Neither Denmark nor England will be all that happy with how they opened Euro 2024.
For the Three Lions, they’ll be relieved to at least have three points thanks to a 1-0 win over Serbia, but the performance was drab and brought up familiar criticisms of Gareth Southgate’s side.
They were resolute on defense, but uninspiring going forward.
That’s tough to swallow for a team with as much playmaking talent as anybody in this tournament.
Denmark will be feeling plenty of pressure after a 1-1 draw with Slovenia.
The Danes started well and could have put the game away with a second goal in the first half, but they allowed Slovenia to hang around and paid the price.
Denmark was a tad fortunate not to lose given how the final 30 minutes played out.
You’d expect England to come out with more sizzle in Thursday’s Group C match against Denmark in Frankfurt, Germany (noon ET).
But that will be easier said than done against a Danish side that should be tough to break down and is dangerous in matches where they can sit deep and look to punish on the counter.
It won’t sit well with the press in England, but there’s every chance that the Three Lions look similar to the team that grinded out a victory against Serbia.
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They will be confident their defense can keep the Danes in check and will be well aware of the threat that Denmark poses going the other way.
This should be a stodgy contest, which puts value on the draw.
THE PLAY: England-Denmark draw (+270, DraftKings)Â