Denmark vs Serbia live updates: Euro 2024 match team news ...

25 Jun 2024
Why a goalless draw seems unlikely today…

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In attack, Serbia can be devastating. They have scored in 34 out of 40 Dragan Stojkovic’s games and have scored three or more on 13 occasions. They won their 2022 Nations League group featuring Norway, Slovenia (also in this Euros group) and Sweden, with the best attack of any League B team (13 goals in six games).

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They have been unexpectedly gun-shy in Germany but Stojkovic has said he still has faith in his “golden generation”.

How Serbia like to play their football

Serbia (formerly part of Yugoslavia) are at their first Euros as a nation-state, after gaining independence in 2006. Head coach Dragan Stojkovic, whose contract ends after the tournament, has said qualifying from the group “would be a success”.

Those who watched them at the 2022 World Cup can expect the same setup: a back five, wing-backs and two defensive midfielders, but either two No 10s and a lone No 9 or one No 10 behind a front two.

Their attacking style is mixed, with a 62 per cent possession average in qualifying — about the same as England and Italy. Against better opposition, though, their strengths are playing direct. Aleksandar Mitrovic is the main focal point but likes to drop in, and is paired with off-the-shoulder Dusan Vlahovic or Luka Jovic.

Crosses are Serbia’s main route to goal, especially down the left and particularly from the wing-backs. They had the most headed shots in Euros qualifying, while only Spain and Portugal (seven each) had more headed goals than Serbia’s five. Look out for up-back-through attacking combinations to find the No 10 by playing into the No 9, and then releasing the wing-back.

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Against a mid-block, Serbia pull one of the defensive midfielders out to create a makeshift back four, pushing the outside centre-back to the touchline and the wing-back upfield — this allows them to overload the last line.

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A pretty unequivocal message to European football's governing body, there.

Denmark’s European Championship history

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2020 (Various): Semi-finals2016 (France): Did not qualify2012 (Poland/Ukraine): Group stage2008 (Austria/Switzerland): Did not qualify2004 (Portugal): Quarter-finals2000 (Belgium/Netherlands): Group stage1996 (England): Group stage1992 (Sweden): Champions1988 (Germany): Group stage1984 (France): Semi-finals1980 (Italy): Did not qualify1976 (Yugoslavia): Did not qualify1972 (Belgium): Did not qualify1968 (Italy): Did not qualify1964 (Spain): Fourth place1960 (France): Did not qualify
Why Denmark are such a threat from straight corners

Denmark played eight of these at the World Cup (from a total of 21) and nine at Euro 2020 (of 39), the most of any team at either tournament.

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With Christian Eriksen’s delivery, Rasmus Hojlund’s height plus three centre-backs, Denmark are stacked with set-piece quality.

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What are Denmark’s weaknesses?

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Denmark are not a strong team from losing positions, which speaks to a lack of a plan B — they might change shape but their tactics remain the same.

They have lost five of their last seven when conceding first, not coming from behind since they won 2-1 in France in March 2022.

Aside from Hojlund (who is likely to start), they lack a goalscorer from the bench and Denmark have not had many tactical acid tests. They were the only top 50-ranked FIFA team in their qualifying group and Hjulmand’s side have only played one team ranked higher than them (Switzerland in a 0-0 friendly draw in March) since the 2022 World Cup.

Who are Denmark’s key players?

The quality of Christian Eriksen and Joakim Maehle is known, with Kasper Hjulmand saying Eriksen is the “best player in Denmark”. Their success at this Euros will depend on the performances of and service to Rasmus Hojlund.

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Denmark’s recent issue with No 9s has been a wild variety of profiles (Jonas Wind, Martin Braithwaite, Yussuf Poulsen) and the lack of a consistent scorer. Maehle is the only player with 10+ goals under Hjulmand, and he used a different striker in each World Cup game.

Pressure, then, on Hojlund, who only made his senior debut in late 2022 and was not part of the World Cup squad. He has settled into senior international football fantastically, with seven goals in 14 caps. All of those were in qualifying and, while he has not scored in four friendly appearances since, Hojlund’s goal-scoring variety is promising: a mix of one-touch finishes from crosses/cutbacks — which Hojlund throws himself at — and angled finishes, similar to his penalty-box-based debut season at Manchester United.

