EURO 2020

EURO 2020 Half-time: Denmark 1-0 Belgium

Peep! Denmark lead by the only goal of the game, having gone ahead through Yussuf Poulsen inside two minutes after a quite blistering start that completely overwhelmed their opponents. They are well worth their lead against a Belgium side that already look bereft of ideas and have been peculiarly lethargic. I will be astonished if Roberto Martinez doesn’t make changes at half-time. There’s no shortage of quality on his bench, that’s for sure.

For Denmark, Maehle pulls the ball back to Hojbjerg on the edge of the Belgium penalty area. He loses it and Belgium break upfield only to lose the ball when they are smarmed by retreating Danish defenders.

Romelu Lukaku runs at the Denmark penalty area but has the ball nicked off his toe by Simon Kjaer. Moments later, Lukaku wins a free-kick off the Danish captain, almost in line with the right side of the Denmark penalty area.

With half-time approaching, Denmark remain in the lead but may be annoyed that they have not converted more of their chances. They absolutely blitzed Belgium in the opening minutes and while Roberto Martinez’s side have worked their way back into the game, they have yet to create a chance of note. Denmark, by contrast, have had eight shots on goal, three of them on target.

Thomas Delaney lofts a high cross from the right towards Poulsen on the far side of the Belgium penalty area. With his back to goal, he controls it beautifully, taking it down with a wonderful fiorst touch. Dendoncker is right up his jacksy and doesn’t allow him to turn and get a shot off.

Now it’s Alderweireld’s turn to get caught on his heels and he loses the ball to Damsgaard. The man given the unenviable task of filling Eriksen’s size nines cuts inside and curls a low shot narrowly wide of the far upright.

Belgium win a corner. Carrasco plays it short to Thorgan Hazard, who passes it backwards to Tielemans. After a little more fannying and faff, they win themselves another corner. This one is sent straight into the penalty area, where Schmeichel gets a glove to the ball.

Jason Denayer sticks his head in to prevent Braithwaite steering a header goalwards at the near post. Moments previously, Vertonghen and he had been caught out by a through ball down the inside right, which led to another Poulsen cross from the right. Courtois collected that one.