Germany qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 with a 2-0 win over Denmark in Dortmund, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and the remarkable Jamal Musiala.
The threat of lightning interrupted play for nearly 25 minutes in the first half as players were evacuated from the field and water seeped through the roof of Signal Iduna Park, but Julian Nagelsmann’s side got the job done at the restart.
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But not before a big scare for the host country. Joachim Andersen appeared to have given Denmark the lead 3 minutes into the second half, but the video assistant referee disallowed the goal for offside in pre-season.
A few minutes later, at the end of the field, the same player conceded a handball penalty and Havertz scored on the spot to give Germany the lead.
Musiala then set up a shot that beat Kasper Schmeichel for his third goal of the tournament, making him the top scorer of the European Championship along with Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze.
Germany will face the winner of Sunday’s match between Spain and Georgia in the quarterfinals.
Seb Stafford-Bloor, Jay Harris and Liam Tharme discuss Dortmund’s talking points. . .
In the 49th minute, Andersen celebrated what has been the most important moment of his career.
The centre-back fired past German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer after Christian Eriksen’s free-kick bounced off the box. Andersen slipped on the turf and was harassed by his teammates, but the goal was disallowed because Thomas Delaney was offside during preparation.
Replays showed that Delaney’s toe was in front of Robert Andrich. Andersen had never scored for Denmark before and looked stunned when he discovered that the goal had been disallowed after a VAR check.
To make matters worse, he conceded a penalty a few minutes later when the ball touched his right hand after blocking a cross from David Raum.
Havertz stepped in and scored, despite Kasper Schmeichel diving in the right direction. It was a nightmare five minutes for Andersen, who reminded everyone how ruthless football can be at the top.
It must have been difficult to go from hero to villain so quickly. Andersen’s horrific evening ended when Musiala overtook him to score Germany’s second pass. Then he won a letter to dissent.
Jay Harris
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou, who acts as an expert on British broadcaster ITV, remained defensive against Havertz during the rain and storm delay. It is difficult to assess the quality of their performance. The Arsenal striker is considered too dead or missing in cruelty for a number 9 and, despite being technically outstanding, he does not offer a top-notch artistic output.
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Nagelsmann struggled to locate Havertz’s role in the first place (once he chose him at left-back), but he discovered his position at the most sensible point in the German 4-2-3-1. He runs behind, which is a must. He has to push back the opposing defenses and create area for the 3 German number 10s. He can make 4 if necessary and overload the midfield to chain attacks.
Then that scandalous run in the second half, taking an inside pass from Musiala with his right instep and passing it between two Danish centre-backs to pass. He tried to pass the ball over Schmeichel, who was given the slightest touch to push it in. in front of the post.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Havertz put them ahead from the penalty spot, his 18th goal in his 50th game for Germany (add that to 15 assists). This extends his absolute penalty record to thirteen out of 14 attempts (excluding shootouts) and more justifies Nagelsmann’s decision ahead of Niclas Fullkrug.
Liam Tharme
Throughout the week there were rumors of a great replacement in the German team. But Fullkrug replaced Havertz, Florian Wirtz was left out to welcome Leroy Sané.
Was it a surprise? Wirtz did not have a smart game in the last organizational match against Switzerland and showed himself with heavy legs after a long season.
Worked?
In many ways, yes. Sané’s reputation in Germany is that of a dynamic but ultimately rather frustrating player, who can break down defenders but not time a pass or shot well enough to exploit that momentum. And that is the functionality he gave in Dortmund; He turned down a perfect opportunity to counterattack in a typical way for him and was more intelligent than correct.
But this is not the point. Sane was pretty good. More importantly, their attacking intent and the variation it presented to Germany presented a challenge that Denmark struggled to contain. Wirtz is a glorious player. In some matches, however, his similarities to Musiala can be problematic and homogenize the German risk: he is another world-class playmaker while they want something more literal. An equally skilled player, but more full of life with the ball.
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On Saturday he was sane. His positional rotations were also intelligent and he controlled to be a risk on the right, left and in the center. Its imperfections mattered almost as much as the general advantages it brought.
Seb Stafford Bloor
Rasmus Hojlund failed to score in his first big game. The 21-year-old squandered several clever scoring opportunities against Germany and failed to find the back of the net in his last eight games for Denmark.
In the first 20 minutes, he struggled to get the serve while Kasper Hjulmand’s team was pinned down on their own side against Germany. Jonas Wind had partnered with Hojlund from the start in all 3 matches at the organizational level, but here he is only in 5. -4-1 system.
When Denmark settled in and Eriksen won the ball more, Hojlund began to influence the game and had two wonderful chances just before the break. He carried the ball forcefully through the box and passed it to Andreas Skov Olsen. However, the move seemed to have failed when Nico Schlotterbeck picked up the ball in his own area. He got caught under Schlotterbeck’s feet, so Hojlund pounced and shot into the side net when the smartest choice would have been to aim for the back. Corner of the back post.
A few minutes later, Eriksen made a clever first pass to send Delaney on the counterattack. Delaney pushed him past Rudiger and toward Hojlund. The striker did incredibly well to break into the box, but Neuer went off his line to put the ball out. shot.
He had one last chance in the second half when Hojbjerg found him in the area of the area, but he shot straight at Neuer. It looked like a pivotal moment and Musiala doubled Germany’s lead two minutes later. Hojlund deserves praise for consistently being on the smart goal. positions, but he is still a raw finisher.
Jay Harris
With the score tied in the 36th minute, English referee Michael Oliver took them off the field of play before the threat of lightning.
Thunder and lightning can be heard from afar, and the rain will arrive after 32 minutes. Soon after, lightning can be heard from inside the stadium, with two or three impressive thunderbolts.
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About 30 seconds after the most powerful shot, Oliver led the way out of the area with Germany in possession. At first they took refuge in their canoes, before the rain intensified and they headed for their conversion rooms. Then great hailstones fell for two to three minutes.
The suspension lasted about 24 minutes; Preparations for resumption were taken once the lighting left the area. The players left their locker rooms five minutes before the restart and waited momentarily for the team to mark the draw.
At the start of the second half, Oliver spoke to the two captains after thunder was heard in the distance.
Umpires have the discretion to prevent play if situations are deemed unsafe – the threat of a strike on the court falls squarely into this category. In theory, this is entirely the umpire’s choice – he would possibly get the recommendation of his assistant referees or his fourth official.
If the weather had been so bad that the match had to be suspended overnight, UEFA rules require that it be played the next day at the same venue, but without spectators. There will also be an emergency relief site, in case the reason cannot be explained. The suspension makes the original stadium unworthy of hosting.
Jacob Whitehead