David Hytner was at Wembley ... and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this one! Nighty night.
Gareth Southgate’s verdict. “I was very proud of their performance ... we were excellent for the opening period with 11 men, causing all sorts of problems down our right ... great interchange of play ... the sending off alters everything, and the penalty afterwards, but after then we showed resilience ... a great example of how to play with ten men pragmatically ... wait for the right moments to press and use the ball well when we could ... the team defended as a solid unit ... their keeper has made an amazing save and I couldn’t be prouder, not only tonight but the last ten days ... we’ve had to deal with any manner of changes, so we’ve come through as a resilient group ... the first yellow was a challenge Maguire didn’t need to make and put him on edge, the second his momentum took him through ... for me, he’s a top player and a massive part of what we do ... he’s having a period where he’s having a lot of stick thrown his way and he’ll have to deal with that, he’ll come through it, and he has our full support ... we have total belief in him ... he has been getting all sorts for a while from some people who should know better ... none of us like to be the centre of that sort of storm ... his profile has changed because of the club he plays at and the success he’s had with us, and is having one of those periods when everything is going against him ... you have to hang in and it will turn ... I don’t see the penalty at all, the less said the better ... the referee has sent James off for dissent.”
And now the captain Harry Kane. “A tough game ... proud of the boys, who gave everything ... we had control for the first 35 minutes ... whether it was or wasn’t a penalty, it happened, but after that we dug deep ... they didn’t create too many chances, we defended well, we had a few chances ourselves that on another day would have went in ... obviously disappointed we lost, but gotta be proud of the boys ... mistakes cost you, and that’s what happened today ... we’re a good unit and it’s a learning curve and a good experience going forward ... there were some decisions that didn’t go our way ... I don’t think tempers frayed ... it just wasn’t our night ... Maguire made a couple of challenges today that he’d love to have back, but it’s all part of the learning curve ... he’ll be devastated but he’ll bounce back, you go through ups and downs ... I don’t think we have discipline issues ... I can’t fault the boys ... the fight and spirit after the sending off was truly a great thing to be a part of.”
Sky have a word with Declan Rice. “It’s very tough to take ... it’s not the direction we wanted to head in ... if you look at our second-half performance, the lads dug in, showing strength, resilience and character ... we created some chances ... even though it’s a defeat, we can be proud of what we done in the second half ... in any game a red card changes something ... some of the decisions on the pitch were tough for us to take, the red card, the penalty ... some of the tackles our lads were putting in were perfect tackles but they were getting the foul for it ... the limelight is always on you when playing for England ... I know we’re a great bunch of lads and we’re focused for sure ... Maguire has always been amazing with me ... anyone can get a red card ... he’s been a fantastic servant and long may that continue.”
Trying to look on the bright side: England may have been both dreadfully poor and wretchedly ill-disciplined tonight, but Mason Mount and Conor Coady were both denied goals by, respectively, a magnificent close-range reaction save and an extremely intelligent goal-line clearance. The old thin line between success and failure, right there. In a parallel universe, the ten men managed to turn this round. Harry Maguire would have still been sent off, though.
That’s three red cards for England in the past 39 days! A rate of one every 13 days. England went the first 96 years of their existence before having someone sent off. Chuck in Kieran Trippier’s FA betting hearing and the Covid-related shenanigans of Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho, and Gareth Southgate has a little discipline problem to address.
RED CARD: James (England)
Yep, the referee flashed red at James, who got right up in his grille at the full-time whistle in the emotional style. Henderson tried to pull him away from trouble, but couldn’t get there in time, and out came the card. That’s the first time England have ever had two players sent off in the same game
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The winning penalty and a decisive clearance: what a way for Eriksen and Kjaer to celebrate their 100th caps! Denmark deserved the win, even if the award of their spot kick was soft. They had to do little more than be compact and competent, helped on their way by Harry Maguire’s personal implosion. England were extremely poor, save for decent performances from Reece James and Mason Mount ... although it looks like James might have blotted his copybook at the final whistle! The referee has shown him the red card. No idea yet what for. Stay tuned, as England’s night flits from fiasco to farce and back again.
