Fire rained down from the sky on the Westfalenstadion, the rain came down in torrents, giant hailstones bounced off the pitch, thunder roared and the match was suspended for 25 minutes while the storm passed.
On a wild and turbulent night in the heart of football in the Ruhr area, Germany played with fire and gave in to chaos. They came close to losing to a great Denmark team, but managed to emerge unscathed from the storm.
This was a magnificent, stressful, brutal rollercoaster of football that could have swung in any direction and when it was over, Germany had its first knockout victory in a major tournament since 2016.
Those with better memories will recall how they were knocked out of their home World Cup at this stadium by Italy in 2006 and there were moments amid the tempest when it looked as though history was about to repeat itself at this home Euro.
But Denmark had a goal disallowed for a more marginal offside just after the break and when the ball went the other way, VAR ruled that Joachim Andersen, whose goal had been disallowed moments earlier, had handled David Raum’s cross.
Jamal Musiala scored Germany’s second goal in their 2-0 victory over Denmark at Euro 2024
Kai Havertz scored the opening goal of the game from the penalty spot after a controversial call for handball.
Joachim Andersen thought he had put his team ahead, but his shot was ruled out for handling the ball and moments later he gave away a penalty.
If it was a night when the gods seemed angry, they seemed more so with Denmark. They had begun to outplay Germany in the same way they had outplayed England in Frankfurt, but Germany were grateful for a night of titanic defending from Antonio Rudiger and Germany were lucky.
And once they got the breaks they started playing freely and Jamal Musiala scored a glorious second and they would have won by more if it hadn’t been for a series of superb saves from Kasper Schmeichel.
Germany were not very convincing, but they still played wonderful football and their victory will dispel some of the doubts that had plagued them after their disappointing performance in the draw with Switzerland.
They will now face the winner of the round of 16 tie between Spain and Georgia in Stuttgart next week. If it is Spain, it will be the highest-grossing tie of the tournament so far. If it is Spain, Spain will be favourites.
Germany thought they had taken the lead after three minutes when Nico Schlotterbeck, replacing the suspended Jonathan Tah, rose magnificently to head a Toni Kroos corner into the back of the net.
The Westfalenstadion celebrated wildly, but referee Michael Oliver saw Joshua Kimmich blocking a defender’s run and disallowed the attempt. Kimmich attempted to atone with a blistering 30-yard piledriver that was too hot for Schmeichel to hold.
Germany launched the attack. Antonio Rudiger sent a precise pass to Kai Havertz, who had made a space for himself in the area. Havertz’s volley was direct, but it was not finished with precision and Schmeichel dived to deflect it.
Havertz’s fate, at least in recent years, is to divide opinion in both club and country and many had been agitating last night for Niclas Fullkrug to start in his place, not least because Fullkrug plays his club football here, Borussia Dortmund.
It took Rasmus Hojlund 18 minutes to get his first touch. Two minutes later, Denmark finally created their first threat. Joachim Andersen played a superb 70-yard pass over the German defence to Christian Eriksen and Eriksen provided the moment of the match so far by bringing him down beautifully.
Rasmus Hojlund didn’t get his first touch until the 18th minute, with his team starting slowly
Christian Eriksen was left cursing a missed opportunity to give his team the lead in the first half
The perfect touch allowed him to place the ball into his path and he attempted to curl a shot past Manuel Neuer, but Rudiger recovered well and stuck out a leg to push the shot away. Eriksen cursed the missed opportunity.
And then, in the 35th minute, it started to rain. The sky had been growling and puffing for a while and dark clouds had been gathering. Soon, fork-shaped lightning bolts pierced the sky and thunder rang out with deafening roars.
The lightning seemed uncomfortably close and Mr Oliver rightly decided to take the players off. It was the only decision made with the safety of the players in mind. The rain was torrential. Giant hailstones also bounced off the pitch.
Germany had its best opportunity of the match as soon as play resumed. Havertz received an excellent cross from the left wing and finished it ten yards from the goal. He should have scored, but he sent the ball too close to Schmeichel, who saved it with a save.
However, Denmark came back into the game and when Schlotterbeck fiddled with the ball in his own area and then tripped over it, Hojlund stole it from him and fired into the side-netting.
Minutes later, Denmark threatened again. They broke through at high speed and Eriksen played a clever first-time pass into the path of Thomas Delaney. Rudiger closed it down but Delaney slipped the ball through to Hojlund. Hojlund tried to slot it past Neuer but Neuer blocked it.
Before the second half began, Oliver called Ilkay Gundogan and Schmeichel, the two team captains, and pointed to the sky again. There seemed to be signs that another thunderstorm was headed toward the stadium.
Play resumed anyway. Germany soon wished they hadn’t. Eriksen curled a free-kick deep to the far post, nodded back and then sprinted into the box. A melee ensued and Joachim Andersen slotted the ball into the net. VAR official Stuart Attwell reviewed it and it was ruled out for offside. Replays showed it was a fan favourite – a toenail-length offside player.
It was a cruel moment for Denmark. But their luck immediately took a turn for the worse when Germany were awarded the penalty for Andersen’s handball.
The skies opened in the first half, with the match suspended due to adverse weather conditions
Germany, one of the favourites for the competition, now faces a possible round of 16 tie with Spain.
Havertz stood on the penalty. Given the antipathy felt towards him, the pressure must have been immense. He ran slowly and stopped his run to try to get Schmeichel to commit. Schmeichel was non-committal. But Havertz hit his penalty perfectly. Although Schmeichel got it right, the ball went over his left hand and he crashed into the post.
Havertz almost scored again, but he put it through with a nice touch and a smart move. Leroy Sané was running alongside him, but he was run over when Havertz was about to pass him. Havertz lifted his effort over Schmeichel’s dive, but it went agonizingly wide.
Midway through the first half, after Hojlund missed an opportunity by shooting too close to Neuer, Germany put the game out of reach. Schlotterbeck sent a nice pass over the Danish defense, Musiala beat Andersen and his shot beat Schmeichel and into the corner of the net.
Once it rained heavily. Now the beer was flying through the air.