Euro 2024: Why Denmark Finished Second Ahead of Slovenia Despite Exact Same Points and Goals

• The most boring Euro group has an interesting ending with the Three Lions of England occupying the top spot of Group C
• Denmark scraped an automatic qualification spot for the next round and the maths behind exactly why is remarkable
• The Danes drew 0-0 with Serbia in their last group game, while England shared the spoils with Slovenia in their game

Denmark managed to secure an automatic qualification spot for Euro 2024 with a 0-0 draw against Serbia last night, June 25, and the underlying mathematics of this result are quite intriguing.

This draw allowed the Danes to stay ahead of third-placed Slovenia, who drew 0-0 with England in Cologne in the concurrent fixture.

While the matches themselves were not particularly thrilling, the stakes for qualification were high.

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England's draw put them at the top of the group with five points, while Denmark finished second and Slovenia third, per UEFA.

Both Denmark and Slovenia ended up with three points from their three matches.

The tie extended beyond points. Both teams had identical goal differences and conceded the same number of goals (two), which are UEFA's primary tiebreakers.

When it came to yellow cards, both teams again had the same number.

Why Denmark finished above Slovenia in Group C

According to journalist Will Jeanes, Denmark claimed second place based on their higher position in the European Championship qualifier rankings.

The Danish and Slovenia were in the same qualifying group and both ended with 22 points.

Their goal records were nearly identical, with Denmark scoring 19 goals and Slovenia 20, while Slovenia conceded nine goals compared to Denmark's 10.

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Despite Slovenia having a better goal difference, the tiebreaker for qualification was head-to-head performance.

Denmark earned four points from their two matches against Slovenia, winning one game 2-1, while the minnows only gained one point.

The decisive 2-1 victory occurred in November 2023, with Thomas Delaney scoring the crucial goal at 54 minutes.

Though Delaney has only played 16 minutes in Euro 2024 so far, his contribution was pivotal in Denmark advancing to the last 16.

Southgate laments after England's draw

Sports Brief also reported on Gareth Southgate lamenting the 'unusual' atmosphere for England after their goalless draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024.

While Slovenia's team and fans celebrated their advancement to the knockout stage at one end of the stadium, the Three Lions had to deal with jeers.