At 3 o'clock in the morning on June 30, Beijing time, the second game of the 1/8 finals of the 2024 European Championship will be contested, and the host German team will play against the Danish team. In the group stage, Germany played smoothly as hosts, beating Scotland 5-1 in the opening game. In the second round against Hungary, Germany won easily 2-0.
In the final round, facing the dark horse Switzerland, which is in good form in this European Cup, the German team conceded a goal first, and completed the equalization with the head of the substitute center Phil Krueger and advanced to the round of 16.
Denmark, ranked 21st in the world, were inspired by the return of Christian Eriksen, who left the tournament due to injury and illness at the last European Championships, and scored in the opening round against Slovenia to help them secure a point. Denmark then drew 1-1 with England, the most expensive team in this European Cup. In the third round, Denmark drew 0-0 with Serbia and advanced to the round of 16 with the best four group finishes.
In the past, Germany has played 28 matches with Denmark, with 15 wins, 5 draws and 8 defeats. However, in the tournament, the two teams have been evenly matched in the four meetings, especially in the 1992 European Championship final, when the Danish team defeated the German team 2-0 to win the championship, staging the "Danish fairy tale" of the European Championship.
In the first half of the game, the two sides entered the state at the beginning, attacking and defending each other, and the scene was very good. Just four minutes into the game, Schlotterbeck headed home a corner kick from Germany, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Kimmich. After a 25-minute hiatus due to weather conditions, Kai Havertz's header was a threat, and in the 45th minute, Denmark fought back quickly, Hojlen almost opened the scoring with a single knife, and Manuel Neuer came out to defuse the danger, and the two teams were tied 0-0 in the first half.
In the second half, Yibian fought again, and the plot was full of ups and downs. In the 49th minute, the Danish team completed consecutive shots, and Andersen swept the ball to score. Unfortunately, Delaney's offside was disallowed for the first goal. Subsequently, the German team quickly counterattacked, Raum crossed from the left, Andersen accidentally fouled the handball, the referee awarded a penalty, Havertz hit the penalty accurately, and the German team led 1-0. From ecstasy to crying, it takes less than 3 minutes, and that's the beauty of football.
It is worth mentioning that it was Havertz's fourth goal for Germany at the European Championship, after Klinsmann and Gomez. Kai Havertz could have scored twice in the 56th minute, but his one-on-one effort went just wide of the post. In the 68th minute, Musiala won the ball on the left and then calmly sent the ball into the back of the net to give Germany a 2-0 lead.
It should be pointed out that Musiala has scored three goals in this European Championship, and he has also become the third German player this century to score at least three goals in a single European Championship, the first two being Podolski and Gomez. At the same time, at the age of 21 years and 124 days, Musiala became the youngest player to score in the knockout round of the European Championship for Germany.
In the end, Germany eliminated Denmark 2-0 with goals from Kai Havertz and Musiala to advance to the last eight, and according to the schedule, Germany will face the winner between Spain and Georgia in the quarter-finals.
In the first 1/8 final, the defending champion Italy played against Switzerland. Although Italy have been unbeaten against Switzerland for 31 years, the Swiss team is in good form this year, and the team is very balanced in attack and defence. On the other hand, the Italian team has a weak attack and a leaky defense, which is more obvious in this game.
In the 37th minute of the game, Freuler stopped the ball and shot in the penalty area to help the Swiss team lead 1-0. Just over 20 seconds into the second half, Vargas hit a delicate curling ball from the left side of the penalty area to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead.
In the end, the Swiss team knocked out the Italian team 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, and they will face the winner between England and Slovakia. Let's wait and see! (Xiong Yixuan)