A Kai Havertz penalty and a Jamal Musiala strike gave Germany a 2-0 win over Denmark. Germany thus booked a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals on Saturday.
The host nation reached the Euro 2024 quarter-finals after a dramatic game that was delayed by almost half an hour in the first half due to a violent storm.
Havertz stroked home from the spot early in the second half in Dortmund following a handball by Joachim Andersen, the unlucky Danish defender who had a goal disallowed at the other end only moments earlier.
Musiala, of Bayern Munich, then ran away to stroke in the second goal midway through the second half as Germany’s class told in the last-16 tie.
At one point it looked as if the game could be abandoned as English referee Michael Oliver stopped play in the 35th minute and took the teams off the pitch while a violent storm passed overhead.
Torrential rain, hailstones, high winds, thunder, and lightning caused a delay of 25 minutes before the action could resume.
It made for a memorable night, and one that ended with the host nation coming through a stern test of their credentials to keep alive their dream of winning the trophy in Berlin on July 14.
The path is set to get much tougher from here, however, and Julian Nagelsmann’s team will now go to Stuttgart for a quarter-final next Friday against either much-fancied Spain or surprise package Georgia.
“In the end, it was a game full of adversity. We fought well against the adversity,” Germany coach Nagelsmann said after the game.
“We’re playing with euphoria, we’re playing with fun and that’s when football is the most beautiful,” defender Nico Schlotterbeck added.
Denmark, who famously beat Germany in the 1992 European Championship final, go home without winning a game – they had qualified from their group with three draws.
Their coach, Kasper Hjulmand, complained about the two key VAR decisions which went against his side.
“It’s not how we are supposed to be using VAR. It’s one centimetre,” he said of the offside against Andersen.
“And one minute later there was a penalty, I’m so tired of the ridiculous handball rules,” the coach added.