FULL TIME: England 0-1 Denmark
Christian Eriksen’s first-half penalty, coupled with Simon Kjaer’s late clearance, is enough! The Danes go above England into second place in Group A2. Belgium go top, after their 2-1 win in Iceland, who are relegated.
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90 min +3: Pickford’s delivery is appalling and easily cleared by the first Danish defender. The England keeper has the good grace to smile sheepishly. That looks like it.
90 min +2: A free kick for England on the halfway line, to the left of the centre circle. Pickford comes up to take. England load the Danish box.
90 min +1: The first of three extra minutes passes by.
90 min: James crosses from the right. Kane gathers on the left, spins and chips into the six-yard box. Coady is free, level with the right-hand post. He guides a clever header towards the left of goal, Schmeichel caught flat footed. But Kjaer, on his 1ooth cap, reads the danger and heads off the line. What a clearance!
89 min: James is bowled over out on the right. A free kick and a chance to load the box, and play on Danish nerves. Philips hoicks long. Schmeichel punches clear under pressure from Calvert-Lewin.
88 min: Hojbjerg is replaced by Jensen.
86 min: Philips joins him in the book for his role in a theatrical tussle with Poulsen over a dead ball.
85 min: Henderson is booked for excessive yap, English agitation rising as time runs out.
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83 min: Kane slides in on Delaney. Free kick, nothing more. For a second, it looked like the red mist was coming down, but the England captain gathered himself just in time, pulling out of a full-blooded challenge.
81 min: Poulsen has a crack from distance. His daisycutter, aimed for the bottom right, is easily gathered by Pickford.
79 min: The corner, sent in from the right, is flicked on by Kane and drops to Coady at the far post, six yards out. Coady attempts to spin and shoot, but Calvert-Lewin, Maehle and Schmeichel are all in close attendance, confusing the issue one way or another. Coady slips and goes down. Kane screams for a penalty. England aren’t getting payback for the soft one they conceded in the first half. It looks the correct decision: if there was any contact between Coady and Maehle, it was extremely minimal.
78 min: James sends a fierce, rising drive straight at Schmeichel, who tips over easily enough.
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77 min: Mings pearls a fine long pass down the left. Calvert-Lewin chests down magnificently for Kane, who waits for Delaney to foul him from behind, just to the left of the D. Big chance coming up from the free kick.
76 min: Henderson comes on for Rice.
75 min: From the corner, Kjaer sends a soft header straight into the grateful arms of Pickford.
74 min: Phillips ships possession in the midfield, and Eriksen launches a three-on-two. He slips the ball left for Sisto, who should shoot but looks for Poulsen at the far post, allowing Coady to deflect behind for a corner.
73 min: Braithwaite makes way for Vestergaard.
72 min: Southgate refreshes his front line, replacing Mount with Sancho on the left, and Rashford with Calvert-Lewin on the right.
71 min: The clock ticks on, and England continue to do very little in attack. Denmark seem happy enough to stroke it around the middle. They haven’t caused the ten men too much stress.
69 min: Phillips clatters into Poulsen. It’s a garden-variety foul, but one that for some reason causes Southgate to lose his supercool on the touchline. The referee trots over and tells him to pipe down.
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67 min: Denmark should be two up. Sisto jinks his way past James on the left and crosses to the far post. Walker is asleep, and allows Wass to ghost into space. He heads unchallenged. six yards out, but somehow misses the target. England ... and especially Walker ... get away with one.
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66 min: ... Mount rises, sending a powerful close-range header towards the top right. But Schmeichel reacts superbly and sticks out a strong arm to parry. Denmark clear the rebound. That’s as close as England have come. Mount has impressed tonight. It’s been a good evening for Chelsea’s young lads.
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65 min: Kane has a dig from distance. Maehle blocks easily enough. But England come again, Rashford earning a corner down the left. From which ...
63 min: James has been very impressive on his full debut. He chests down a looping pass out on the right wing, brings the ball inside, and sends a powerful curler towards the bottom left. Schmeichel reads it well and swallows with ease, but that’s a decent effort from the very promising young Chelsea star.
61 min: This is very scrappy now, and not particularly entertaining. Denmark will be happy enough with the way it’s going, I guess, while England will take succour from keeping the 11 men at arm’s length easily enough.
59 min: I spoke too soon. It’s parping away again. I can only apologise. I’m really, really, really sorry.
