the charge.
As Saka carries it over the halfway line, he's brought down by Vestergaard. That'll be a yellow for the Danish defender.
Kane's goal today means he is only the third England player to score at four major tournaments.
Back come Denmark. From the right, a cross is whipped up high towards the back post, where Wind jumps for it. He gets his head to it, but not firmly enough. It bounces through to Pickford.
Having gone behind, Denmark are pushing England back in their attempts to get back level.
Again the Danes work it left to Kristiansen, but again his cross can't reach the men in the danger area.
Hojgberg goes absolutely flying in on Rice, getting to the ball before the England midfielder. The ball ricochets up into the air and into the England box, where Maehle gives chase - but is offside.
That was, er, a robust challenge by Hojberg. Two-footed and ever so slightly dangerous.
Denmark come forward in search of an immediate equaliser.
On the left, Hojberg slips it wide to Kristiansen, who looks to send an outswinging ball into the penalty area. However, his attempted cross is blocked by a delegation of England defenders.
There's a long way to go, of course. But, as things stand, England are heading through as group winners.
Goal! Denmark 0-1 England - Kane opens the scoring!
No-one can stop Kane this time! England lead in Frankfurt!
Walker catches Kristiansen sleeping on the right, taking the ball of the defender's toes and bursting into the Denmark box.
From the byline, his low cross finds Kane on the penalty spot - and the England captain slots it into the corner!
Hjulmand loses it just outside the Denmark box, allowing Rice to feed it to Kane.
From the top of the 'D', Kane gets it out of his feet and shoots with his left, but his effort is blocked!
That's a shame - if you're of an England persuasion, of course. After the criticism he received after his somewhat underwhelming display against Serbia, that would have been just the boost that Foden needed.
That's fine play by Foden, but he can't finish.
Jinking in between a group of Danish defenders, he scampers into the penalty area, and opens up his body to try and guide the ball into the far top corner.
He can't wrap his boot around it quite enough, though. The shot flies wide!
Denmark ping a high ball up to Hojlund, who has spun away from Guéhi for a moment and looks to dash in behind the England defence. Guéhi snuffs out the danger well, though - and the flag was up against Hojlund, anyway.
The pitch appears to be cutting up rather too easily. Indeed, that looks to be how Walker went over on his ankle.
According to Opta, this is only the fifth time that Gareth Southgate has named an unchanged line-up as England boss.
England are briefly down to 10 men as Walker is seen to over on the touchline.
He's quickly back on, though. We'll have to see how his ankle gets on.
Ah. This could be bad news for England. Kyle Walker is down and in need of treatment.
It appears that he went over on his ankle a few moments ago. Given that England are already without a recognised left-back, losing their first-choice right-back would be all they need right now.
England get hold of the ball once more, popping it about just inside the Denmark half. Finally, a high ball is lifted over the top of the Danish defence for Saka to chase into the right-hand side of the box, but the winger can't get on the end of it. Schmeichel steps off his line to gather.
Some 15 yards outside the England box, Hjulmand tries to zip a low ball into Hojlund's run into the area. It's cut out. Good defending by Guéhi.
England keep it for a good 45 seconds or so around the halfway line, before Walker can't bring a long pass down - and it flies out for a throw-in to Denmark.
In response, England launch their first attack of substance.
On the right, Saka spots Walker's run forward, and feeds the ball into the Manchester City defender.
Walker crosses low to the near post, but Denmark deal with it.
Right away, it's Denmark who create the first shooting chance!
Hojgberg has space to let fly from 20 yards or so, but his strike can't trouble Pickford.
Peeeep! After a minute's silence for Gerhard Aigner, the former UEFA secretary-general and chief executive, we're underway.
Aigner died today at the age of 80.
Last look at the line-ups
So, anthems done. Handshakes and coin toss done, too. Almost time to go in Frankfurt!
Here’s a final reminder of the teams:
England
Pickford, Walker, Guéhi, Stones, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Foden, Kane
Denmark
Andersen, Christensen, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Hjulmand, Eriksen, Hojberg, Mæhle, Hojlund, Wind
If you're still wondering how you can watch Denmark vs England online or TV, incidentally, let me point you in the direction of our guide on where to tune in.
Who is the VAR?
The video assistant referee will be Portugal's Tiago Martins.
Spain’s Alejandro Hernández Hernández will be the assistant VAR, with fellow Spaniard Juan Martínez Munuera the assistant VAR.
Who is the referee?
Today's match referee will be Portugal’s Artur Soares Dias.
Soares’ assistant referees will be compatriots Paulo Soares and Pedro Ribeiro, and the fourth official will be Ukraine’s Mykola Balakin.
Out come the teams!
The Denmark and England teams make their way out onto the pitch.
Anthems time: England first.
Can England continue run of clean sheets?
