Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand sent a class message to his England counterpart Gareth Southgate following their Euro 2020 semi-final on Wednesday.
Southgate guided his nation to their first major final in 55 years with an extra time victory over the Danes at Wembley.
It was a painful way for Hjulmand’s side to exit the tournament after an emotional campaign which began with the harrowing incident of Christian Eriksen collapsing in their opening game against Finland.
The Danes lost their first two matches of the tournament but bounced back in impressive fashion with three successive victories prior to their last four exit.
Harry Kane’s strike in the first half of extra time decided the clash in favour of England, following on from a controversially awarded penalty where Raheem Sterling went down under Joakim Maehle’s challenge.
Kasper Schmeichel’s saved Kane’s spot kick but was unable to stop the rebound, which ultimately sealed England’s progress through to the final against Italy on Sunday.
Hjulmand paid tribute to Southgate following the game, congratulating him for the job he had done at the helm of his national side and his trust in young players.
The Danish boss said: “I want to congratulate my colleague Gareth. I followed what the FA has done and how he works with the young players, gets involved and how he behaves with the values he has.
“How he represents and communicates is outstanding. Congratulations Gareth, you are doing a great job in a difficult job.”
Hjulmand was unable to hide his disappointment at the nature in which the game was settled with the penalty harshly awarded against his side.
He was unhappy that there was a second ball on the pitch during the build-up but also did not believe there was sufficient contact to merit a spot kick.
“It was a penalty which should not have been a penalty. It is something which annoys me right now. We are very disappointed,” Hjulmand added.
“You cannot pass by the ball on the pitch which has so much influence on the game.
“I know it sounds weird right now but I cannot help having these feelings. One thing is to lose a game, it happens, but losing this way is disappointing because these guys have fought a lot.
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“It feels bitter but we have to digest this before we can discuss these feelings. It’s a bitter way to leave the tournament.
“The way we lost makes it harder to understand why we lost. I have to be careful with what I say. We have an amazing group and we definitely can do something great again.
“Maybe it is easier for me to say how I feel in a few days.”
Mikkel Damsgaard’s stunning free-kick opened the scoring for Hjulmand’s side on the half hour mark but the score was levelled nine minutes later through Simon Kjaer’s own goal from Bukayo Saka’s cross.
