England supporters' anguish as Three Lions draw against Denmark (2024)

England fans have expressed their anguish after the Three Lions laboured to a lacklustre 1-1 draw with Denmark at Euro 2024 which saw goalscoring captain Harry Kane subbed off and manager Gareth Southgate under fire for his tactics.

Pints were hurled into the air in jubilation at fan parks across the country when Kane gave his side an 18th-minute lead - before the same player gave the ball away ahead of Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand's equaliser 16 minutes later.

The game was watched in Frankfurt's Waldstadion this evening by a crowd including the Prince of Wales as well as players' wives and girlfriends.

But spirits were dampened both in Germany and back home as the game ended in a stalemate, denying England qualification for the tournament's knock-out stages before next Tuesday's Group C game against Slovenia.

The dejected travelling support booed the squad at full-time after the underwhelming display out in Germany - and there was discontent in bars and box parks back home.

England's star-studded squad, who beat Serbia in a nervy 1-0 win on Sunday, have the support of their WAGs and the nation as the tournament favourites attempt to go one step further than Euro 2020, when they lost toItalyin the final at Wembley.

The Prince of Wales, who is also the President of the Football Association, was among those who travelled to the game - and he had been hoping for an early birthday present.

The royal jumped off his seat and passionately celebrated when Kane opened the scoring with a close-range strike after Kyle Walkerhad stormed down the right-wing and pulled the ball back.

The Frankfurt Arena erupted as Kane - who now plays his club football in Germanyfor Bayern Munich - wheeled away in celebration, while pints were launched into the air in fan zones and pubs across England.

But the celebrations were short-lived as Hjulmand silenced England's vocal fan base when he powered home with a sensational strike from outside the box, leaving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford helpless as the ball cannoned in off the post.

And there were boos at full-time from fans at BOXPark Wembley in north-west London, where critics called the team 'useless' and saidthey needed to pull their socks up if they still want to win the Euros.

Sporting an England crop top and holding a Taylor Swift bag, Chloe, from the Lake District, said: 'I want Southgate gone. I'd love us to win but I don't think we've got it in us.'

Another spectator there, from Hull, said: 'It was s***. Southgate is rubbish. I hope he don't stay. It was class at here though.’

Lucas, from Essex, insisted, however: 'We didn't win but we had a good time though. I still think we'll win the tournament.'

Earlier at the same location Liam Fairhall, from Brighton, told of turning up there looking forward to a 'boozy' session watching the match with fellow fans.

He told MailOnline: 'It's good day, it's a p***-up, I thought why not?'

Yet he did not have high hopes for the Euros, saying: 'Southgate's going to get too conservative and we're going to go out early on, in the round of 16.’

Friends Jack and James, from south-east London, described how they got 'soaked' when Kane scored.

Jack, who said he was there 'for England and the vibes', told how he 'turned around, saw my mate's two pints, took them and threw both of them in the air'.

'I'm soaked but we're going to win the Euros,' he added.

Katie, 20, and Ella, 19, who attend university in Hertfordshire, had travelled down to London for the day.

Katie said: 'It's coming home. I fancy Southgate, he's fit. I think we're going to win.’

Yet Ella was not so optimistic, suggesting the Three Lions would fail to even make their knock-outs - but both agreed they were having a good time at the BOXPark, even though they were drenched in beer that 'smells like sick'.

Elsewhere, fans soaked up the Sun and sank pints as they eagerly awaited England’s match against Denmark - hoping for a better outcome ahead.

With a mobile bar set up in a garden serving chilled Italian beer, dozens of fans at The Park Hotel in Teddington, south-west London, sat in front of a TV to watch the Euros encounter.

Graphic designer Allsion Oakwood sat under an umbrella with her husband David to see whether Southgate’s team would book their place in the final 16 of the tournament with a victory.

She said: 'I work from home, so it was easy to slip out and come down here. I’m not a big football fan, but its nice just to be outside in the sun. If they score I will cheer.'

Clive Linkin, 52, said: 'I was going to watch the game at home, but its such a nice evening it made sense to come down here. England have a great team and should do well – I hope.'

Andrew Milburn, from nearby Hampton Wick, was with two friends sat in the shade waiting for kick-off.