How Denmark like to play their football

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Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 went entirely differently for Denmark. At the last Euros, they made the semi-finals for the first time since they won the tournament in 1992. Their cross-heavy 3-4-3 was awkward to defend against, especially right-footed left wing-back Joakim Maehle.

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But they flattered to deceive in Qatar. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand was consistent in his pre-tournament message, wanting to evolve beyond “underdog” football to “be proactive, dominate as much as possible, go for goals”. Tunisia cancelled out their shape in the first game (0-0) and, after losing to France (2-1) on matchday two, they switched to a 4-3-3 for the final match versus Australia.

Denmark lacked incision. Their switches to Maehle were as predictable as defendable. Australia won 1-0 with a counter-attack goal. We “haven’t played with the tempo and the rhythm,” said Hjulmand afterwards, adding that “the structures just go out of the match”. It was the only time in Hjulmand’s tenure (50 games) that Denmark have gone three games without a win.

The numbers made for stark reading: No wins and only one goal scored, from a set piece; the only team to not complete a through ball; the most switches of play per game; the lowest dribble success rate.

What you need to know about Serbia
Manager: Dragan StojkovicCaptain: Dusan TadicQualifying record: P8 W4 D2 L2 GF15 GA9Euros debut: 1960 (Runners-up, as Yugoslavia)Euro 2020: Failed to qualifyAverage age of squad in qualifying: 28.4Most caps in squad: Dusan Tadic (110)Top scorer in squad: Aleksandar Mitrovic (58)
What you need to know about Denmark ahead of today’s game

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Manager: Kasper HjulmandCaptain: Christian EriksenQualifying record: P10 W7 D1 L2 GF19 GA10Euros debut: 1964 (Fourth-place)Euro 2020: Semi-finalsAverage age of squad in qualifying: 28.5Most caps in squad: Simon Kjaer (132)Top scorer in squad: Christian Eriksen (42)
Serbia’s Euro 2024 squad

Goalkeepers: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino), Djordje Petrovic (Chelsea), Predrag Rajkovic (Mallorca).

Defenders: Strahinja Pavlovic (Red Bull Salzburg), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Srdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Uros Spajic (Red Star Belgrade), Nemanja Stojic (TSC Backa Topola).

Midfielders: Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Srdan Mijailovic (Red Star Belgrade), Sergej Milenkovic-Savic (Al Hilal), Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), Vejko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Filip Mladenovic (Panathinaikos), Mijat Gacinovic (AEK Athens).

Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Luka Jovic (AC Milan), Petar Ratkov (Red Bull Salzburg).

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Denmark’s Euro 2024 squad

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Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht), Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin), Mads Hermansen (Leicester City).

Defenders: Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace), Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester City), Victor Nelsson (Galatasaray), Alexander Bah (Benfica), Joakim Maehle (Wolfsburg), Rasmus Kristensen (Roma), Victor Kristiansen (Bologna).

Midfielders: Christian Eriksen (Manchester United), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Morten Hjulmand (Sporting Lisbon), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford).

Forwards: Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge), Anders Dreyer (Anderlecht), Kasper Dolberg (Anderlecht), Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United), Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig).

Where can I watch Denmark vs Serbia today?

In the United Kingdom the game will be available to watch on ITV4 and ITV X. In the United States you can catch it on FS1. England’s game with Slovenia will be on FOX.

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What time is Denmark vs Serbia today?

The game will get underway in Munich at 9pm local time. That’s 8pm BST, 3pm EDT and midday PDT.

The game will get underway at precisely the same time as England’s clash with Slovenia.

Denmark vs Serbia live coverage

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Denmark vs Serbia at the European Championship today.

The group stages are drawing to a close and neither side can afford to lose today. Denmark drew their opening two matches 1-1 and may need to win today to make sure that they progress automatically. Serbia, meanwhile, have just one point and need the victory to stay alive.

Stick with us for all the latest news ahead of this game ahead of minute-by-minute coverage of the match itself.

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