Denmark 0-0 Serbia: Eriksen and Co set up last-16 clash with Germany (2024)

In the end Serbia, chasing history at a major tournament, threw everything at it. Every attacking player in their artillery sent out into the battle, they left Munich with no regrets. When the final whistle blew they fell just short but did so full of pride.

'Serbia fans should be proud of this team,' boss Dragon Stojkovic said, ruing a lack of cutting edge in the final third which cost them a spot in the knockout stages.

'We were fighting until the last second, and I am grateful to the supporters for cheering us on brilliantly in all three games.'

There was plenty on the line for both teams heading into this concluding Group C game but it was Serbian boss Stojkovic in particular who was keen to pull out all of the stops.

Novak Djokovic, pausing his preparations for a potential Wimbledon appearance next week, was in attendance in Munich, while Serbia's water polo team got special dispensation to pause their Olympic Games preparations to cheer on the team against Denmark.

Stojkovic's men were also in white for the first time this tournament and Serbian fans were hoping it would prove a good omen as they looked to book their first appearance in the knockout stages of a major tournament since winning independence in 2006.

It was a chess match of a first half with a total of two shots on target between the two teams, although Denmark, led by Christian Eriksen on a night where he set a new national team record with his 133rd cap, shaded it.

Denmark appealed in vain for what they thought was the opening goal when a sliding Jonas Wind converted from close range.

But replays showed that Eriksen's corner swung out of play before coming back in, as well as Wind grappling with goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic in a clear foul.

Take your pick of the transgressions as it was quickly chalked off.

In what was a must-win game a 0.06xG for Serbia told the story of their first half. Toothless and devoid of ideas.

Dragovic reacted; there was no time to waste. They had to win.

Within eight minutes of the restart his double chance looked to have found the magic touch.

Dragovic had to cut short his celebrates after Serbia saw a goal of their own chalked off when substitutes Luka Jovic and Dusan Tadic combined, only to be deemed offside. Tadic's remonstrations during a VAR check fell on deaf ears.

Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus would find himself on later as strikers outnumbered every other part of this Serbia team and Danish anxiety continued to rise.

Vlahovic was busy when he came on and thought his unselfishness with 10 minutes to go had paid off when he teed up former Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic, only for the Serb to squirm it wide disappointingly.

Mitrovic's frustration boiled over moments later when he squared up to Joachim Andersen, furious that he should have had a penalty for a slight tug on the shirt. Replays showed there was nowhere near enough for a penalty. He was booked for his remonstrations.

'It was a tough, emotional fight, and we knew that would be the case well in advance,' Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand said.

'It would have been nice to score a goal so we had a buffer, and we had our hearts in our throats. I think we should be happy to be through. The first goal has been reached.'

As they now prepare for the ominous assignment of taking on Germany, he concluded: 'There are so many things about the game that I'm happy about. There are one or two things we can change in attack, but I know we can do that.

'We have the quality. We have so many players we can use there. We can create more situations where we're dangerous.'

On a night where the late burst from a pitch invader was one of the most dramatic moments of the 90 minutes, Denmark leave knowing they must bring a lot more to the table when Germany is their foe.