Denmark secured a place in the last 16 of the European Championship following a 0-0 draw against Serbia on Tuesday. The Danish team will now face host nation Germany in Dortmund on Saturday.
“Playing against Germany here with the Danish team, it can’t be better, can’t wait,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said. “It’s a great team but we’re a great team as well. And when we play the big nations, we always step up.”
Denmark concluded Group C with three points, identical to Slovenia, but claimed second place due to a better disciplinary record. Slovenia, who also advanced to the knockout stage, drew 0-0 with group-winner England.
Despite Serbia needing a win to progress, Denmark had the majority of chances, primarily created by Christian Eriksen, who made a record 133rd appearance for his country.
Both Denmark and Slovenia ended with equal points, goal difference, and goals scored. They also had six yellow cards each, but Denmark had a superior disciplinary record because Slovenia assistant coach Milivoje Novakovic received a yellow card in their opening match against Denmark. Serbia finished just a point behind.
“We’re disappointed because of the result. We haven’t been able to make the step that was lacking,” Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said. “We were looking for this one opportunity, one goal, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed. This is football. We have to be very proud. Serbia showed themselves positively in a very even group.”
Slovenia’s draw with England also eliminated Croatia, which finished third in Group B.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé scored his first goal at a European Championship in France’s 1-1 draw with Poland. France finished as runner-up in Group D behind Austria, which defeated the Netherlands 3-2.
Mbappé, wearing a mask after breaking his nose in France’s opening game against Austria, scored from the penalty spot. Robert Lewandowski equalized with a spot kick, earning already-eliminated Poland their first point of the tournament.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic was present in the stadium in Munich to support Serbia, receiving chants of “Nole, Nole” from his fans as he walked onto the field before the match.
Tuesday’s game saw the longest wait for the first attempt in a Euro 2024 match, with Denmark defender Alexander Bah heading the ball wide in the 16th minute. Five minutes later, Eriksen’s shot was deflected by Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Denmark had a goal disallowed shortly after when Jonas Wind was penalized for wrestling Rajkovic to the ground as both players and the ball crossed the line following an Eriksen corner.
Serbia also had a goal ruled out early in the second half when Luka Jovic, one of three halftime substitutes, was offside before Joachim Andersen inadvertently put the ball into his own net.
Disappointed Serbian fans threw plastic cups onto the field after the disallowed goal, causing a brief stoppage as stewards cleared the debris.
