Euro 2020 top moments: Denmark advance in thrilling fashion
Copenhagen was absolutely rocking Monday.
Denmark had a big hole to dig out of to keep their Euro 2020 hopes afloat, and they needed help from Belgium elsewhere to ensure advancement, but the Danes got it done in front of their home crowd.
It has been an emotional start to the tournament for Denmark, which endured a scary on-pitch incident when star Christen Eriksen collapsed from cardiac arrest in their first match of group-stage play on June 12.
The Danes lost that match vs. Finland and fell 2-1 to Belgium on Thursday, leaving Denmark with a lot to do to make it through to the tournament's final 16 teams. Coming into play, Denmark needed to beat Russia by two or more goals and for Finland to lose vs. Belgium in order to finish in the top two of the group.
A 4-1 result for Denmark proved to be plenty at Parken Stadium, as Belgium handled business 2-0 against Finland in St. Petersburg.
Here are the top moments from the Group B action at Euro 2020:
The Copenhagen crowd on hand was at full-throttle from the first kick.
Both teams knew that a result would ensure passage to the knockout rounds, so the game featured plenty of early action.
A win was the only way Russia could control their destiny, and the visitors came out organized in defense, with Artem Dzyuba and Aleksandr Golovin asking questions of Denmark on the offensive end.
Fortunately for Denmark, Kasper Schmeichel got down quickly to turn away Golovin's effort in the 18th minute.
Denmark came close in the 29th minute, with a blast from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg that went just wide of Matvey Safanov's net.
The breakthrough came in the 38th minute, when Mikkel Damsgaard — who came into the Denmark lineup to replace Eriksen — wrapped his foot around the ball and bent a shot into the top corner for a 1-0 lead.
By the time halftime rolled around, the Danes still had work to do to advance, especially with Finland hanging tough with Belgium 0-0 at the break in that game.
Denmark had 45 more minutes to not only score one more goal for the requisite goal difference but also hope Belgium could do them a solid.
The first gift came in the 59th minute, off a grievous error from Russia's defense, which lost track of a lurking Yussuf Poulsen in the danger area.
A roar from the crowd at Parken Stadium was short-lived after news of a goal scored by Belgium was soon followed by word of it being chalked off for offside by VAR.
Nevertheless, Denmark seemed to have taken care of business on their end — until a foul and subsequent penalty were called in the Danish penalty area in the 68th minute.
Dzyuba converted the penalty, giving the Russians a lifeline to the knockout stage and putting Denmark's hopes in peril.
Shortly thereafter, Belgium got on the board against Finland, leaving Russia needing just a draw to secure advancement. On the other hand, Denmark needed at least one more goal to restore the two-goal differential required to stay in the mix.
Boy, did they get it. A scramble around the Russian goal, in which Denmark almost slotted home twice in a matter of seconds, eventually resulted in the ball settling at center back Andreas Christensen's feet.
He put his laces through the ball with a fury, hitting an absolute laser to push the score to 3-1 in the 79th minute.
Minutes later, Joakim Maehle added another for Denmark to ease tensions, and Belgium also assured their victory with a second goal in the 81st minute.
With the job done in Copenhagen, the Denmark squad and coaches gathered near midfield to look up the result from the Belgium match.
After starting the day needing a whole lot to go their way, Denmark handled their business with an assist from Belgium to make the round of 16 as the second-place team in Group B.
A knockout clash with Wales, the runners-up in Group A, awaits Saturday.
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