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57 min: At least the recording of that effing band has been switched off.
56 min: Delaney scampers into the England box from the right and looks for Braithwaite with a pullback. Coady does well to block out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
55 min: Rashford tries to make something happen for England, dropping a shoulder to breeze in from the left and fizzing a low shot wide of the target. Not his best effort, but it’s something, and the only positive act we’ve seen from England since the restart.
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53 min: Denmark are totally bossing possession, making full use of their extra man.
51 min: Kjaer creams long. Poulsen tries to head down for Sisto, but instead accidentally flicks a header towards the top right. Pickford gathers the looping ball without drama or fuss.
49 min: Phillips is upended just inside the Denmark half. England line up on the edge of the box. Phillips can’t beat the first man with his free kick, and Eriksen romps up the other end. Not for the first time today, he’s got options but fails to take them. England get away with one there.
48 min: Poulsen, Sisto and Eriksen ping pretty triangles 30 yards from goal. Eriksen breaks the spell by wanging a shot towards the Hanger Lane gyratory.
47 min: Denmark establish some early second-half control by stroking it around the middle of the park awhile. England can’t get a sniff at the moment, though aren’t allowing themselves to be pulled out of shape.
Denmark get the second half underway. They’ve made two changes in defence. Christensen, on a booking, is replaced by Jorgensen, while Skov makes way for Maehle at left-back.
Half-time correspondence. “I’m not English and thus my familiarity with England national team players pre-2014 is pretty much non-existent, which is why I really enjoy lists like the one you posted before kick-off,” writes Matt Burtz. “It caused me to look up John Atyeo and learn that he is Bristol City’s all-time record goalscorer, he became a highly respected mathematics teacher after retirement, and he only scored five goals for England. Not a bad life all the way around, I would say.” Indeed. A great man. The RTÉ commentary of his goal that sent England to the 1958 World Cup finals at the Republic of Ireland’s expense is well worth a listen. Joy for Atyeo and England ... and heart-plunging Irish despair captured by a few seconds of poetic silence.
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HALF TIME: England 0-1 Denmark
Denmark have been the better team and deserve to lead on balance, though the penalty they were awarded was preposterously soft. As for Harry Maguire: time for a few slow, deep breaths and a long rethink.
45 min +1: Hojbjerg is booked for an overly aggressive pirouette that catches his Spurs team-mate Kane’s knee. Ah to hear Jose Mourinho’s inner monologue right now.
45 min: It’ll be another three minutes until they hear it.
44 min: England haven’t responded to falling behind. Denmark are hogging the ball, with Eriksen at the centre of everything as he returns to his old stomping ground. England are desperate to hear the half-time whistle.
42 min: Another fine cross from the right from James. Again nobody in blue reacts. But the Chelsea man has been a rare positive for England tonight.
40 min: Harry Maguire, though.
38 min: A few noggins are going here. Now Christensen goes into the book for a brazen rugby tackle on Kane. He didn’t need to take one for his team; Kane was unlikely to latch onto the ball he was chasing.
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37 min: Dolberg hasn’t recovered from that lunge by Maguire. He’s replaced by Sisto.
36 min: Well that unravelled quickly for England. What a total farce. A truly idiotic bit of play from Maguire, followed by Pickford and Walker getting into an awful tangle. Mings comes on for the sacrificed Maitland-Niles.
GOAL! England 0-1 Denmark (Eriksen 35 pen)
Eriksen calmly swishes the spot kick down the middle, as Pickford commits himself.
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Penalty for Denmark!
34 min: Delaney, Walker and Pickford get in a tangle just inside the England box, competing for a high ball. Delaney goes over, and the referee points at the spot, presumably for some Walker contact on Delaney as the pair high-kick. It’s soft, but the referee gives it.
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33 min: Dolberg stays down a while, having felt that one. Happily he’s up again quickly enough.
RED CARD! Maguire (England)
31 min: Maguire should have walked for his early challenge on Poulsen. He’s walking now, though. A second yellow card as he miscontrols in the midfield, then lunges after the loose ball, connecting with Dolberg’s ankle. That’s clumsy, idiotic, and arguably should have been another straight red. What a fiasco.
