Stalemate sees Denmark through

Denmark advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship after playing out a goalless draw with England in their final Group A match in Hvidovre today.

Tough test
Denmark only needed a point from the match to secure their place in the last eight as the Netherlands, three points behind before kick off, looked to usurp them with victory over Finland in Køge. England now face Yugoslavia in Hvidovre, while Denmark must take on Group C winners Spain in Lyngby.

Seven changes
England, who showed seven changes from the starting eleven that beat the Dutch 2-0 in Gladsaxe on Monday, were already through to the quarter-finals but won the group courtesy of today's draw. Chris Hogg returned at centre-back, while Nicky Eyre, David Mannix, Tom Groves, Scott Brown, Dorryl Proffitt and Sean Doherty all got their chance to impress coach Dick Bate.

Few chances
The first half saw defences on top in a hard-fought 40 minutes, as neither side wanted to surrender the initiative to their opponents. Jeppe Brandrup had the first real chance after 14 minutes, but blasted his shot just over the England crossbar after Mathew Sadler had lost possession. England then went closer still, as Anders Vidkjær cleared off his own goalline after keeper Kasper Ambrosen had punched the ball goalwards from a corner.

Impressive crowd
Groves then saw his clever back-heel smothered by Ambrosen, before Kasper Lorentzen volleyed narrowly over following a neat flick by Morten 'Duncan' Rasmussen. Both sides showed the physical nature of the game and denied their opponents space for the remainder of the half, as an impressive crowd of over 4,000 cheered on the host nation.

Rasmussen denied
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with neither side giving anything away. Proffitt continued to make an impression in England's forward line and he, along with midfield player Mannix, was at the heart of much of England's good work. Rasmussen, Denmark's top-scorer with six goals in two matches, always looked dangerous but was denied any clear-cut chances by Hogg and captain David Raven.

'Very proud'
The final whistle brought joy and relief for Denmark's players and coach Hans Brun revealed his pride at having reached the last eight. "We are a small country and to be in the top eight in Europe is a great achievement," he said "I am very proud of my players and the Danish people should be too. I am happy with the result, but also because my players were not nervous today as they have been in our first two matches. England have some very good players and are strong in defence. I was certainly impressed by them."

'Equipped themselves well'
Bate was happy with his side's performance, especially that of the new faces drafted into his starting lineup. "They all equipped themselves very well in what was a physical match," he said. "It is tough to come in and play your first match against a team like Denmark but they all did well. Denmark were desperate to win the match and they are a strong side, but we did well to hold a team who have scored ten goals in two matches to a 0-0 draw. We made sure that they couldn't play through us so they had to go long to their front two, but our centre-backs played well and denied them."

'Pleased with form'
Rasmussen had a frustrating afternoon but was pleased with the stalemate and his side's progress. "It was a very difficult match," the AGF Århus striker said. "England's defence played well and I had few chances. It is very good to be through to the quarter-finals but it will be very difficult against Spain. We have played well in the competition so far and I am pleased with our form."