It was a dramatic stormy night to remember at the iconic Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund as the host nation Germany overcame a resilient Denmark side 2-0 to book their place in the quarter-finals of EURO 2024.
The match was filled with drama, controversy, and stunning goals as Die Mannschaft had to overcome not only a strong Danish challenge but also adverse weather conditions that saw play suspended for over 20 minutes due to a powerful thunderstorm.
Germany started the game dominantly, carving out chance after chance in the opening exchanges.
Nico Schlotterbeck thought he had given the hosts the lead inside four minutes on his international debut at his club’s stadium, with a towering header from a Toni Kroos corner, but the goal was disallowed by English referee Michael Oliver for a foul in the build-up.
The home side continued to lay siege to the Danish goal, with Kasper Schmeichel making a string of fine saves to keep the scores level. The first half ended with either team not being able to find the back of the net.
Just after the start of the second half, Denmark’s Joachim Anderson thought he had put the Danes in front after a superb goal, but his effort was ruled out for being offside.
However, Germany mounted pressure, and it eventually yielded, when the hosts were awarded a penalty in the 52nd minute after Joachim Andersen was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, just four minutes after his goal was disallowed.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz stepped up and coolly slotted the spot-kick past Schmeichel to give Germany the lead, and they soon added a second in the 68th minute through the impressive Jamal Musiala, who raced onto a long pass from Nico Schlotterbeck to slot home and seal the victory.
The game had earlier been interrupted by a powerful thunderstorm that swept through the stadium, with Oliver making the sensible decision to take the players off the field in the 35th minute for their safety.
In the end, Germany’s quality and resilience shone through, and they now progress to the quarter-finals, where they will face either Spain or Georgia on Friday, July 5th.
It was a hard-fought victory, but Julian Nagelsmann’s men will be delighted to have overcome the challenge of Denmark and the elements to secure their place in the last eight.
With three draws, one loss and only two goals scored at EURO 2924, Denmark will be disappointed to have had a worse Euro campaign than the previous one where they went till the semi-finals.
