A thunderstorm caused the round of 16 match in Dortmund to be temporarily interrupted. Then Germany stepped up and defeated Denmark 2–0, and are thus clear for the quarterfinals in the European Championship – after a few nightmare minutes for Danish Joachim Andersen.
Sport can be cruel, just ask Danish defender Joachim Andersen.
Right at the start of the second half, he was involved in what must have felt like a nightmare.
First, the 28-year-old shot what he thought was 1–0 for Denmark – but after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed. The replays showed Andersen's teammate Thomas Delaney to be offside by the narrowest of margins.
Just minutes later, it was time for another VAR review, this time for a handball by Andersen in his own penalty area. The referee pointed to the penalty spot after studying the TV screen. Kai Havertz converted the penalty from 11 meters, and 1–0 to the host nation was a fact.
Bad weather interrupted the match
The 1–0 goal came after a goalless first half, where the host nation seemed to have gotten a dream start to the European Championship match – already in the fourth minute, Nico Schlotterbeck headed in a corner for the Germans, but the celebration was quickly interrupted when the referee disallowed the goal.
About half an hour into the match, the weather intervened in the round of 16 match. The sky opened up and the downpour was a fact, accompanied by loud thunder and lightning – so much so that the match was temporarily interrupted.
The players disappeared into the dressing room, and the match was interrupted for about 25 minutes before it could be resumed.
Shared top scorer
In the 68th minute, Jamal Musiala made sure to extend the German lead to 2–0, after a quick German turnaround and an ice-cold finish. The goal was the 21-year-old's third in the European Championship – with that, he shares the top scorer lead with Georgia's Georges Mikautadze.
For Germany, the winner of the match between favorite Spain and European Championship debutant Georgia awaits in the quarterfinals.