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29 min: Rice wedges a fine diagonal ball towards Mount, on the right-hand corner of the Denmark six-yard box. Mount clips back for Kane, who can’t sort his feet out and sends a weak, diluted rabona - a Ribena? - dribbling towards Schmeichel.
28 min: Maguire, stretching for a loose ball, slips and squats awkwardly. He gets up and feels his hamstring. He’s back up and running after a grimace and a few ginger steps, though.
27 min: Eriksen’s flat free kick is thoroughly useless, failing to clear the first man.
26 min: James clumsily brings down the in-flight Skov as the Dane makes good along the left. This will be a free kick in a very dangerous position. Eriksen to take, aiming to deliver into a loaded box.
24 min: A sensational, inviting cross-chip from the right by Mount. Neither Kane nor Rashford anticipated it. Wass assumed they had, and heads behind needlessly for a corner. The set piece is wasted. A catalogue of errors.
23 min: Poulsen, quarterbacking from deep, sends the lively Dolberg skittering off down the inside-right channel. Coady does well to usher him further right, though he still manages to pull the ball across the face of goal. Pickford wasn’t totally ready for that, and had Braithwaite been a bit livelier in the chase, he might have got to it.
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22 min: Some nondescript midfield faffing. “That kit Lineker is wearing is, without a doubt, the worst Everton strip of all time,” writes Jim Lynch. “It only lasted a season before being the first inhabitant of the bad memories bin now also occupied by Sam Allardyce.”
20 min: Mount’s persistence down the right instigates a game of pinball in the Danish box, and then a corner. From the set piece, Phillips swings into the mixer from deep. Kjaer sweeps clear with plenty of blue shirts lurking.
18 min: Rashford and Kane attempt a one-two on the edge of the Danish box, but get it all wrong. Eriksen is permitted to launch a counter, and though he’s got options either side, with England extremely light at the back, opts to welly wildly over the bar. What a waste.
16 min: Rashford has a crack from distance. It swerves and dips towards the bottom left, but it’s read well by Schmeichel. A nice open feel to this game. Both teams have looked lively in attack. So much for the conservative reputation of both these teams.
15 min: “Surely one of the small mercies of behind-closed-doors games should be that we don’t have to suffer the appalling England ‘band’. Poor show, Sky.” Andrew Goudie speaks for me. I suspect he speaks for all of us.
13 min: Mount sashays down the right and breezes past Delaney. As he enters the box, he waits for a nibble from behind, but Delaney smartly stands off, and Mount eventually runs out of time and room, the ball dribbling apologetically towards Schmeichel.
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11 min: Hojbjerg crosses deep from the right. England half clear. The ball drops to Skov, who attempts to blooter home from 25 yards. That one’s off down the North Circular, halfway to Ikea.
9 min: Nothing comes of the second corner. But this is a fast start by Denmark, and England suddenly look a little unnerved. Maitland-Niles and Pickford conspire to make a meal of a simple backpass-hoof-clear routine, but eventually get the job done.
8 min: Poulsen makes good down the right and whips towards the near post. Dolberg looks to bundle home, but Coady prods out for a corner just in time. From the set piece, Eriksen pulls one back for Dolberg, who slapshots inches wide of the right-hand post. In fact the ball took a little nick off Phillips, and it’ll be another corner.
6 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
5 min: Maguire is booked for an ugly lunge on Poulsen. Studs up, just above the ankle. Poor form. He’s fortunate Poulsen didn’t make a big deal of that. He’s fortunate that he’s not been sent off. Poulsen meanwhile can count himself lucky that he’s not seriously injured.
4 min: James, a surprise selection at right-back ahead of Alexander-Arnold, starts confidently with a fine run down the wing, swinging a dangerous cross through the box. Not far away from Kane at all. The captain gives the full debutant the thumbs up.
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3 min: Some cute play by Rashford as he tiptoes on the byline to the left of the Denmark goal. The Danish defence are, to a man, afraid to lunge in. Rashford flicks into the centre, but there’s nobody in white blue there to take advantage.
2 min: Kane latches onto a loose ball and drives down the middle of the park. He takes an early whack from distance, but his shot deflects off Christensen and loops harmlessly into the arms of Schmeichel, who will be grateful for the early touch.
