Kai Havertz (left) celebrates after scoring Germany's first goal from the penalty spot against Denmark at Euro 2024.
CNN —
Euro 2024 host Germany moved onto the quarterfinals of the tournament after beating Denmark 2-0 in a pulsating encounter at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund on Saturday.
The game was delayed midway through the first half after lightning and driving rain forced the players off the pitch for around 25 minutes.
Second half goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala – a contender for the player of the tournament award – sentDie Mannschaftinto the next round as it held off a valiant Denmark side which appeared much improved from the group stage.
After an end-to-end first half ended goalless, a frenzied start to the second period saw Denmark have a goal disallowed and concede a penalty within the space of a couple of minutes, with Havertz scoring from the spot to give Germany the lead.
Havertz scores a pinpoint penalty.
The lead was doubled in the 68th minute when Musiala found himself one-on-one goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, coolly slotting home to send the home fans into raptures.
It was a disappointing evening for the Danish team, who battled hard but faded in the latter stages of the match, unable to find a breakthrough.
Germany will take on either Spain or Georgia in the quarterfinals.
Drama in Dortmund
Denmark began the match yet to win a game at the tournament, having drawn each of its Group C fixtures against Slovenia, England and Denmark and scoring just twice in those three game. Its lack of attacking output was evident in the early stages, as Germany dominated possession and rained down shots on the Danish goal.
The tournament host thought it had opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Nico Schlotterbeck rose highest to nod home from a corner, but referee Michael Oliver disallowed the goal after Joshua Kimmich was penalized for blocking Andreas Skov Olsen allowing Schlotterbeck to get free for the header.
Germany maintained its rapid start, with Kimmich stinging the palms of Schmeichel from long range before the Denmark stopper tipped another Schlotterbeck header past the post.
The Danes grew into the game however, with Christian Eriksen seeing a shot blocked and wing-back Joakim Mæhle racing down the left flank before wastefully firing wide.
Both sides looked threatening on the counter-attack, producing an end-to-end first half, but the free-flowing nature of the game was interrupted when the referee suspended proceedings due to adverse weather conditions.
Lightning is seen inside the stadium during the enforced break.
Both squads headed back out after a 25-minute delay with the match resuming around the 36-minute mark. The stormy conditions seemed to deliver a further jolt of life into an already electrifying affair.
Havertz met a David Raum cross in the air but the Arsenal forward’s header was straight at Schmeichel, while Schlotterbeck saw yet another headed effort drift wide moments later.
The defender then had his blushes spared in the other penalty area after giving the ball away to Rasmus Højlund, but the striker could only find the side netting.
The second half began in a similarly chaotic fashion which produced a whirlwind few minutes for Denmark’s Joachim Andersen. The defender thought he had scored his first international goal when he swept the ball in after a scramble in the box, but saw it disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR) for an extremely tight offside in the buildup.
Andersen’s misery was compounded when VAR penalized him for a handball in his own box, with Havertz tucking away the resulting penalty to give Germany the lead in the 53rd minute.
Havertz missed a glorious chance to double the lead shortly afterwards after being one-on-one with Schmeichel but wasn’t made to rue his mistake as Musiala found the back of the net minutes later.
Musiala slots home his third goal of Euro 2024 - the 21-year-old is now the tournament's joint-top goalscorer with Georgia's Georges Mikautadze.
The second goal was a crushing blow for Denmark, who had threatened to spoil the party on multiple occasions but ran out of steam towards the end of the game.
It was hard-fought and nervy at times for Germany, but the host nation could it be on its way to a Euros triumph on home soil.
This story has been updated with additional information.
