Star-studded Serbia crash out of Euro 2024 in a disappointing draw. Serbia’s Euro 2024 campaign ended in a whimper as they held Denmark to a 0-0 draw in a must-win match, securing their last place in Group C. Their opponents, on the other hand, were far happier with the outcome, advancing to the next stage despite their meager three points. Interestingly, “The Red Dynamite” finished level on points with third-placed Slovenia in terms of direct matches, goals, and cards, with the Danes progressing due to their superior ranking in the European qualifiers. England, meanwhile, topped the group with five points.
Denmark will now have to prepare for a tough round of 16 clash against Euro 2024 hosts Germany on Saturday.
The opening minutes at the Allianz Arena were far from exciting. Denmark methodically took control of the proceedings, while Serbia was still adjusting to their new formation and the absence of key attacking players like Dusan Tadic and Dusan Vlahovic.
Denmark had the first real chance of the game in the 15th minute when Alexander Bah received a cross from Maele and headed dangerously close to Rajkovic’s goal. The Scandinavians also had a penalty shout when they claimed Bah was brought down in the box by Andrija Zivkovic.
Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic showed excellent reflexes in the 19th minute when he denied Christian Eriksen’s long-range shot. The ball was heading towards his bottom right corner, but his timely intervention kept the score at 0-0.
There was an interesting incident in the 24th minute when the referee disallowed a Jonas Wind goal for 1-0. The situation could never have materialized because the ball had briefly crossed the out-of-bounds line before the corner was taken. Wind also played illegally against Rajkovic to gain a better position in the six-yard box.
Rasmus Hojlund made his presence felt when he got a bit more space in Serbia’s penalty area in the 32nd minute and fired immediately, but Predrag Rajkovic once again produced a superb save.
Denmark started the second half much more lively, with the introduction of Andreas Skov Olsen adding the spark that “The Red Dynamite” so desperately lacked in the first 45 minutes. The Brugge star could have scored shortly after the restart when his individual run ended with a dangerous shot, deflected for a corner by Milenkovic’s body.
Bottles of water, beer, and Coca-Cola were thrown at the French linesman after he raised the offside flag in the 54th minute following a Serbia goal. This came after Mitrovic fired weakly from almost zero angle, but Joakim Andersen reacted slightly inadequately, scoring a bizarre own goal. However, his blunder was erased from the official record as VAR ruled that Mitrovic and Luka Jovic were offside when the Serbian attack was initiated.
The powerful Danes finally had a chance from a set piece in the 65th minute. Westergaard rose above everyone from a corner, but his header was within Rajkovic’s reach.
Serbia still had no shot on target against Kasper Schmeichel, and in the 80th minute, the tension was slightly lifted by Mitrovic, who sent the ball close to the far post from a difficult position.
Our western neighbors had their chance in the 92nd minute when Dusan Tadic did everything in his power to create a good shooting position for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The midfielder fired too weakly from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball was an easy save for Schmeichel.
The resulting 0-0 draw had contrasting effects on the two camps. The draw left Serbia in last place in Group C, while Denmark finished second and, along with England and Slovenia, advanced to the round of 16.
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