Following their first winless European Championship in 24 years, Denmark turned their form around under caretaker coach Lars Knudsen with a 2-0 win over Switzerland on matchday one of the new UNL campaign, and they started tonight’s clash in a similar vein.
Rounding off a terrific team effort following a one-two exchange with Yussuf Poulsen, Albert Gronbaek tucked a brilliant finish into the near post past a helpless Predrag Rajkovic, though his first international goal had to first survive several minutes of VAR scrutiny from referee Chris Kavanagh.
Having scored just once in four games, after holding reigning champions Spain to a gritty goalless draw on UNL matchday one, Serbia now had a significant task ahead of them.
Yet it was Denmark who continued having the upper hand until the end of the first half, and their dominance only grew after the interval, resulting in a second goal. It was worth waiting for too, as Poulsen met Victor Kristiansen’s pinpoint cross with an exquisite bicycle kick into the far corner.
That piledriver was all the Danes needed to effectively subdue Serbia for the rest of the game, keeping Stojkovic on the lookout for a first victory since beating Sweden back in June. Surprisingly, this result marks just a fourth defeat in 20 games for the Serbs across all editions of the UNL.
Meanwhile, a fourth win in five head-to-heads has propelled Denmark atop Group A4, and they find themselves five points above European champions Spain after just two match days, albeit having played a game more.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yussuf Poulsen (Denmark)