Germany defeated Denmark 2-0 in a storm-delayed and contentious match in Dortmund to go to their first quarterfinal at a major tournament in four years thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala.
Meteorologists had warned that bad weather in the Ruhr area could delay the match on Saturday night at Signal Iduna Park. As a precaution, referee Michael Oliver had to halt play for twenty minutes in the first half.
By that point, Joshua Kimmich had unlawfully stopped Andreas Skov Olsen’s header, which put Germany ahead.
Although Rasmus Hojlund missed two excellent opportunities late in the first half, Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen was the main focus of the game’s controversy.
When the centre back turned and struck the bottom corner, he initially believed he had scored his nation’s first goal, but Thomas Delaney was later judged to have been slightly offside throughout the build-up.
Just as Germany was celebrating their victory, VAR Stuart Atwell saw Andersen’s handball in blocking David Raum’s cross a few moments later. Despite Andersen’s closeness to the cross, it seemed harsh, but Havertz maintained his composure to beat Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.
However, there was nothing contentious about Germany’s second goal, which ended the match when Schlotterbeck found Musiala’s run, who blasted past Andersen to cross Schmeichel and set up a quarterfinal matchup with either Georgia or Spain.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann: “The first 20 minutes of the game was the best we’ve played at the tournament and then the rain break unsettled everyone. Denmark didn’t have a shot in the first half but in the second half put more pressure on us. There’s a lot of work to do ahead of the quarter-finals, we need to be a little more patient in the build-up phase and wait for our moments.”
German defender Nico Schlotterbeck: “I think we had a super game and hope that the fans in Dortmund enjoyed it. I’m very happy for the team, it’s reward for the hard work. The break for the rain, we handled well. We played with euphoria and with pleasure and now we go to Stuttgart (for the quarter-final). I grew up just a few kilometres away.”
Denmark midfielder Thomas Delaney: “It’s very heavy right now, very heavy. We met a good team. We just needed to stick the knife in. We got what we expected. I don’t know if it’s a big offside for our goal, but it’s probably on me. It was like a bucket of cold water over the head. We invested a lot, we suffered a lot, we have to be honest to say that too. It was a tough match, and we expect that against Germany too.”
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