Were England to keep a clean sheet, they would extend the clean-sheet record they set against Serbia.
Thanks to Sunday's 1-0 win, the Three Lions became the first team to register five successive shutouts in the group stages of the Euros.
The last goal England conceded in the round-robin phase was in a 2-1 win over Wales at Euro 2016: a Gareth Bale free-kick that Joe Hart rather threw his cap on, if we're honest.
Opta backing England for win
Stats specialists Opta are confident that England can get the win they need to confirm their qualification as group winners.
The Opta ‘supercomputer’ gives England a 54.0% chance of beating Denmark, while the Danes’ prospects of victory are rated at 20.7%. A draw, Opta say, has a 25.3% chance of happening.
Denmark chasing 2nd straight knockouts; England after four in a row
Denmark, by the way, are bidding to progress to the knockouts of the European Championship for the second consecutive tournament. They have never previously managed to get out of their group at back-to-back Euros, despite being former winners of the trophy.
England, meanwhile, have not failed to make the knockout stages of the tournament since 2008, when they didn't qualify for the finals at all.
JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
Football: UEFA Euro 2024 - 1st round day 2: Group C Denmark v England
England players go through their paces ahead of kick-off in Frankfurt.
Counting down to go-time...
Twenty minutes to go until kick-off at the Frankfurt Arena.
The warm-ups are underway!
Denmark enjoy Nations League upper hand over England
While Denmark have never defeated England at a major tournament, they took four points off the Three Lions when the teams were drawn together in the group phase of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League.
After a 0-0 draw in Copenhagen in September 2020, the Danes won 1-0 at Wembley the following month, courtesy of a first-half Christian Eriksen penalty.
Countries met at World Cup 22 years ago
Aside from their two clashes at the Euros, Denmark and England's only other tournament meeting came in the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup.
And, while their other meetings at major finals have been tight affairs, this one wasn't. Thanks to first-half goals by Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, England won 3-0 to sail into the quarter-finals.
England and Denmark met at Euro '92
Before Denmark and England’s semi-final meeting three years ago, the nations also met at the Euros back in 1992 - when the Danes ended up winning the trophy.
The teams played out a 0-0 draw in their opening group game in Sweden.
England went on to exit the tournament at the round-robin stage, while Denmark qualified for the knockouts along with group winners Sweden.
In the semi-finals and final, the Danes then produced surprise wins over the Netherlands and Germany, respectively, to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy.
Southgate seeks "continuity" in England team selection
Gareth Southgate has given this assessment of his decision to name an unchanged line-up in Frankfurt:
Danes not fuelled by penalty grievance - Hjulmand
In his pre-match press conference yesterday, Kasper Hjulmand insisted that Denmark's feelings of injustice over that penalty three years ago won't be their source of motivation today.
“I think we’re looking at a football game out of the front window," he told reporters. "We have a great team in front of us. I’m not using that [a sense of grievance over the Euro 2020 spot-kick] as anything. Maybe some of the players, I don’t know.
"But I’m looking it as a new football game, a new place three years later.”
Can Danes get revenge for Euro 2020 heartbreak?
Most notably - and most recently - Denmark and England collided in the semi-finals of Euro 2020.
England edged past the Danes, winning 2-1 after extra time - but needed the help of a pretty dodgy penalty. After Joakim Maehle was harshly deemed to have brought Raheem Sterling down in the box, Kasper Schmeichel saved Harry Kane’s spot-kick, but couldn’t prevent the striker from turning home the rebound.
What is Denmark and England's head-to-head record?
As I mentioned earlier, a win for Denmark wouldn’t mathematically take them through - but would as good as rubber-stamp their last-16 place.
However, the Danes but are yet to beat England at a major tournament. The teams have faced off twice in the Euros and once at the World Cup, and England’s record in those three games against the Scandinavians reads: W2 D1 L0.
What the coaches said: Kasper Hjulmand
Ambition:
“For me, it’s important that we as Denmark dream of achieving something big. If you don’t do that in a big competition, there is something wrong. Are we favourites? No. Is it a failure if we don’t win the Euros? No. But I think we have to have the dreams and the ambitions, because that’s what sets the standards.”
Defeat to England in Euro 2020 semi-finals:
“Losing a semi-final when we were so close, and it was minor details that decided it - it took me a while to digest it. I carried it for a while. But those kinds of games give you motivation and they inspire you, and they make you realise that you can actually do it. Those kinds of defeats make us learn and make us grow. It hurt, but it motivated us.”
Happy with a draw?
“If we do our best and that’s how it ends, it is what it is. But our approach is always focused on winning the game.”
Shaw remains out but "on track" - Southgate
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Gareth Southgate also confirmed that Luke Shaw will be unavailable to England today, as the left-back continues his recovery from injury.
“Luke won’t be involved tomorrow, no," Southgate said. "He’s actually on track for where we thought he would be originally.
