FIFA rules state Denmark’s opening goal against England should NOT have stood after their attackers were too close to the hosts’ wall moments before Mikkel Damsgaard smashed in sublime free-kick
Denmark’s sublime opening goal against England should have been ruled out, according to the laws of the game.
Gareth Southgate’s men conceded their first goal of the tournament on Wednesday when Mikkel Damsgaard fired Denmark into the lead with a fierce free-kick, stunning the hosts inside Wembley.
The strike sent the 8,000 Denmark fans into a frenzy, with Denmark’s ‘attacking wall’ praised for their intuitive thinking, leaving Jordan Pickford beaten all ends up in the England net.
Denmark’s sublime opening goal against England should not have stood, FIFA rules state
Several of Denmark’s attackers stood too close to England’s defensive wall during the free-kick
However, one eagle-eyed viewer spotted an infringement during the set-piece, which would have ruled the opening goal out if referee Danny Makkelie had seen it.
After watching the goal, Man City podcaster David Mooney pointed out several of Denmark’s players were to close to England’s wall, which breaks Law 13, section 3 of FIFA’s Laws of the Game.
FIFA rules state that: ‘Where three or more defending team players form a ‘wall’, all attacking team players must remain at least 1 metre (1 yard) from the ‘wall’ until the ball is in play.’
Many of England’s players protested against the goal, including an irate Harry Maguire, after Luke Shaw fouled a Danish player moments before.
FIFA laws state that attacking players must be at least one metre away from the defending ‘wall’ until the ball is in play
It is not clear if Maguire and Co were protesting the wall, which was also blocking Pickford’s line of view to the ball.
England did manage to turn the game around and went into half-time all square as Denmark captain Simon Kjaer put the ball in his own net from a Bukayo Saka cross.
A controversial penalty in extra-time was missed by Harry Kane, who scored England’s second on the rebound to book the Three Lions’ spot in the Euro 2020 final.
And while many were quick to praise Damsgaard for his sublime free-kick, Gary Neville believes Pickford should’ve done more to save it.
When asked whether Pickford could have done better, the former England international said: ‘Most definitely. I think we feared the worst when it was being lined up as Roy (Keane) said the goal was coming.
Gary Neville said Jordan Pickford should have done better but Ian Wright disagreed (right)
Denmark’s goal was the first that England have conceded so far at Euro 2020
‘Denmark were getting through us far too easily, our back four were getting pulled apart. It’s a long way out, and I think if the ball goes in the corner you’ve got no problem.’
Co-pundit Ian Wright disagreed and said he would prefer to give credit to the Denmark player for his free-kick.
He said: ‘That wall and the strike, Damsgaard has got to get a lot of praise for the way he’s hit that ball.
‘Pickford sees that right at the end, that’s harsh, they’ve targeted him, they’ve targeted Maguire as well with Braithwaite and you have to give credit to Damsgaard for that free-kick.’
