Wales enjoyed a bright start to the contest and Gareth Bale had a couple of decent efforts at goal. However, once Denmark took control the Dragons could not break out of their own half. Robert Page faces a massive team-talk to inspire a response from his team.
Denmark take a 1-0 lead into their Euro 2020 round-of-16 clash against Wales at the break. Kasper Dolberg put the Danes ahead in the 27th minute, curling a precise effort beyond the reach of Danny Ward. After the opener Kasper Hjulmand’s men controlled the contest, forcing Wales to hang on until the interval to remain in the contest. The Danes are 45 minutes away from a place in the quarter-finals.
45′ + 3′ HALF-TIME: WALES 0-1 DENMARK
45′ + 2′ Wales scramble the resulting corner away from danger amid a good header from Moore and the boot of Rodon.
45′ + 1′ SAVE! Stryger Larsen’s cross is flicked on by Dolberg towards Maehle at the back post. He tries a right-footed strike towards the near post, but Ward reacts to palm it wide.
45′ There will be two minutes of added time.
44′ Maehle makes a good run down the left flank, but Williams and Morrell combine to halt his progresss.
42′ Wales will be grateful for half-time when it arrives. The Dragons have been off the pace since the early stages of the contest.
41′ Roberts is forced off with a groin injury and is replaced at right-back by Williams.
K. Moore
Yellow Card
40′ Moore catches Kjaer with a stray arm and he goes into the book. The forward will miss the quarter-finals should Wales advance.
38′ Roberts has to stretch to keep an offload alive down the right flank, but he appears to hurt his groin in the process. The full-back receives treatment on the sidelines.
36′ Ward gets a let off from the resulting corner. Stryger Larsen’s delivery sails away from Delaney, but the midfielder hooks it back into the box. Ward fails to gather amid pressure from Vestergaard. However, he gets the decision from the referee.
35′ Stryger Larsen fires a dangerous cross into the box from the right flank. It sails over the head of Dolberg, but Mepham sends his clearing straight at Rodon, which sees the ball ricochet behind for a corner.
33′ Since the start of 2019, only Christian Eriksen (11) has scored more goals in all competitions for Denmark than Dolberg (seven).
32′ SAVE! Damsgaard weaves his way through the Wales defence down the left-inside channel in a one-two with Delaney. Dolberg goes for the flick with a the back of a boot from Damsgaard’s low cross, but Ward spreads himself to block the strike.
29′ Wales are on the ropes as Denmark are having their way with their opponents in the final third. The Dragons need to ease the pressure.
28′ Denmark have scored more goals from outside the box than any other side at Euro 2020 (three), while since 1980 only France (five in 1984) and Belgium (four in 2016) have scored more from distance in a single edition of the competition.
M. Damsgaard
Assist
27′ Damsgaard makes a good run into the final third to latch on to Maehle’s offload. He works a pass into the feet of Dolberg, who does the rest with a great effort.
K. Dolberg
Goal
27′ GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! DOLBERG FIRES DENMARK AHEAD!!!! 1-0!!! The Danes take the lead through a sublime effort from Dolberg. Damsgaard makes a good run to latch on to Maehle’s pass before sending an offload towards Dolberg. The forward turns away from Mepham before curling a precise strike out of the reach of Ward into the bottom-right corner.
J. Rodon
Yellow Card
26′ Rodon has a hold of Dolberg and sends the forward to the deck in the middle of the park. The Wales defender goes into the book.
24′ Vestergaard rises highest in the box to connect with a cross from Stryger Larsen, However, under pressure the defender can only head his effort over the bar.
23′ Delaney makes a good run behind the Wales defence. He lifts a cross to the back post for Maehle to attack, but Roberts is well placed to head behind.
21′ Denmark win two further corners but the third cross from Styger Larsen is cleared by Bale at the near post.
19′ Maehle pushes forward down the left-inside channel and sees his cross blocked behind by Roberts. Denmark are trying to up the ante.
18′ James probes down the left flank and cuts inside to shoot on his right foot, but his effort takes a deflection off Stryger Larsen and travels into the hands of Schmeichel.
