Hojlund penalty sees Denmark dent Wales hopes

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After Danny Ward pulled off a couple of brilliant stops to deny the visitors, the Wrexham goalkeeper made an error in judgement by bringing down Gustav Isaksen inside the box.

That allowed Hojlund to convert his penalty, ultimately lifting Denmark to second place in Group A4, six points behind leader Portugal, which beat Norway 2-1 to stay perfect in the group. 

Wales almost found the back of the net in the early exchanges, but Brennan Johnson fired wide from a tight angle before Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was substituted after sustaining an early injury.

Morten Hjulmand headed wide of the upright, while Sorba Thomas failed to test Mads Hermansen with a free-kick at the other end.

The visitors should have taken the lead before half-time, but Isaksen was unable to convert his chances, first heading over from close range, and then blazing a wild attempt into the stands.

Ward had to be alert to keep out Hojlund’s close-range strike in the opening five minutes of the second half before making a stunning stop moments later, tipping Isaksen's header on to the left-hand post.

Johnson was presented with another good opportunity, but the Everton attacker could only fire over the woodwork, after an explosive run from Thomas down the left flank.

Ward then went from hero to villain for Wales after bringing down Isaksen in the penalty area, with Hojlund stepping up to coolly convert the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner in the 75th minute.

Craig Bellamy's side struggled to muster a response afterwards, with Wales now sitting third in Group A4, with one win and three defeats.

Wales had to win if it was to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the competition.