Serbia crashed out of Euro 2024 in soft fashion after a toothless display against Denmark in Munich.
Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had a quiet night as Serbia's lack of guile in the attacking third was all too evident.
Watched by tennis legend Novak Djokovic, Dragan Stojkovic's boys upped the ante late but it was too little, too late.
The result means that Denmark finished second in Group C – ahead of Slovenia with a better disciplinary record – ahead of England.
It ended 0-0 in Munich.#EURO2024 | #DENSRB pic.twitter.com/xaWfN7woh1
– UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 25, 2024
Serbia really needed to win the game to have any chance of going through, which made Stojkovic's decision to leave Dušan Vlahović and Dusan Tadic on the bench all the more surprising.
It was the selection of a team that failed to reap its rewards in the opening 45 minutes where Serbia failed to score.
Instead it was Denmark who produced almost every attacking goal.
Kasper Hjulmand's men should have taken the lead after 15 minutes when the two defenders combined, Joakim Maehle crossed from the left for Alexander Bah but his header at the far post went wide.
Christian Eriksen saw a 20-yard shot well saved by Predrag Rajkovic before the Danes found the ball in the net – Jonas Wind bundled the ball over the line from Eriksen's corner but the ball was cleared back into play.
Denmark continued to dominate, with Rasmus Hojlund denied by Rajkovic at his close range and Umoya shooting badly from a well-placed position.
I #Three Lions head to #EURO2024 knockout stage as group winners 💪 pic.twitter.com/S8oMxjfuA7
– England (@England) June 25, 2024
In what seemed like an admission that he made no mistake at the start, Stojkovic brought on Tadic and Luka Jovic at half-time and the substitutes combined within seven minutes to create Serbia's first chance to make a mark.
A good ball from Tadic put Jovic in front and, although his first shot was saved by Schmeichel, the Milan striker sent a goal back to Joachim Anderson who pushed the ball over the line.
Serbia's celebrations were cut short however, with the assistant referee raising his flag for offside immediately.
Vlahovic was next as Serbia finally chose to go all out.
And the Juventus man made an impact on the spot, winning the ball from Maehle and putting it back to Aleksandar Mitrovic who shot wide from the right.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic fired a low shot straight at Schmeichel in injury time, an effort that combined their efforts as Denmark held on for a point to go through.
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