"We were hoping a couple of days ago that we might accelerate that a little bit, but he needs a bit more volume [of] work. He’s still in and out [in terms of training] with the others, but operating on his own programme as well.”
What the coaches said: Gareth Southgate
“We know that we have good players, we know that we can play better than we did the other day. But I thought the players, in what is an incredibly pressurised moment, started the game exceptionally well and defended brilliantly throughout the whole game. I think they’ll be better for having a game under their belts […]. We know we have to be better against a stronger Danish team.”
Denmark:
“I like how they play, I think the character of the players. I’ve always been an admirer of Danish football, but this group: I have huge admiration for the way they dealt with everything in the last Euros. The leadership that they showed as a group, the mentality they had as a group.
Criticism after Serbia win:
“I’ve been in this environment for eight years, so I understand it all. It used to annoy me, now I’m ambivalent to it. Winning matches in tournaments is incredibly hard, incredibly hard. At this tournament you’ve now got the extra dimension of incredible support for all the teams in the stadiums, as well. That’s a little bit different to the last two tournaments we’ve been in. We’ve had some good results over the years, so maybe even we take wins for granted, which we shouldn’t.”
England confirm line-up
England boss Gareth Southgate has made no changes to the team that beat Serbia four days ago: Pickford, Walker, Guéhi, Stones, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Foden, Kane.
ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP
Denmark fans in full voice at the Frankfurt Arena, ahead of kick-off.
Serbia's late leveller does England favour
That Luka Jovic equaliser is good news for England, who now know that they will win Group C if they beat Denmark today.
FT: Slovenia 1-1 Serbia
Slovenia vs Serbia has just finished in Munich, where the Serbians have snatched a late, late point.
Zan Karnicnik had given the Slovenians the lead with just over 20 minutes to go - and, after their draw with Denmark, a win would essentially have sent them into the knockout stages.
However, Luka Jovic equalised in the final minute of stoppage time.
Maehle brought into Denmark team
Denmark make just the one change to the team that began Sunday's draw with Slovenia, as Joakim Maehle comes in for Alexander Bah.
Denmark line-up confirmed
Kasper Hjulmand has named his XI in Frankfurt. It is: Andersen, Christensen, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Hjulmand, Eriksen, Hojberg, Mæhle, Hojlund, Wind.
RONALD WITTEK / EFE
Can Denmark qualify for last 16 today?
No, they cannot. For the Danes, nothing will be settled today - neither qualification nor elimination.
In practice, though, a win for Kasper Hjulman’s men would all beat seal their progression to the knockout stages.
Victory would take Denmark to four points. Since the 24-team format was introduced at the Euros in 2016, no team with at least that many points has failed to make it through to the knockouts.
England must post first Euros WW to qualify
Anyway, as I saying: England have the opportunity to seal last-16 qualification today, by beating Denmark.
However, it should be noted that England have never previously won their first two games at the Euros. That’s in no fewer than 10 previous appearances at the tournament finals.
Indeed, Sunday’s victory over Serbia was only the second time they’ve even won the first game of a Euros campaign. The other was at Euro 2020 three years ago: a 1-0 win over Croatia.
Slovenia outshoot England
Incidentally, if you needed any further illustrations of how underwhelming England ended up being against Serbia the other day, here's one shared by Opta at half time of Slovenia vs Serbia:
What's the Slovenia vs Serbia score?
Just as I write that England need Slovenia not to beat Serbia, they take lead!
With 20 minutes to go in the teams' matchday-two clash in Munich, Zan Karnicnik has tapped in from close range to put the Slovenians 1-0 ahead.
Can England win Group C today?
Yes again. Should England beat Denmark in Frankfurt, they will be confirmed as Group C winners as long as Slovenia don't beat Serbia.
Can England qualify for the last 16 today?
Yes, they can indeed. A win for Gareth Southgate's team would guarantee their place in the knockout stages with a game to spare, regardless of the result in today's earlier Group C game between Slovenia and Serbia.
Angelika Warmuth / REUTERS
Danes made to settle for point in opener
Denmark, meanwhile, were held to a 1-1 draw by Slovenia in their first game at Euro 2024 this weekend.
After 17 minutes in Stuttgart, Manchester United's Christian Eriksen opened the scoring for the Danes - a special moment, given the cardiac arrest he suffered the last time he played in the Euros.
However, Erik Janza levelled late on for the Slovenians, who came into the tournament as the group's outsiders.
England head up Group C after matchday one
In their opening Group C fixture on Sunday, England edged to a somewhat nervy win over Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, Jude Bellingham heading in the match’s only goal early in the first half.
The Three Lions played pretty well before the break... but then rather lost control of the game. However, they kept Serbia at bay - and while it wasn't the most impressive of wins, it means they head into today’s clash sitting top of the group.