Copenhagen, June 21, LETA. The Danish national football team defeated Russia 4: 1 (1: 0) in the final match of the sub-group tournament of the European Championship final in Copenhagen on Monday and secured a place in the eighth final.
Mikels Damsgords, Yusuf Poulsen, Andreas Christensen and Joakim Mehle scored for the Danish national team, and Artyom Juba scored for the Russians.
In subgroup B, Belgium took first place with nine points in three games, while the next three teams – Denmark, Finland and Russia – had three points each. The Danish team’s second-place balance allowed them to take second place and advance to the quarter-finals, while Finland’s three points, third place and negative goal / loss difference may also prevent them from entering the playoffs.
The first goal of the game was a counterattack after 18 minutes, when Aleksandra Golovina was awarded a penalty that Kaspers Šmeihels turned into 3 – 0 without a problem. Less than two minutes later, Juba hit a goal from a short distance.
The Danes had their first chance in the 29th minute, when Pierre Emil Hojbjerga hit the ball hard from a distance. However, Damsgords made a spectacular save.
In the 59th minute of the game, the Danes doubled their lead on a level playing field. The Russian footballers made a mistake in the match with the goalkeeper and in the penalty area gave the ball to Poulsen, who reached 2: 0. In the 68th minute of the match, after Alexander Sobolev was hit on the penalty area, an 11-meter penalty kick was awarded to the Danish national team goal, which was executed by Djuba.
In the 79th minute, the goalkeeper of the Russian national team Matvey Safonov repelled two opponents’ shots, but with the third pass Kristensen’s long shot found his goal. Three minutes later the counterattack of the Danish team was completed by Mehle – 4: 1.
Russia lost to Belgium at the start of the championship with 0: 3, but then defeated Finland with 0: 1. In the first game of the championship, Denmark lost its brightest star Christian Eriksen and in the same match he lost to Finland with 0: 1, but in the second fight with 1: 2, the superiority of the Belgian team was recognized.
The final tournament of the 2021 European Championship will take place in 11 European cities until July 11. The continent’s strongest team will be determined at Wembley Stadium in London. The revamped Wembley Stadium will host the national team title match for the first time in history, but its predecessor once played the 1966 World Cup final and the 1996 European Championship final.
Five years ago, Portugal was crowned European Champion, beating France in the final match in Paris with a score of 1: 0.
In the final tournament of the European Championship, 24 teams are divided into six subgroups of four each. The two best teams will automatically qualify for the first round or the eighth final of the elimination tournament, as well as the four best third place winners.
A total of 51 games will be played in this European Championship. When there were 16 more teams in the tournament, 31 matches had to be played.
