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As the group stage of Euro 2024 concluded, England, Denmark, and Slovenia advanced to the Round of 16 from Group C, albeit in a rather unremarkable fashion. Tuesday’s Matchday 3 saw goalless draws for both England against Slovenia and Denmark against Serbia, determining the final standings.
The Three Lions emerged as the group leaders with five points, securing their spot in the knockout stage. Despite their goalless draw with Slovenia at Cologne Stadium, England’s defense, bolstered by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak’s crucial saves, ensured they topped the group.
Denmark and Slovenia both finished with three points each, and the absence of goal difference left them level in the standings. However, a yellow card shown to Slovenia’s assistant coach Novakovič Milivoje proved to be the decisive factor in placing the Danes second. Serbia, with two points, failed to qualify, lying at the bottom of the group.
Disciplinary tiebreaker drama
The tight competition between Denmark and Slovenia was unprecedented. Both teams drew all their matches, each scoring twice and conceding twice, resulting in identical records. This tie extended to their head-to-head match, which ended 1-1. Even their disciplinary records were initially tied, but Slovenia’s assistant coach’s yellow card from an earlier match tipped the balance in Denmark’s favor.
This minor detail sparked debates about the fairness of such tiebreakers, but UEFA’s rules were clear. Had the yellow card not come into play, UEFA would have used their rankings from the Euro 2024 qualifiers to separate the teams. Interestingly, both Denmark and Slovenia finished level in their qualifying group as well. Ultimately, the Red and Whites’ victory over Slovenia in the qualifiers would have still secured them second place.
Denmark through to another Euro 2024 knockout stage
Denmark’s second-place finish set them up for a challenging Round of 16 match against hosts Germany. Meanwhile,…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-euro/euro-2024-the-bizarre-reason-for-denmarks-second-place-finish/
Author : Martina Alcheva
Publish date : 2024-06-26 15:17:28
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