Denmark’s national football team has secured participation in the European Championship finals for the ninth time.
Coach Kasper Hjulmand’s team won 2-1 (1-1) against Slovenia in the top game of Group H on Friday and can no longer be pushed out of one of the top two places on the last matchday. The match winner in Parken in Copenhagen was ex-Bundesliga professional Thomas Delaney.
The former Bremen and Dortmund midfield strategist scored the decisive goal for the Danes in the 54th minute. Their lead by Wolfsburg’s full-back Joakim Maehle (26′) was equalized by Slovenia’s Erik Janza (30′) with a remarkable free kick goal from 16 meters in the first half. Jan Oblak, who was in great form in the Slovenian goal, prevented the superior 1992 European champions from scoring any further goals.
For the Slovenians there will be a showdown with Kazakhstan on the last match day. The Kazakhs had previously beaten San Marino 3-1 (1-0) on Friday and could overtake Slovenia with a win in Ljubljana on Monday. At the same time, Denmark will play in Northern Ireland, who lost 4-0 to the Finns, who had already qualified for the play-offs, on Friday.