Harry Kane’s first-half goal was not enough to prevent England from another disjointed performance and a frustrating 1-1 draw against Denmark at Euro 2024.
The England captain scored his first of the tournament after 18 minutes, providing a cool finish with his left foot following a fine piece of opportunism from Kyle Walker, who stole the ball from Andreas Christensen and crossed into the middle.
But England could not hold on and spurned the opportunity to guarantee first place in Group C. The result kept it top of the group on four points, but means there is still work to do when it faces Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday.
That was because Denmark responded quickly and effectively, as Gareth Southgate’s side went into its shell in the period that followed Kane’s opener.
Morten Hjulmand was responsible for pulling his team level, unleashing a superb shot from outside the area on 34 minutes, rattling it past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford off the inside of the post.
The outcome will only raise further questions about Southgate’s approach, as the creative duo of Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham again failed to connect with any kind of fluidity.
The experiment of playing Trent Alexander-Arnold out of position in a central midfield role may have now been abandoned. Alexander-Arnold was removed early in the second half, with Conor Gallagher brought on the replace him.
Soon after, Foden hit the post, a left-foot effort from the edge of the area reminiscent of several of his strikes for Manchester City in the past season. This time, however, despite beating Kasper Schmeichel, he was inches away from the desired result.
[Related: Euro 2024 highlights: England draws 1-1 with underdog Denmark]
In broad terms, England’s position is far from a disaster. There are some similarities to its World Cup group in 2022, where an opening victory was followed by a draw – against the United States – and kept its fate in its own hands.
Yet more was expected from one of the most-fancied teams pre-tournament, especially the combination of Bellingham and Foden, the respective La Liga and English Premier League players of the season.
Southgate had named an unchanged team from the shaky victory over Serbia, but made a flurry of substitutions midway through the second period, essentially replacing his entire frontline.
Foden made way for Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka was switched out for Eberechi Eze, and, in the most surprising move of all, captain Kane was taken off for the incoming Ollie Watkins.
Watkins soon got into the action, running on to a through ball from Bellingham, but his angled shot was well blocked by Schmeichel.
Denmark grew in confidence and had chances of its own, with Rasmus Hojlund and Piere-Emile Hojbjerg both threatening.
After Hojlund was replaced by Yussuf Poulsen, Mikkel Damsgaard, scorer against England in the Euro 2020 semi at Wembley, smacked a long -ange effort that Jordan Pickford had to move quickly to parry.
Hojberg provided another blast that caused Pickford some trouble, the bounce unpredictable on a poor surface that regularly chopped up over the course of the evening.
Midfielder Christian Eriksen tied his country’s all-time record by making his 132nd international appearance, as Denmark kept its hopes alive, and could still win the group if it beats Serbia on Tuesday.
As the game wound down Declan Rice capped a disappointing game by giving the ball away, with defender Marc Guehi forced into a desperation tackle to avert more danger.
The reaction from England’s public and press is unlikely to be positive. Southgate, and his team, have work to do.
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