- Denmark and Slovenia score the first draw at EURO 2024 with a 1-1 draw.
- Christian Eriksen, of all people, put Denmark in the lead in the 17th minute, but Erik Janza equalised after a corner (77th).
- In the other match in Group C, Serbia and England will meet in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday evening.
The fact that the Danes rested on their narrow 1-0 lead with a quarter of an hour to go proved to be their undoing. Benjamin Sesko’s shot against the post was more than just a warning shot. Just a minute later (77th minute), the ball was in the goal behind Kaspar Schmeichel: Erik Janza shot at the back of Morten Hjulmand after a corner, from where the ball was deflected unstoppably for Schmeichel.
Denmark was unable to react after the equaliser and the score remained 1:1. For Denmark, who were semi-finalists at the last European Championship, this is a first setback.
Passive Danes after the lead
The game had barely started After the Swiss referee Sandro Schärer blew the whistle, the Danes took control of the game. However, the first shot went to the Slovenians, with Sesko curling the ball from a long distance just past the crossbar (16′).
The Danes used this perfectly as a wake-up call and took the lead almost immediately through Christian Eriksen of all people. He had suffered a cardiac arrest in the opening match of the Danes at EURO 2020, and his life was hanging by a thread. Now, three years later, he was the linchpin of the Danish attack against Slovenia – and scored the goal that made it 1-0.
With the lead behind them, the Danes withdrew a little and gave the Slovenians more possession of the ball. The match between the two teams, who had already met in the qualification, became more balanced, but mostly took place between the penalty areas.
Höjlund with the preliminary decision on his feet
After the break, it was the Danes who had the majority of possession again. Slovenia tried to attack with long balls or high crosses to Sesko and Andraz Sporar. For a long time, however, they were only able to get close to the goal.
The Slovenians could thank their goalkeeper that Denmark could not increase their lead to 2-0: In the 65th minute, Jan Oblak parried a shot from Rasmus Höjlund from close range with his upper body. Janza made Höjlund pay dearly for his missed shot.
This is how it continues
The second matchday of Group C takes place on Thursday. Slovenia will face Serbia at 3 p.m., while Denmark will face England at 6 p.m. in a repeat of the 2021 semi-final. You can watch both games live on SRF.