Report from Euro 2024 as Denmark and Slovenia draw 1-1 in Group C opener; Christian Eriksen opened scoring for the Danes on first Euros appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest in his country's opening game of the last tournament; Erik Janza’s deflected strike gave Slovenia point
Sunday 16 June 2024 22:08, UK
Erik Janza’s deflected late strike cancelled out Christian Eriksen’s early opener as Slovenia and Denmark played out a 1-1 draw in their Group C opener in Stuttgart.
The Danes took a 17th-minute lead after catching their opponents sleeping at a throw as Jonas Wind's clever flick found Eriksen in space in the box, and the Man Utd playmaker made no mistake with a crisp low finish into the corner past Jan Oblak.
The 32-year-old Eriksen, making his 131st appearance for Denmark, ran the show in Stuttgart in the first half, exactly 1,100 days since suffering a cardiac arrest in his country's opening game of the previous Euros.
Both teams could, and should, have added to the scoreline in the second half, only for Oblak to deny Rasmus Hojlund with an excellent close-range sprawling stop, before Adam Gnezda Cerin somehow glanced a header wide of a gaping goal moments later.
However, after the previously quiet Benjamin Sesko had rattled the woodwork with a thumping 25-yard drive, Slovenia deservedly drew level 13 minutes from time when Janza tried his luck from the edge of the area, with his shot taking a big deflection off Morten Hjulmand to wrong-foot Kasper Schmeichel.
Denmark face England in their next Group C encounter in Frankfurt on Thursday at 5pm, with Slovenia taking on Serbia in Munich earlier that day.
For Christian Eriksen, Denmark's opening game at this year's European Championship was a much happier occasion than in 2021: "I do think this time in the Euros, my story is very different compared to last time," he said.
"I did have in mind that I hadn't scored at the Euros, so obviously that was on my mind, but nothing else than football was on my mind. Really just happy to help the team with the first goal.
"Obviously, in the end, there would have been a different story if we had the three points. We would also be a lot happier and a lot more confident. But I think it's a wake up call for us to go into the next game."
Slovenia are still waiting for their first win at a Euros finals. The country's only other appearance was in 2000, when they drew two of their three games and didn't make it out of the group stage.
Manager Matja Kek said: "I think the result is realistic. Maybe we've shown a bit too much respect in the first half, and then we managed to break free in the second half, and our play looked a lot better.
"This is definitely a match that showed me how much room for improvement we still have. We had a great scene for our first game, and this incredible energy from the stands was a plus to deal with the situation."
