Serbia crashed out of Euro 2024 in meek fashion after a toothless display against Denmark in Munich.
Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had a relatively quiet evening as Serbia’s lack of guile in the attacking third was all too apparent.
Watched on by tennis legend Novak Djokovic, Dragan Stojkovic’s men upped the ante late on but it was much too little, too late.
The result meant Denmark finished second in Group C – ahead of Slovenia on a better disciplinary record – with England top.
It ends 0-0 in Munich.#EURO2024 | #DENSRB pic.twitter.com/xaWfN7woh1
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 25, 2024
Serbia realistically needed to win the game to stand any chance of going through, which made Stojkovic’s decision to leave Dušan Vlahović and Dusan Tadic on the bench all the more surprising.
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Serbia struggle early on
It was a team selection that failed to reap its rewards in an opening 45 minutes in which Serbia failed to muster a shot on target.
Instead it was Denmark that produced virtually all the attacking intent.
Kasper Hjulmand’s men ought to have gone ahead after 15 minutes when the two wing-backs combined, Joakim Maehle crossing from the left for Alexander Bah but his header at the far post drifted wide.
Christian Eriksen saw a 20-yard snapshot well saved by Predrag Rajkovic before the Danes had the ball in the net – Jonas Wind bundling the ball over the line from an Eriksen corner but the ball had gone out and then drifted back into play.
Denmark continued to dominate, Rasmus Hojlund denied by Rajkovic at his near post and Wind firing wastefully over when well placed.
The #ThreeLions head into the #EURO2024 knockout stage as group winners 💪 pic.twitter.com/S8oMxjfuA7
— England (@England) June 25, 2024
Stojkovic changes tack
In what amounted to an admission he got it wrong initially, Stojkovic brought on Tadic and Luka Jovic at half-time and the substitutes combined within seven minutes to create Serbia’s first chance of note.
A lovely through ball from Tadic put Jovic clear and, although his first shot was saved by Schmeichel, the Milan striker sent the rebound towards goal with Joachim Anderson pushing the ball over the line.
Serbia’s celebrations were cut short, however, with the assistant referee raising his flag for offside almost immediately.
Vlahovic was next to come on as Serbia finally opted for all-out attack.
And the Juventus man made an impact straight away, winning the ball off Maehle and laying it back for Aleksandar Mitrovic who shot wide of the right-hand upright.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic fired a feeble low shot straight at Schmeichel in injury-time, an attempt that summed up their efforts perfectly as Denmark held on to the point they required to go through.
