England were yet again left out to hold for a point after a dull display in Frankfurt. Harry Kane's goal wasn't enough for the Three Lions with Morten Hjulmand's equaliser in the first half enough to keep England at bay.
Harry Kane opened the scoring for England in the 18th minute after Kyle Walker caught Victor Kristiansen in possession. The Manchester City full-back delivered a ball into the penalty area, deflecting off a few players before falling to the feet of Kane to divert towards goal.
Kane's goal means that he has scored in the last four consecutive major tournaments, matching a record that England greats Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen hold.
However, Morten Hjulmand's audacious strike from 28 metres out rippled into the back of the net, earning Denmark a much-deserved equaliser.
The 24-year-old's sweet strike was the 13th goal from outside the box this tournament - demonstrating the outstanding standard expected of teams at this summer's tournament.
An extremely poor second-half display from Gareth Southgate's side did them no favours, with both sides faltering out to a 1-1 draw, amidst the tense atmosphere at Frankfurt Arena.
With this result, England will now turn their heads to Slovenia next Tuesday night in Cologne, while Denmark will play their final group stage match against Serbia in Munich.
Story of the match:
Building on Sunday night's 1-0 win against Serbia, Gareth Southgate elected to name an unchanged side, with Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka playing behind Harry Kane. In addition, a start for full-back Kieran Trippier meant he achieved the milestone of 50 caps for the Three Lions.
Whereas, Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand opted to make one change after his side's nervy start, drawing against Slovenia. Joakim Mæhle was preferred to Alexander Bah in the right wing-back role. The 27-year-old, now at Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg, was an instrumental part of Denmark's EURO 2020 run to the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by none other than England.
Hjulmand's Denmark started the game tenaciously in comparison to their opener against Slovenia; Pierre-Emile Højbjerg's slick one-two with Christian Eriksen created an opening for the Spurs midfielder within a minute, but his effort was fired into the gloves of Jordan Pickford.
It took 12 minutes for England to get going, with Kyle Walker intelligently picking out his Manchester City teammate Phil Foden. The Premier League Player of the Season's neat footwork opened up space to test Kasper Schmeichel, but the 24-year-old couldn't direct his curling effort on target.
However, England's relentlessness paid off and captain Harry Kane fired the Three Lions ahead with a clever attacking move. Walker latched onto a loose ball that Victor Kristiansen failed to take control of, and slid the ball into the danger area, deflecting off Bukayo Saka and kindly into the path of Kane to slot past Schmeichel.
There were warning signs as Denmark burst forward. A tackle from Trent Alexander-Arnold bounced into the path of Jonas Wind, but Marc Guéhi was able to make a diving block to deflect the effort for a corner kick.
The warning signs quickly became a reality for Gareth Southgate's side. Hjulmand, in plenty of space, unleashed a blistering low effort into the bottom corner, ricocheting off the post and past an outstretched Pickford.
The Sporting Lisbon midfielder was called up to the Danish senior side for the first time a year ago, and his stunning leveller was his first for his country.
England emerged from the tunnel after the interval still looking tepid - as if a silhouette of their struggles against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen had returned to greet them.
With the sun still beaming down on Frankfurt Arena at 7pm, the Three Lions needed their ray of sunshine. Some lovely skill from Saka saw him take the ball past Kristiansen with ease, before finding Foden in the middle. The 24-year-old tried his luck again from range, this time drawing even closer and smashing the post.
Opting for more flair and creativity, Southgate decided on a triple substitution with 20 minutes remaining. Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Ollie Watkins came on, replacing Foden, Saka and Kane.
An incisive pass from Bellingham allowed Watkins to roam in on goal, but his snapshot was denied by Schmeichel, preventing the crucial go-ahead goal for England.
Despite the chances, Denmark remained an evident threat. With England's defence being tested, a swift counter-attack found Højbjerg with plenty of room to test Pickford, and his effort was narrowly wide from finding its way past the Everton shot-stopper.
With three minutes added time hoisted up by the fourth official, it seemed clear that England lacked urgency and awareness. Yet another early goal in the books, but another display so poor that it has many questioning why they considered the Three Lions to be favourites to be lifting the Henri Delaunay Cup come the 14th of July.
However, it is now clear what England need to do to improve. To settle critics, they must see past Slovenia easily. Having conceded late to Serbia this afternoon, Matjaž Kek's side definitely have weaknesses that can be exploited.
Whether it can be picked up on in time for Tuesday is a question yet to be answered.
