Hosts Germany battle Denmark on TSN

They share a border, and they will share a pitch on Saturday as hosts Germany take on Denmark in the UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16 from Dortmund.

Germany heads into the knockouts as winners of Group A, having enjoyed a mostly comfortable group stage.

You can catch Germany vs. Denmark in the Round of 16 at UEFA Euro 2024 LIVE from Dortmund on Saturday with coverage getting underway at 2pm et/11am pt on TSN1/4, CTV, streaming on TSN.ca and on the TSN App.

Opening the tournament with a 5-1 thrashing of Scotland, Julian Nagelsmann’s team followed that up with a 2-0 win over Hungary. It was only on Matchday 3 against Switzerland where the hosts experienced any pushback. Germany needed a stoppage-time equalizer from super sub Niklas Fullkrug to earn a 1-1 draw and keep the top spot in the group.

The Danes finished as runners-up in Group C thanks to a fortuitous yellow card that wasn’t even issued to a player. Denmark played to three draws in the group stage, finishing with two goals scored and two goals against. Slovenia also played to three draws in the group stage, finishing with two goals for and two goals against. To determine who would finish in second and who would finish in third place, it took going all the way down to an eighth tiebreaker – the lower number of cards issued over the group stage. Denmark finished with six, while Slovenia had seven. The difference? A booking issued to Slovenia assistant coach Milivoje Novakovic in their opening match against the Danes.

But was finishing as runners-up really a prize for Denmark? Denmark finds themselves on the same side of the bracket as Slovenia and in a position that they’ve notoriously struggled in over the past: playing the host nation.

Saturday’s game will mark the fifth time that Denmark has played against the host of a major tournament and on all five previous occasions, they’ve lost. In 1988, the Danes lost to Germany in the group stage at the Euro. At World Cup 1998, they fell to France in the group stage. They were beaten by the Netherlands in the group stage of Euro 2000. Most recently, their Euro 2020 campaign ended in the semi-finals against England at Wembley Stadium.

Germany will also be battling against history. It was in the Round of 16 at Euro 2021 where Jogi Low’s 15-year reign over the national team ended with a 2-0 loss to England. It could have been very different, though. After a cagey, back-and-forth 70-plus minutes, Raheem Sterling put England up 1-0. Only five minutes later, Sterling completely misplayed a back pass and sent Kai Havertz on a break the other way. Perfectly timing a through ball, Havertz played Thomas Muller in alone on Jordan Pickford. Having the England keeper beaten, the Bayern Munich man managed to drag his effort wide of the far post, completely letting the Three Lions off of the mat. Five minutes after that, a diving header from Harry Kane gave England breathing room and saw out the tie.

With eight goals scored in the group stage, wastefulness has not been a problem for Germany this time around. With an attack-first mindset, Germany has taken its chances. Nagelsmann says he was impressed with his team’s fightback against the Swiss.

"We had to take a lot of risks at the end,” Nagelsmann said. It was a good rehearsal for the knockout stages."

While what to do with Fullkrug – keep him on the bench or start him and chase goals early – is a potential lineup question for Nagelsmann up front, he has big decisions to make at centre-back. Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah is ruled out of the match with a one-game ban for booking accumulation. His partner in central defence, Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger, is dealing with a thigh injury, but he is expected to be fit for Saturday. Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is the most likely candidate for a start with Waldemar Anton of Stuttgart on standby should Rudiger not be able to go.

Schlotterbeck says he would relish the opportunity to play in front of his home fans.

"I am looking forward to the fans in Dortmund,” Schlotterbeck said. “It is the most atmospheric stadium in Germany and the crowd will push us a lot."

With neither injury nor suspension worries, Kasper Hjulmand is unlikely to change his starting XI against Germany, sticking with Christian Eriksen playing behind Rasmus Højlund and Jonas Wind in a front three.

Schlotterbeck expects a fierce battle with the trio.

"Jonas Wind is an agile striker with good movement, Rasmus Højlund is very fast and knows really well how to use his body,” Schlotterbeck said. “Then they have Christian Eriksen, who has a perfect first touch."

Saturday’s match will mark the fourth meeting between the two at a Euro with Germany holding a 2-1 edge, but Denmark’s win came in the 1992 final. Their most recent meeting at a Euro came in 2012 in Ukraine with Germany emerging as a 2-1 winner in group-stage play on goals from Lukas Podolski and Lars Bender. All-time in 28 games between the two countries, Germany is 15-5-8.

POTENTIAL GERMANY XI (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer; Maximilian Mittelstadt, Nico Schlotterbeck, Antonio Rudiger, Joshua Kimmich; Toni Kroos, Robert Andrich; Florian Wirtz, Ilkay Gundogan, Jamal Musiala; Kai Havertz