Germany reached their first quarter-finals in four attempts at a major tournament as goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala secured a 2-0 victory over Denmark in a storm-delayed encounter in Dortmund.
On the eve of the Saturday night encounter at Signal Iduna Park, meteorologists had warned that inclement weather conditions in the Ruhr region could disrupt proceedings – and referee Michael Oliver was forced to suspend play for 20 minutes during the first half as a precaution.
By then, Germany had seen Nico Schlotterbeck’s header ruled out after Andreas Skov Olsen was blocked by Joshua Kimmich.
Rasmus Hojlund was guilty of missing two good chances late in the first half, but the game’s big flashpoint centred on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen in a matter of minutes.
First, the centre-back thought he had scored the first goal for his country when he swivelled and found the bottom corner but Thomas Delaney was deemed to have been fractionally offside in the build-up.
As Germany celebrated their reprieve, VAR Stuart Atwell spotted a handball from Andersen moments later in blocking David Raum’s cross. It seemed harsh given the proximity of Andersen to the cross, but Havertz stayed composed to beat Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.
There was nothing controversial about Germany’s second, however, which killed the contest as Schlotterbeck picked out the run of Musiala, who breezed away from Andersen to fire across Schmeichel and set up a quarter-final against either Spain or Georgia.
