After this important match finished I heard, and read, many opinions on just why England had failed to win a game they were expected to.  Well, here is my take on the match.  Everyone seems to be putting the blame on the players, and in my opinion, they are missing the point.  It is this ridiculous 4-2-3-1 system Gareth Southgate insists on using.  What on earth has happened to good old 4-4-2 or, heaven forfend, the wonderful 2-3-5 formation?  We are being outplayed in midfield because we are always outnumbered, and 4-4-2 would also give some support to the under pressure Harry Kane.  Oh well, on with the report.

The game began, and within 30 seconds Denmark's Pierre Hojbjerg was already firing in a shot at Jordan Pickford.  And in the first 10 minutes England were showing no appetite for the match, until that is, three minutes later when Phil Foden showed some neat footwork to forge England's first chance.  Unfortunately his shot was high and wide, but it was encouraging to see Foden show some of his skills.  Then, five minutes after that, England took the lead, and it was down to Kyle Walker.  His burst of speed was electric as Victor Kristiansen was caught napping and Walker took the ball off his toes.  The full-back put in a low cross which was deflected into the path of Kane, doing what he does best, firing home from close range.

That should have been the tonic for England to settle down but Denmark, well organised and well set-up came back strongly.  England just seemed incapable of gaining possession as the Danes dominated the midfield. Bukayo Saka did make one good break, but it came to nothing and in the 29th minute there was an almighty scramble in the England penalty area which was eventually somewhat fortuitously cleared.  That was one of several warnings for England but Marc Guehi and John Stones seemed solid in the middle.  The problem was in midfield where it was almost always four against two.  Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold were hardly involved, whilst Saka and Foden were torn between not attacking nor defending.

On 34 minutes Denmark inflicted the punishment that England's inept display deserved, and ironically the Danish chance came from a mistake by Kane, who was back trying to help the defence.  Why should he be there, one asks?  Anyway, he passed the ball across the middle where it was picked up by Morten Hjulmand some 30 yards out.  Under no challenge he was able to line up a shot, which he hit perfectly, and the ball flew into the net low down and in off the post.

Denmark had now seized the initiative and England could make no headway.  They conceded another corner and Pickford was going mad at his teammates for their lackadaisical efforts!  Every second ball seem to be won by a red shirt and even when Foden ran hard at the Denmark defence and saw a weak shot easily saved, it seemed that Denmark were well on top as the half drew to a close, forcing another save from Pickford.  With the last kick of the half Foden shot over the bar.  That ended a really disappointing half for the Three Lions and their fans in the crowd looked drained at the break.

Unfortunately, the second-half saw more of the same from England despite an early improvement which saw Saka tee up Foden, but his good shot struck a post and Saka, under pressure, hit the rebound over the bar.  That was the best it got for this England side and as the half settled down to a familiar pattern, it was the Danes who looked much more of an accomplished side.  There were several scrambles in the England box and scruffy defending at times.  Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Conor Gallagher and the Chelsea player's first contribution was to be booked for a late challenge.

Just after the hour determined play by Guehi, one of the few successes of the night for England, winning two tackles to feed Saka, but that move also came to nothing.  Downright careless play by Declan Rice as he needlessly gave away a corner sort of summed up what the team, and the fans, were going through.  Southgate then made some substitutions by bringing on Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze on 69 minutes to try and liven proceedings up, sacrificing Kane, Saka and Foden, the latter being a little unlucky to go off, especially as Bellingham had been dire all match.

Ironically, Bellingham then produced his only worthwhile contribution when he sent Watkins in for a good chance.  Sadly for England, Kasper Schmeichel was quickly off his line to stifle the danger and block the effort from Watkins.

As for the rest of the match, it did liven England up a little after those substitutions but not to any real promise.  On 83 minutes Guehi made his one mistake, losing possession in a dangerous position.  Thankfully he recovered brilliantly to deflect the cross away for a corner.  Two minutes later more poor play enabled Hojbjerg to fire in a shot that flew just wide.  And that was about it as the game ended in a draw.  Only Walker, Guehi, Stones and Pickford escape my heavy criticism of the team and manager, and we now have five days to rediscover our proper form.  In fact the question needs to be asked, when is the England team we know and love going to arrive in Germany?

Someone said that watching England at the moment is like watching Preston North End.  Now as a North End fan, that really hurts, even though it is true!

Source Notes