England 0-1 Denmark: Christian Eriksen’s penalty earns famous victory after Harry Maguire saw red

When the final whistle blew, there was one tiny little bright star in the England firmament. Reece James had a blinder at right-back. So, naturally, he marched up to the referee, gave him a mouthful over God knows what and was sent-off.

So that made two of them. Harry Maguire was the first. There have only been 18 dismissals in the history of England’s senior team – and 11.11 per cent of them came last night. What a shambles it was.

Not just the defeat, but its manner. Going down to ten men due to two pieces of utterly reckless play by Maguire. The penalty conceded after poor defending by Kyle Walker and confusion added to the mix, courtesy of the increasingly erratic Jordan Pickford.  

And then the debacle at the end, James confronting referee Jesus Gil Manzano of Spain, and becoming the second man staring at a brandished red card. Gareth Southgate looked like he might have gone earlier in the game, too, when Manzano came over and gave him a stern-faced lecture. The indiscipline crept into all areas. It was a very poor night for many.

And for one man in particular. Unlike James, Maguire did not even have the succour of a decent display to soften the blow of the red card. The sad reality these days is that his name appears far too often in sentences that contain the word shambles. Manchester United defensive shambles; England defensive shambles. 

And there is Maguire, the most expensive defender in the world, increasingly hapless, architect of his downfall. Bouncing onto international duty on the back of a 6-1 home defeat for Manchester United by Tottenham, Maguire was sent off here after 31 minutes in what swiftly became three minutes of game-changing calamity for England.

He didn’t start well, either, booked after just five minutes for a nasty tackle on Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen. Maguire dived in and caught Poulsen late and high, quite a savage misjudgement. It was arguably more than a yellow, but just less than a red. Deep orange. Unable to produce a card of the right colour, referee Manzano opted for a booking. So it was foolishness in the extreme later in the half when Maguire tried to correct a mistake by diving in rashly a second time.

There was scant mitigation for this one. It was a dreadful first touch by Maguire, not under any great pressure, the ball bouncing off him and falling invitingly towards Kasper Dolberg, who scented a break on goal. Maguire tried to recover, too desperately, too clumsily, throwing himself into the tackle again, leading leg extended. 

He clipped the ball but his follow through cleaned the lively Dolberg out – he would be substituted soon after from the injury, so there is no suggestion of exaggeration – and instantly Manzano was reaching for his cards. Maguire had the staple crack at feigned innocence and protest, but you could tell his heart wasn’t in it. He knew this one was on him, the 17th red card for an England senior player entirely justified. It doesn’t get any easier, by the way. Poulsen, the man who was too quick for him early on, plays for Manchester United’s Champions League group opponents, RB Leipzig.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles was to be sacrificed as England reorganised, with Tyrone Mings introduced, but before that could happen Gareth Southgate’s night got significantly worse. Another shambles unfolded.

Walker failed to deal with a relatively tame ball up, Thomas Delaney skipping around the vicinity as he tried to bring it under control. For some reason, Pickford saw this as an opportunity to involve himself in the play. Why, who knows? Walker didn’t have the ball under control, but neither did Delaney. Pickford’s arrival on the scene merely added to the sense of panic, made worse by the fact the goalkeeper couldn’t get to the ball either. Scrambling, Walker contrived to foul Delaney. Maybe. It didn’t look much – indeed, first impressions suggested handball as much as contact, although replays confirmed not – but Delaney fell and Manzano pointed to the spot. 

Southgate continues selecting Pickford for England arguing he hasn’t made costly mistakes for his country, but this was most certainly one. He made a tricky situation worse and confused matters rather than resolving them. Christian Eriksen stepped up on his 100th appearance and drilled it straight down the middle, as Pickford helpfully dived out of the way. 

It wasn’t a good game for England after the promising resilience of the Belgium performance. James put some excellent crosses into the box but the strikers failed to attack them. Mason Mount got into some good positions but his final ball disappointed, and on one occasion he kicked the turf instead. 

The one time he delivered the ball to Harry Kane, England’s captain got it trapped under his feet and the danger passed. Kasper Schmeichel made a quite brilliant save from a Mount header in the 66th minute, but a vignette from late in the game better encapsulated England’s disappointment.

It was second-half injury time and England were finally putting Denmark under a little pressure. Not getting in behind them pressure, but balls-in-the-box, scramble-and-see-what-happens pressure. They won a free-kick high in their own half and players began cramming into the area. It need a delivery of high quality. 

Up stepped Pickford. How to put this politely? There is a reason some people are in goal. Pickford is supposed to be the best footballer of England’s goalkeeping options. One might suspect, though, that there will be outfield players fancying their chances more. Pickford ran up purposefully, slipped, miscued and bunged it straight to the first Danish defender. Hopefully, it is a teachable moment.

Watching from home, Jose Mourinho will have been less than impressed, nd he won’t have been alone. Kane, on for 90 minutes, will have angered the Tottenham manager. Jack Grealish, off for the same time span, probably did it for the rest of the country. This result makes it very difficult for England to return to the UEFA Nations League finals, yet it was the absence of flair in an England team we fondly imagine is overrun with it, that will have most frustrated. 

When Grealish excelled against Wales at Wembley last week many thought he would at least have a role to play in the competitive internationals. Yet in a game in which, down to ten men early, England needed a ball carrier, a forward who could run at opponents, beat a man, perhaps draw a foul, he sat unloved among the unused substitutes.

Like for like replacements abounded instead. Jordan Henderson for Declan Rice; Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Marcus Rashford; to a lesser extent Jadon Sancho for Mount. Yet Grealish is one of the men in form at the start of this season. Aston Villa are flying and so is he. What was there to lose, in a game in which England already trailed?

So this was disappointing, as it must have been for Mourinho to see Kane still captaining when the final whistle blew, still taking the odd kick, and largely struggling to make an impact on the game. Southgate insisted the player was not injured – and had the scans to prove it – but Mourinho had asked for Kane to be treated with consideration and not overused; a full shift here was probably not what he had in mind. Then again, this wouldn’t have been how Southgate saw the night unfolding either.

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