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Christian Eriksen’s first-half penalty proved to be the difference between England and Denmark in their Nations League encounter as the Danes handed the Three Lions a 1-0 defeat at the Wembley Stadium.
It was the visitors who started the game on the front foot, with the home side taking their time to settle into a rhythm. However, just as England were growing into the game, their fortunes took a big hit as Harry Maguire was sent off after half an hour.
The next blow for England came just a couple of minutes after going down to ten men. Denmark were awarded a penalty in the 34th minute after Kyle Walker was adjudged to have fouled Thomas Delaney in the box.
The spot-kick was coolly dispatched by Eriksen to compound England’s misery, as they went a man down and a goal down in the space of less than five minutes.
The second half began with the Danes playing safe and preserving their lead, while the 10 men of England were left to rely on Denmark making an error.
This strategy nearly paid dividends for England as the visitors continued with their conservative approach, allowing their hosts to venture forward regularly. Mason Mount was denied by a fantastic reflex save from Kasper Schmeichel, while a goal-line clearance from Simon Kjær kept out Conor Coady’s goal-bound header.
Despite their best efforts, however, the deficit proved too much for the home side to make up. To make matters worse, Reece James was sent off after the final whistle for mouthing off to the referee as frustrations mounted for the Three Lions.
On that note, here are 5 major talking points from Denmark’s first competitive win over England since 1983.
#1 One eye on the Euros already for Gareth Southgate?
Although the Euros are several months away still, there are only a couple of international breaks before Gareth Southgate has to pick the squad that will be representing England in the tournament.
As such, a number of new faces have been seen in the England team over the recent round of international fixtures as Southgate seeks to find the best combination of players to suit his style of play.
The likes of Kalvin Phillips, Conor Coady, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles made their England debuts last month, with Danny Ings also earning himself a recall to the national side. This month, it was Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Bukayo Saka, and Reece James who got their first England caps, and Southgate seems to have decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation going forward.
It was clear that the debutants were not just there to make up the numbers either. Saka and Calvert-Lewin started in the friendly against Wales, while James was handed his first start for the Three Lions against Denmark tonight.
However, with Ben Chilwell injured and Bukayo Saka having only recently made his international bow, a left-sided defender to marshal that flank seems to be the only remaining piece of the puzzle for Southgate to locate.
Having mixed and matched quite a lot over the past few international fixtures, and with another round of international fixtures coming up next month, it will be interesting to see how Southgate’s squad evolves as the Euros draw closer.
#2 Eriksen marks landmark appearance with a goal
Both Christian Eriksen and Simon Kjær were playing their 100th games for the Danish national team. The former marked the special occasion by sending his side into the lead with his first-half penalty.
Eriksen was heavily involved in most of Denmark’s attacking play throughout, as he regularly fed his fellow attackers with trademark accurate passes besides sending a few inviting balls into the box.
Eriksen’s influential performance for Denmark also serves as a timely reminder for his Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte ahead of the Milan derby at the weekend, where, interestingly, he will face off against his countryman and fellow centurion Kjær.
#3 Maguire’s misery continues
It has not been a pleasant last few months for Harry Maguire on a personal level, with his club, or on the international stage. The Manchester United man has not started the 2020-21 season well, as he came into it on the back of a tumultuous off-season that seems to have severely affected his on-pitch performances.
Having been part of an extremely fragile-looking United defence that has already conceded 11 goals in their first three matches, Maguire did not fare any better on this occasion.
His first booking came after just five minutes for an ill-judged two-footed challenge, and it was perhaps the fact that it was so early in the game that he didn’t see red at that stage itself.
After a torrid first half that saw him take some extremely nervy touches, it was another errant attempt at controlling the ball that saw him lunge rashly on Kasper Dolberg and pick up his marching orders at the half-hour mark.
If Maguire’s recent performances are anything to go by, the door seems to be open for the likes of Tyrone Mings and Michael Keane to stake a claim for a place in the England backline. And the signs are not encouraging for Manchester United’s leaky defence either.
#4 England & Denmark much improved a month on from reverse fixture
This was the second meeting between England and Denmark in the Nations League in just over a month, with the two sides playing out a dreary 0-0 draw in Copenhagen last month.
That round of international fixtures was played just before the start of the 2020-21 Premier League season after a much shorter break between seasons than usual, and the lack of match fitness in both camps was quite evident.
However, just over a month on from the Copenhagen fixture and with a few weeks’ worth of domestic action under their belts, both sets of players looked much sharper and fitter this time around.
Even though the game was decided by the solitary goal, the result was heavily affected by the early red card. It would have been interesting to see how it might have panned out had both sides retained their full complement of players.
#5 Belgium become the big winners on the night
Despite suffering a defeat at the hands of England just three days ago, Denmark’s win over the Three Lions sees Belgium claim the top spot in Group A2 in the Nations League.
Belgium defeated Iceland 2-1 to sit atop the group standings on 9 points from 4 matches, followed by Denmark and England on 7 apiece, with the Danes in second on goal difference.
With a tough trip to Brussels awaiting them before a match against Iceland at Wembley, England will have to be at the top of their game if they are to progress from this tough group.
The ill-discipline showed by Maguire and James against Denmark means that Southgate will be two defenders light for the Belgium game, and this is another cause for concern.
