Wales are taking on Denmark at the Amsterdam ArenA in the first match of the last 16 at Euro 2020 this afternoon. Wales finished second to Italy in Group A, while Denmark managed to bounce back from two defeats in their opening two games to finish as runners-up to Belgium in Group B.
Five years on from their memorable run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, Wales have a chance to create more happy memories after reaching the knockouts in successive tournaments. They lost 1-0 to Italy in their final group match thanks to Matteo Pessina’s goal, but the result sent Robert Page’s side through in second despite having to play 35 minutes with 10 men after Ethan Ampadu’s red card.
After a distressing opening game against Finland, in which Christian Eriksen collapsed, Kasper Hjulmand’s team bounced back from consecutive defeats to win 4-1 against Russia in Copenhagen. Goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Yussuf Poulsen, Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle sealed an emotional win in front of thousands of home fans at the Parken Stadium. In making the last 16, Denmark became the first team in European Championship history to reach the knockout stages of the competition having lost their first two group games.