Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Group C - Denmark v England - Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt, Germany - June 20, 2024 Denmark's Morten Hjulmand celebrates scoring their first goal with Rasmus Hojlund and Joakim Maehle REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - Denmark went into their European Championship Group C clash with England on Thursday as underdogs but left the Frankfurt Arena with a touch of regret they did not collect three points in a performance to boost confidence for the rest of the tournament.
England took the lead through Harry Kane but when Morten Hjulmand equalised following a mistake from the latter, Denmark seized control of the contest against a retreating opponent who appeared to have no answer to their tenacity in the 1-1 draw.
"It is mixed feelings, we had chances and had the belief we could get three points, but we played a good game," Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen told reporters.
"I saw a team (England) that we could play well against, a team that are among the favourites, and that is something we should take with us to give us confidence going into the next match (against Serbia on Tuesday)."
Denmark right back Joakim Maehle echoed those sentiments and believes the Danes missed an opportunity for victory and what would have been a major scalp.
"I am a little bit disappointed with the result, but that is the way it is. I think we can be proud and satisfied," he said. "It shows how good a team we are, how strong we are. It gives us confidence.
"The next game is really important, we have to analyse, prepare and recover to play well."
Denmark, who were ousted by England in the semi-finals three years ago, have two points from their first two games following a 1-1 draw with Slovenia in their opener and will advance to the last-16 with a win over Serbia.
Any other result will see them relying on results elsewhere and their fate in the hands of others. The top two teams in each of the six pools advance to the knockout stage along with the four best third-placed teams.
(Writing by Nick Said; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
