🔬 The Debrief as England struggle, Spain qualify and Serbia survive

EURO 2024 just keeps on delivering with more late drama, own goals and everything in between.

Here’s The Debrief on the action from day six.

What happened? 📝

England stumbled to a 1-1 draw with a deserving Denmark, while in the other Group C encounter, Serbia snatched a 95th-minute equaliser against Slovenia to draw 1-1 and keep their tournament hopes alive.

In the late kick-off, the scoreline did not reflect the dominance of Spain as they saw off Italy 1-0.

Player of the day 🔥

It could have been Pierre-Emile Højbjerg or several of his Spanish teammates, but the honours today go to Nico Williams.

The Athletic Club winger was a constant thorn in the Italian side from the start, creating the first opening for Pedri inside 90 seconds.

Williams had the most dribbles and chances in the game (four apiece), hit the bar and, unsurprisingly, had a big role to play in the only goal of the game.

It was the 21-year-old’s dangerous cross that was flicked past Gianluigi Donnarumma by Alvaro Morata and onto the knee of Riccardo Calafiori. The Bologna defender performed admirably throughout and was the unlucky fall guy for Williams’ magic.

Much of the chat around Spain’s attack has been about the 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, and for good reason, but tonight his “older” counterpart showed that he is the potential ace in the Spanish pack.

Moment of the day 😍

Luka Jović might feel hard done by given his last-gasp equaliser, but Morten Hjulmand’s stunning strike against England was something to behold.

Harry Kane’s wayward pass inside saw the ball eventually come to the Danish midfielder but the England captain couldn’t have guessed what would happen next, nor could anyone in truth. After all, the Sporting midfielder had only scored five times in his entire career and never before for his country.

He unleashed a thunderbolt from 30 yards out that flew past Jordan Pickford, clipped the post and nestled in the net. Denmark were more than worthy of their point, and what a way to get it.

The goal, on top of an overall excellent display, will do little to quieten the rumours linking the 24-year-old with a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs this summer.

Photo of the day 📸

The joy and despair as Group C took a late twist.

Stat of the day 📊

The defending champions looked anything but that tonight, as they somehow only lost 1-0.

What this means 🤔

Despite their questionable displays, England are almost assured of a spot in the last 16 and will top the group with a win against Slovenia, who need a result of their own.

Serbia will need to defeat Denmark to qualify but the Danes could come second with a third draw as Group C goes to the wire.

Spain are through as group winners after their win against Italy, and could now rest key players against Albania. The Azzuri will likely require a point against Croatia to ensure their defence of the title is extended.

What they said 🗣️

After another disjointed performance from his side, England manager Gareth Southgate was honest when he said: “We struggled to have control in the game, and it lead to an anxious performance. That has to be better if want to go further in the tournament.”

His captain Harry Kane added: “There are no easy games in major tournament football, and I think that’s showing. For sure, we’ve got levels we can reach. It’s time to stay calm, a time to reflect and regroup. Step by step, we will get there.”

Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand was understandably happy with his side’s showing.

“We played a good match where we thought we could win. Against England, there was plenty of expression, fire and passion from the players. We are exactly where we need to be in this match, where we delivered for 90 minutes.”

After his side saved themselves with a late goal, Serbia coach Dragan Stojković was feeling proud.

“We never gave up, we believed in ourselves until the end. We created so many chances but simply could not score for more than 90 minutes. But we didn’t stop, we didn’t want to accept losing to Slovenia, and it paid off in the end.”

What comes next? ⏭️

Friday marks a week of EURO 2024 action and brings us another three games of huge intrigue.

The day starts with Ukraine looking to bounce back from their humbling by Romania against Slovakia, who will be feeling confident after their shock win over Belgium.

Group D then takes centre stage as pointless Poland and Austria clash before the Netherlands take on France in one of the standout games of the group stages. Will a masked Kylian Mbappé play?