He said: 'I like it here as its quiet and no one is screaming or shouting. Some of the pubs are rammed and its too much.'

A member of staff at the venue said: 'The weather has really helped. We have a TV screen inside, but people are liking being able to watch the game out in the open.’

The hotel and restaurant is close to the Lensbury Club where England’s women's football team - the 'Lionesses' - have used as home base when playing at Wembley.

England fans thought they were back in front this evening as Manchester City's Phil Foden struck the post in a rare positive moment with his own long-range strike ten minutes into the second half.

But amid another disappointing performance, Southgate rolled the dice with just over 20 minutes to go, bringing Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins and Eberechi Eze on for Foden, Kane and Saka.

And it nearly paid off, as Bellingham put Watkins in behind immediately but his effort was saved by Kasper Schmeichel. Pickford was then called into action by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg as tension grew in the final stages.

With five minutes to go, Denmark almost snatched all three points with a curling effort fromHøjbjerg again, but it went narrowly wide.

But the game ended 1-1, leaving England top of Group C with four points from two games - with one game to go against Slovenia on Tuesday.

Before kick-off, the Prince of Wales joined England's players and fans in singing the national anthem - and gave a thumbs up in an indication that he was feeling positive about tonight's game.

William, who turns 42 tomorrow, was spotted deep in conversation with Denmark King Frederik X as the royals joined tens of thousands of fans at the Frankfurt Arena, with millions more watching at home.

There was criticism of England's players and managers shared online following the final whistle in Frankfurt.

Former England and Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher, now a TV pundit, posted on X, formerly Twitter: '#EURo2024 has been fantastic, but England have been involved in two of the poorest games so far.'

Another ex-Three Lions international Daniel Sturridge wrote: 'England are too talented to sit back after scoring, we got away with it last game but paid for it this game. Our best defense is to attack.'

And former Southampton playmaker Matt Le Tissier, who won eight England caps, commented: 'Don’t think there’s a single England player that can be proud of his performance tonight. Think changes will be made for Tuesday.'

Meanwhile, a Sheffield United fan whose club finished bottom of the Premier League this past season, joked: 'I’ve watched Sheffield United concede 104 goals in a season and it’s not even as demoralising as watching Gareth Southgate’s England.'

Another poster wrote: 'The only 2 bad games of the Euros so far: England vs Serbia - England vs Denmark.'

Yet there was a rallying cry from England's Test cricket captain Ben Stokes following a post-match BBC interview with Three Lions vice-skipper Kyle Walker.

Stokes wrote: 'Class interview that from Kyle Walker…made sure everyone heard they are top of the table but knows there is loads more to improve on, get behind the team and leave the hindsight and negativity to the pundits aye…..come on ENGLAND.'

Due to the timing of today's game, a series of companies allowed their staff to leave work early or offered to show the game on TV in the office - although this is likely to see a rise in absences, sickness and lateness tomorrow, HR experts have warned.

Annual leave requests are up on the May daily average by 123 per cent today and 148 per cent tomorrow, according to research by BrightHR.

The firm added that absences last Friday - the first day of the tournament - were up 302 per cent on May.

An estimated 18.5million people watched England's winning start to Euro 2024 on TV against Serbia on Sunday night as Jude Bellinghamscored in a 1-0 victory.

Some 86 per cent of England fans watched it at their home or a friend's house, while 7 per cent went to a pub, according to data from discount provider Blue Light Card.

Samuel Mather-Holgate, an independent financial advisor at Mather and Murray Financial in Swindon, told MailOnline today: 'Given these major tournaments are only every 2 years, and the England match doesn't demand a whole day of drinking, we will be letting everyone finish 90 minutes early, so they can get home, light the BBQ and relax with a bottle of something bubbly.

'We don't expect any absences the next day, especially given our flexibility for the match. We find that if you try to accommodate your staff's needs, they pay you back with their loyalty.'

And Louise Skittrall, an HR expert at Robinson Grace HR Consultancy in the same town, said: 'In light of the nation's enthusiastic support of the England football team, we will be closing the Robinson Grace HR office at 4.30pm on Thursday to allow everyone to get home in time.