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Here we go ... and England are wearing blue, while Denmark sport second-choice white. Gah! Anyway, the players take a knee: no room for racism. Then the hosts get the game underway.
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The teams are out! The national anthems of Denmark and England ring around an empty, eerie Wembley. We’ll be off in a minute. “I suspect another lovely Hummel shirt may be playing no small part in a certain Italian Renaissance currently underway in L4 4EL,” opines Grant Tennille. It is a beauty, yes. Everton’s most eye-catching since this one, though look what happened in that.
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Thomas Lund Hansen sends his Roligan regards: “Phil Neal might have scored against Denmark but over here we’ll always remember him for his handball at Wembley in 1983. Allan Simonsen scored from the spot, Denmark won, we qualified for Euro84 and went on to become - sort of - famous for the free flowing game known from WC 1986. On behalf of every Danish footy fan; thanks Phil Neal!”
Meanwhile on the same subject, sort of, Simon McMahon adds: “I always think of that Danish team of the mid-80s as Scotland in disguise. When you look at the Scots squad from Mexico 86 and the team that started the first group match against the Danes - Leighton, Miller, McLeish, Gough, Malpas, Nicol, Strachan, Souness, Aitken, Nicholas, Sturrock, then see that Paul McStay, Dave Narey, Frank McAvennie and Eamon Bannon were on the bench, and that Steve Archibald, Graeme Sharp and Davie Cooper were also in the squad, it’s a wonder we didn’t win the tournament at a canter. We decided to finish bottom of the group instead. Very Scottish, as was Denmark’s crash and burn v Spain. Kindred spirits.”
Gareth Southgate speaks! “The best teams back up the big results, and that’s the big challenge for us tonight ... When we didn’t have the ball in the second half [against Belgium] we were almost able to dictate the game without the ball ... What we’ve got to add tonight is a bit more attacking guile, more threat, more opportunities on goal ... We need to get our wing-backs higher up the pitch ... We have to be a bit more clever in our movements.” He also straight-batted a question about Harry Kane’s level of fitness, while completely bodyswerving references to the popular but still-benched Jack Grealish, and naughty-step-sitters Kieran Trippier and Ben Chilwell. A media management masterclass. It’s like PMQs only we learn even less.
Take a look at some of the players who have scored for England against Denmark! Tommy Taylor. Nat Lofthouse. Duncan Edwards. John Atyeo. Jack Charlton. George Eastham. Trevor Francis. Kevin Keegan. Phil Neal. Gary Lineker. David Platt. Michael Owen. Wayne Rooney. Emile Heskey. Joe Cole. Daniel Sturridge. Given the teams have only met 20 times before, that’s a lot of talent from a small sample. You could write a half-decent potted history of English football naming that lot alone. Anyone getting on the scoresheet tonight will find themselves in exalted company.
Jose Mourinho will be delighted to see Harry Kane return to the England starting XI. Muscle fatigue be damned; Gareth Southgate insists he’s taking no unnecessary risks.
Kane’s inclusion is one of five changes from the 2-1 victory over Belgium. Kalvin Phillips, Conor Coady, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reece James also come in, the latter pair making their first senior starts. Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Dominic Calvert-Lewin drop out.
Denmark meanwhile name Christian Eriksen and Simon Kjaer. Both collect their 100th cap this evening.
The teams
England: Pickford, James, Maitland-Niles, Walker, Coady, Maguire, Rice, Phillips, Kane, Mount, Rashford.
Denmark: Schmeichel, Kjaer, Christensen, Skov, Delaney, Braithwaite, Eriksen, Dolberg, Wass, Poulsen, Hojbjerg.
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Preamble
Ah, Denmark. Any old excuse, eh?
They come to town tonight sporting a Hummel shirt not quite as iconic as that one. But still rather lovely, no? Christian Eriksen, who has plenty of experience at Wembley as a former Spur, will pull on that beautiful red top for the 100th time, looking for a win that would take the Danes to the top of Nations League A2.
England are favourites, though. They played out a drab 0-0 draw last month in Copenhagen but have since beaten the number-one team in the world, Belgium, 2-1. Another victory for Gareth Southgate’s side this evening will keep them top of the group, leaving them needing only a win over Iceland and a draw in Belgium to guarantee another appearance in the Nations League Finals. All to play for, then. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm BST.
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