England held by diligent Denmark in EURO 1992 Group 1

John Jensen came closest to breaking the deadlock as emergency stand-in contenders Denmark opened their EURO '92 campaign with a 0-0 draw against England.

With injuries forcing John Barnes and Gary Stevens to withdraw from the England squad before the tournament, Graham Taylor's side had their concerns going into the fixture in Malmo. They would have had even more had Jensen's strike not rebounded back off the inside of the post and into the arms of goalkeeper Chris Woods in the closing stages.

Denmark replaced Yugoslavia at the finals, but looked to be worthy stand-ins as they gave England a rough ride from the off, with Flemming Povlsen firing an early free-kick just off target. England, meanwhile, went close midway through the opening period, Alan Smith almost beating Peter Schmeichel at his near post.

The Manchester United FC goalkeeper got a crucial fingertip to a Tony Daley shot after the break, but ultimately there were no goals. With the other opener in Group A having also ended in a draw, it was to be back to square one for all four sides in their next fixtures.

Lineups

Denmark line up for their opening gameIcon Sport via Getty Images

Denmark: Schmeichel; Andersen, Christofte, Lars Olsen (c), Kent Nielsen, Sivebæk; Laudrup, Jensen, Vilfort; Povlsen, Christensen
Substitutes: Mølby, Elstrup, Piechnik, Larsen, Frank, Krogh, Christiansen, Peter Nielsen, Bruun
Coach: Richard Møller Nielsen

England: Woods; Pearce, Walker, Keown, Curle (Daley 62); Merson (Webb 71), Palmer, Platt, Steven; Smith, Lineker (c)
Substitutes: Clough, Sinton, Martyn, Dorigo, Batty, Shearer
Coach: Graham Taylor

Referee: John Blankenstein (Netherlands)