'One of our clients has moved the times of their shifts that day to accommodate a 90-minute gap between the day and twilight shifts while the match is on.

'We're not anticipating many sickies at this stage of the competition but as the tournament progresses, it's not uncommon to have a rise in absence or last minute holiday bookings to accommodate England matches.

'Our advice to clients is to take a pragmatic approach - if watching at work can be accommodated, or a change in working hours on some days can be agreed, this can be a win, win.

'Others introduce a rota system so that those not interested in football volunteer to cover shifts when matches are taking place.'

Some fans took to social media to say how they were working from home today, with one saying on X: 'WFH on Thursday, it is just to watch England lol - they better not be terrible.'

Another posted a selfie of them in their England shirt, saying: 'Back to work today. WFH at least. At least there's some stuff on the TV ...'

And a third tweeted: 'You can tell England is playing today. The way everyone is working from home today.'

Others commented on how they were not working at all today, with one tweeting: 'I took the day off just so I can watch England game.'

Another said: 'Told my boss England plays today I'm taking the day off work.'

Alan Price, chief executive at BrightHR, told MailOnline: 'With England football fans gearing up for the match against Denmark this Thursday, businesses can expect a sharp increase in the number of staff finishing work early or taking half-days to catch the action live.'

He said the firm had looked at its absence management software, which monitors more than one million employees in the UK, to predict the possible impact.

Mr Price added: 'Match days like this one can have a huge impact on attendance and productivity in the workplace, with absences, sickness and lateness sometimes doubling after big games.

'Encourage staff to abide by the terms in their contract and only leave early if they have booked the time off in advance.'

The company revealed that during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there was an increase of 111 per cent in the number of people who called in sick when England played the USA in the group stages on Friday, November 25 when compared to the daily average sickness rate.

This could mean an additional 50,000 people will pull a sickie today if the trend is repeated for the match.

Among the firms planning to show the game to staff is Peninsula, a company which specialises in HR, employment law and health and safety consultancy services for employers.

Kate Palmer, employment services director at the firm, told MailOnline: 'At Peninsula, we choose to show big games in the office so employees don't miss out on any of the action whilst continuing to do their work.

'This could also be good solution for businesses where remote working is not an option.

'With a 5pm kick-off, some bosses may choose to put on a social option for employees to stay behind and watch the match with colleagues, maybe you order in some pizzas and make an evening of it.'#

However she added that firms considering this option should ensure they have the correct licenses in place.

Ms Palmer continued: 'If you are serving drinks, however, remember that social events are an extension of the workplace and inappropriate behaviour that happens at such an event could lead to you having to take disciplinary action the next day.

'Remember employees can use their free time as they wish however if they are not in a fit state to work when they arrive on site then this becomes a problem for employers.

'A gentle reminder that any such misconduct during the Euros will be subject to disciplinary action will often suffice.

'Nobody wants to be the fun police, and many employers are looking forward to the Euros as much as their employees are. Having a sporting events policy in place ahead of major tournaments is the best way to avoid any misunderstanding.'

The BBC said its coverage of Sunday's match was watched by an average audience of 10.5million, peaking at 15million.

The game was also streamed 3.5million times on BBC iPlayer.

England got off to a positive start in Germany when Bellingham scored a header 13 minutes into their Group C opener.

Manager Gareth Southgate said yesterday that he had spoken to his players about dealing with tournament background noise as England look to seal Euro 2024 progress with a game to spare.

England began the tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Serbia on Sunday thanks to Bellingham's early header but lost control of the match, leading to much debate ahead of their second match against Denmark.

But the England boss has been trying to keep the focus on what is important ahead of today's match.

'There's going to be a narrative around a player, a couple of players after every England game,' Southgate said, praising Phil Foden for doing an 'exceptional job' against Serbia despite some onlookers questioning his display.

'This is a different world to the one you experience at clubs. The players as a collective recognise that now after the last couple of days. We talked with them about it.

'It's very rare at their club they'd win a game and experience what they've experienced over the last couple of days.

'I have to make sure I can guide them through that, let them understand it and recognise it's the reality of our world but that we shouldn't be thrown off track by it.

'We're in a good position, we know we want to play better, there are lot of things we did really well and we move towards tomorrow's game.'