Denmark secured its spot in the last 16 of the European Championship following a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Serbia on Tuesday.
Their next challenge is against the host nation Germany, scheduled for Saturday in Dortmund.
“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, matching Slovenia, but claimed second place due to a superior disciplinary record. Slovenia, which also drew 0-0 with group-winner England, advanced to the knockout stage of Euro 2024 as well.
Despite Serbia needing a victory to advance, Denmark created most of the scoring opportunities, many of which involved Christian Eriksen. Eriksen was making his record 133rd appearance for Denmark.
Denmark and Slovenia were tied in points, goal difference, and goals scored. Both teams also had six yellow cards each. However, Denmark’s better disciplinary record came into play since Slovenia assistant coach Milivoje Novakovic received a yellow card in their opening match against Denmark.
Serbia ended up just one point behind Denmark and Slovenia.
“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 against England also resulted in Croatia’s elimination, which finished third in Group B.
In another match on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé scored his first goal at a European Championship as France drew 1-1 with Poland. France finished as runner-up in Group D behind Austria, which defeated the Netherlands 3-2.
Mbappé, playing with a mask after breaking his nose in France’s opening game against Austria, scored from the penalty spot. Robert Lewandowski equalized with a penalty, securing Poland its first point of the tournament despite being already eliminated.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic attended the match in Munich to support Serbia, receiving chants of “Nole, Nole” from Serbian fans as he walked onto the field before the game.
Tuesday’s match saw the longest wait for the first attempt in a Euro 2024 game, with Denmark defender Alexander Bah heading the ball wide in the 16th minute.
Denmark came close five minutes later when Eriksen’s shot was saved by Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Denmark had a goal disallowed soon after as Jonas Wind was ruled to have fouled Rajkovic while 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 accidentally bundled the ball into his own net.
Disappointed Serbian fans threw plastic cups onto the field after the disallowed goal, leading to a brief stoppage while stewards cleared the debris.
