The EURO 2020 knockout stages began with Wales facing Denmark in Amsterdam in the first round of 16 tie. Wales finished second in Group A, with a win, a draw and a loss to their name, while Denmark also came second in their group, Group B, which was extremely tight, as Russia and Finland also ended up on the same points total (3 points), but the Danes’ superior goal difference saw them through. Wales were in their expected formation and with their first-choice XI on the pitch, while Denmark brought in Kasper Dolberg in place of the injured Yussuf Poulsen, having shifted to a 3-4-3 formation from their 4-2-3-1 shape earlier in the tournament. Wales started brightly, with captain Gareth Bale having a couple of shots go close from distance, but it was Denmark who broke the deadlock through Dolberg, as he cut infield from the left to curl a superb shot into the far corner of the goal, leaving Danny Ward with no chance. Denmark doubled their lead a few minutes into the second half, and Dolberg was once again the goalscorer, as Neco Williams’ clearance fell straight to him in the six-yard area, from where the OGC Nice striker did not miss. Wales manager Robert Page made a number of changes to try and turn the match around, but Denmark ended the contest a couple of minutes from the end, as the impressive Joachim Maehle scored for the second game in a row. Wales substitute Harry Wilson was sent off moments later for a tackle on Maehle, and Denmark added insult to injury through Martin Braithwaite’s goal in stoppage time. Wales were therefore eliminated from EURO 2020, while Denmark march on to the quarter-finals, where they will play the winner of the game between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic in Baku. Check out our analytics report from this EURO 2020 match which has all the key statistics, data and visualisations.
