Isaksen shines in a goal of circumstance as Denmark beats Wales 2-0

VAR wiped out a Gustav Isaksen goal in the 23rd minute, but he still ended up the main character of the night: first with a Ben Davies own goal, and later with a strike of his own that did count. Denmark ended up beating Wales 2-0 at Parken in a UEFA Nations League match that turned into an uphill battle for the Welsh from the first half, even if the scoreline didn't open up until the second.

The first half ended level on the scoreboard (0-0) but not in terms of the run of play. Denmark dominated relentlessly: Isaksen tried his luck with his left foot in the 15th minute, Patrick Dorgu headed just wide in the 16th, and Mikkel Damsgaard rattled the post in the 26th. The clearest chance of all, though, was wiped off the board: in the 23rd minute, Isaksen put the ball in the net, but a VAR review disallowed it and the score stayed blank. Wales, meanwhile, barely showed up going forward, with Connor Roberts firing a close-range effort that Filip Jorgensen smothered right under the crossbar before the break.

The second half picked up right where the first left off, and this time Denmark got what it deserved. In the 52nd minute, a Danish cross ended up in Ben Davies' own net, putting the hosts up 1-0 without him meaning to. Denmark didn't ease off, and thirteen minutes later, in the 65th, the game was put to bed: after a cross that Joachim Andersen couldn't quite get a clean head on, Isaksen pounced on a loose ball and unleashed a right-footed strike from the center of the box that flew into the top corner. The goal went to VAR review again, and this time it stood.

Wales had their moments, especially after the substitutions: Neco Williams tested Jorgensen a couple of times and Connor Roberts kept trying, forcing another save from the Danish goalkeeper late on, but Wales never found a way to pull one back.

The numbers behind the dominance

Possession and overall volume of play painted a picture clearly tilted toward the home side, though Wales actually created more of what are classified as big chances despite seeing less of the ball.

The xG generated in the match, an in-house estimate calculated from shot location, came out to 1.615 for Denmark and 1.195 for Wales, figures that point to a more even contest in terms of scoring chances than the final result suggests, despite the clear gap in overall play and possession.

What the result means for the group

In Group A4, Denmark moves to 3 points with one win and one loss so far in the competition, while Wales remains pointless after two defeats. The gap between the two sides in the group table stands at 3 points. At the top, Portugal leads with a perfect record, and Norway shares Denmark's 3 points, though with a different goal difference.

For Wales, chance creation, both of the match's big chances fell their way, stands as the only silver lining from a night in which clinical finishing and an own goal handed Denmark the decisive edge at Parken.