MUNICH, Germany: Denmark progressed to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after a goalless draw with Serbia on Tuesday which allowed them to seal second spot in Group C, ahead of third-place Slovenia on European qualifiers ranking.
The 0-0 stalemate finished with the same scoreline as England and Slovenia’s parallel group match, with England emerging group winners.
With Denmark and Slovenia both finishing on the same points total and goal tally, second-place — and a meeting with hosts Germany — was decided on the basis of European qualifiers ranking.
While Denmark face Germany in Dortmund, England will return to Gelsenkirchen for a meeting with a third-placed side.
Slovenia will take on a group winner while Serbia were eliminated as last in the group.
Luka Jovic’s stoppage-time equalizer against Slovenia at this venue on Thursday had kept Serbian hopes alive of reaching the last-16 in their first Euros as an independent nation.
Having never beaten Denmark, Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic backed his charges to “change history” against the 1992 Euros champions.
The Danes, semifinalists at this competition in 2021, knew a draw would be enough to qualify but needed a win while hoping for an England loss to avoid meeting hosts Germany in the last 16.
Despite Stojkovic’s side needing a win to progress, the Danes were more willing to attack early, with the Serbs rarely venturing into Danish territory.
Denmark caught the Serbian defense napping early, Christian Eriksen’s free-kick finding Jonas Wind alone in the box, but the forward shot directly at goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic on the turn.
The Danes’ best phase came after 20 minutes, Eriksen forcing a fingertip save from Rajkovic and then pinning Serbia back with a series of corners.
Eriksen and Wind combined again from a corner to have the ball in the net on the 27-minute mark, but the midfielder’s direct cross had drifted out.
Jovic, brought from the bench at half-time, immediately posed questions of the Danish defense, pressuring Joachim Andersen into an own goal eight minutes in but the flag went up again for offside.
VAR confirmed Jovic, Serbia’s late hero against Slovenia, was inches offside.
Eriksen, Denmark’s most dangerous creative outlet, laid on an inch-perfect cross for Jannik Vestergaard after 65 minutes but the Leicester City defender’s header was gobbled up by a thankful Rajkovic.
Stojkovic went all out in the hope of a winner, bringing Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic on alongside forward Jovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, but the Serbs were unable to break through.
Denmark through to Euros last-16 with Serbia stalemate
https://arab.news/8z3xd
Denmark through to Euros last-16 with Serbia stalemate
- With Denmark and Slovenia both finishing on the same points total and goal tally, second-place — and a meeting with hosts Germany — was decided on the basis of European qualifiers ranking
Liverpool boss Slot to meet Salah amid tension
- The Dutchman moved to calm speculation over Salah’s future after the Egyptian’s fiery criticism of the club
- Salah, nicknamed ‘The Egyptian King,’ has endured a turbulent campaign following an extraordinary 2024-25 season
Arne Slot said he has no reason to want Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool as he prepared for a face-to-face meeting with the forward on Friday to decide his involvement in Saturday’s Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Dutchman moved to calm speculation over Salah’s future after the Egyptian’s fiery criticism of the club following last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United, sparking questions about his future at the Merseyside club, who are languishing in 10th place with 23 points from 15 matches, a stark contrast to last year’s title-winning campaign.
Salah was left out of the team that traveled to Italy for their 1-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan on Tuesday.
“I will have a conversation with Mo this morning, the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow,” Slot told reporters on Friday.
When asked if he wanted Salah to stay at the club, Slot said: “I have no reasons to not want him to stay.”
Pressed on Salah’s status, Slot refused to offer any guarantees.
“I think the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. You can keep on trying but there is not much more to say about it,” he said. “After the Sunderland game there were a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, between him and me.”
Isak doubt
The decision to leave Salah at home for the trip to Milan was a club decision, Slot said.
“I am always in contact with them (sporting director Richard Hughes and chief executive of football Michael Edwards) but when it comes to the decision making of the line-up or the squad, they leave that open to me. That’s not to say I don’t talk to them. Mainly Richard, not Michael. The decision to play a player or have them in the squad is entirely up to me.”
There is a question mark over Alexander Isak’s status for Saturday with Slot saying the forward picked up a knock in the first half against Inter Milan, and that he will be evaluated on Friday before they decide whether or not he can start.
Slot is pleased with how Isak and Hugo Ekitike have played together, saying their partnership will continue to improve.
“The more they play together, the more they will adapt to each other and the better they will cooperate,” Slot said. “I saw promising things from the both of them, it’s only the second time they’ve played together. We will see more of them playing together in the future.”
Slot will have Federico Chiesa available on Saturday after he recovered from illness, while Wataru Endo and Cody Gakpo are expected to be out for a “few weeks.”
Salah, nicknamed “The Egyptian King,” has endured a turbulent campaign following an extraordinary 2024-25 season. He is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, leaving Liverpool to attempt to extend their four-game unbeaten run across all competitions while silencing the off-field turmoil.
Whether he returns to Anfield afterwards remains uncertain, with Salah hinting that his Liverpool chapter may be drawing to a close.
