Three years is enough time for the world to change. Governments rise and fall. Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined English football, played for a season-and-a-half, and left again. Watford have had 10 managers.
But let’s go back to a balmy day in June 2021, where England and Denmark played the European Championship semi-final at Wembley.
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There was the electricity of Raheem Sterling. Mikkel Damsgaard’s 30-yard free-kick, the first time England conceded all tournament. And even when it was not high quality, it was riveting. Narratives abounded for both teams, whether it was England reaching the final of their home tournament or Denmark somehow recovering from Christian Eriksen’s on-field cardiac arrest to make the semi-finals.
These were two teams on the up — England with a young and vibrant squad and Denmark with the feeling they had returned to European football’s top table.
Fast forward three years, and both teams have been central characters in Euro 2024’s Group C — the worst group in tournament history.
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Sound extreme? Well, not according to the statistics. In six matches, there has been only one win — and that was England eking out a 1-0 victory over Serbia. The draws? Not even high-scoring: the best effort was 1-1. All that has led to just seven goals being scored — the fewest in the tournament by a distance, with Group E and F still to play their full complement of games.
But this is not just bad by 2024’s standards — it is bad compared to any European Championship. Their only rival in mediocrity? Group C in 2016 — which also had only seven goals scored. In some ways, however, the pedigree here was higher. That group was hardly filled with giants — outside Germany, the sides were Ukraine, Poland, and Northern Ireland.
But it is also the style of play. Was this the result of outstanding defences, a four-way battle between the likes of Italy 2006, France 1998, Spain 2010 and West Germany in 1974. No.
Remember that England came into this tournament with major doubts over their back four, and with good reason. Denmark’s centre-back trio of Andreas Christensen, Joachim Andersen, and Jannik Vestergaard, though strong, are hardly fear-inducing.
So think about the attacks. How many times were there genuine moments to rise from your seat? England’s opening 20 minutes against Serbia and Jude Bellingham’s opener? Morten Hjulmand’s equaliser against England? Luka Jovic’s late equaliser against Slovenia? Outside of that — nothing.
Some of the frustration surrounds the teams that these sides should be; the disappointment of spurned promise.
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England’s attack has the Bundesliga’s top scorer, La Liga’s player of the year, and the Premier League player of the year. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were also standouts as Arsenal almost won the English top flight.
Denmark, too, should be better than they have been. Their performance against England has covered for two displays against Slovenia and Serbia which were badly lacking in creativity — and a cruel reading says that they should have taken advantage of their midfield dominance over England to win that game.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side certainly should have won a match in these group stages. Their back three is solid and technical, the midfield can win dogfights, and in Manchester United pair Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund they have both a creator and a goalscorer.
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What Hjulmand lacks is depth in attack — if Plan A isn’t going his way, he lacks the personnel to change matters. He replaced both Hojlund and Jonas Wind before the hour against Serbia but his side got actively worse. Similar issues persist at wing-back where, outside of Joakim Maehle, who has lost a yard of pace since 2021, their options are relatively thin.
The disappointment of Group C should be predominantly levied at England and Denmark, by a distance the most established and talented teams. Slovenia earning draws against both of them should be applauded.
But there is even the sadness that Slovenia and Serbia’s biggest stars failed to spark. Benjamin Sesko, chased by virtually every top club in Europe, failed to score, though he had been contending with a thigh injury throughout the tournament. Serbia’s high-profile strikers — Aleksandr Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic — all remained goalless.
Juxtaposition is also a funny thing. Group C aside, this has been an excellent tournament replete with long-range screamers, comedy own goals, late drama and surprise entities. One of the matches of the tournament — Austria 3-2 Netherlands — was played out a couple of hours before the numbing tedium served up by Group C later that evening.
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One narrative in Germany has been that international football escapes the worst trappings of modern football. National pride replaces state ownership and league titles decided by legal debates. But the way that Denmark and Slovenia’s qualification was finalised — on a yellow-card countback — even took that away. The dying seconds were spent completing a fearful flick through competition regulations.
We remember tournaments for moments, not results. Group C provided neither.
“I think football’s got to a stage where at this level, every team is so good,” said Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. “They’re so well-organised, they’re crazy fit, they have an idea of how they want to play.
“It’s just making the games very tactical, very difficult, because teams are defending so well. It’s very tough to break teams down and when you reach this level, there are no bad teams.”
But with three teams through, who scored a total of six goals between them, the lingering feeling is that conservative play was rewarded. Why were there so many fewer goals than other groups?
“Good goalkeeping,” Schmeichel winked.
(Top photos: Christian Eriksen and Jude Bellingham; Getty Images)