16′ Braithwaite has a run at the Wales defence down the right flank. Davies gets across to fend off the forward and he wins a free-kick in the box to ease the pressure.
14′ BLOCK! Delaney has to get across to close down Ramsey and block his strike at goal after he latches on to a cutback from Bale on the right flank.
12′ Bale drops his shoulder in a run from the right flank and he cuts back to fire at goal on his left foot that goes wide of the right post.
11′ James works a low cross into the box from the left flank and it falls into the path of Ramsey. He tries to fire at goal, but Bale gets in his way twice before Christensen clears the danger.
10′ WIDE! James works the ball into space for Bale to have a run at the Denmark defence. He smashes a strike towards goal, but it swerves away from the target and travels inches wide of the left post. Close for the Dragons.
8′ Dolberg breaks forward and charges to the edge of the box. He does not have a great deal of support so the forward launches a strike towards the target that sails well over the bar.
7′ Denmark press back at Wales down the right flank after an error from Rodon. Stryger Larsen sends a low ball into the box, but the Dragons clear their lines to stymie the attack.
5′ WIDE! James whips a cross into the box for Mepham to attack. He tries to guide a header towards goal, but it deflects off Kjaer and travels behind for a corner.
4′ Delaney shoves Ramsey in the back and sends the midfielder to the deck, handing Wales a free-kick in a decent position.
3′ Allen works a pass towards James in space on the left flank, but he fails to take the ball in stride and misses an opportunity to break behind the Denmark defence.
1′ We’re under way at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Denmark have won each of their last three competitive meetings with Wales in a run stretching back to June 1999. This is the first meeting between the sides in a major tournament.
Denmark have made two changes to their side from their win over Russia last time out. Daniel Wass is ill and is replaced at by Styger Larsen at right wing-back. Yussuf Poulsen is also missing for the Danes as he is out with an injury problem. Dolberg repalces his team-mate as the spearhead of the attack.
Wales have made three changes to their side that was beaten 1-0 by Italy last time out. Davies, Mepham and Moore are all restored to the starting line-up. Gunter and Neco Williams drop to the bench, while Ethan Ampadu is unavailable after his dismissal against the Azzurri. Moore returns to spearhead the attack, supported by Ramsey, James and Bale.
DENMARK SUBS: Joachim Andersen, Robert Skov, Andreas Skov Olsen, Zanka, Christian Norgaard, Jonas, Jonas Wind, Andreas Cornelius, Frederik Ronnow, Mathias Jensen, Anders Christiansen, Nicolai Boilesen.
DENMARK (3-4-3): Kasper Schmeichel; Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer, Jannik Vestergaard; Jens Stryger Larsen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Thomas Delaney, Joakim Maehle; Martin Braithwaite, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kasper Dolberg.
WALES SUBS: Wayne Hennessey, Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Tom Lockyer, Harry Wilson, Tyler Roberts, Jonny Williams, David Brooks, Adam Davies, Dylan Levit, Ben Cabango, Matthew Smith.
WALES (4-2-3-1): Danny Ward; Connor Roberts, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies; Joe Morrell, Joe Allen; Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Daniel James; Kieffer Moore.
Denmark endured an emotional period during the group stage after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest. The Danes then suffered back-to-back defeats to Finland and Belgium to put their place in the competition in jeopardy. However, they were nothing short of sensational in their final outing to crush Russia 4-1 in Copenhagen, securing their place in the knockout stage. It will be a tough task for Kasper Hjulmand and his team, but a peformance of the calibre of their last game will surely give them a great opportunity.
Wales advanced through the group stage, finishing second behind Italy after claiming four points from their three fixtures. The Dragons suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Azzurri in their last outing, but Rob Page will be optimistic that his side can make another surge towards the latter stages of the competition as they did five years ago. Although Gareth Bale has not found the back of the net yet, he is usually the man for the big occasion.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Euro 2020 round-of-16 clash between Wales and Denmark at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
N. Williams
C. Roberts