England grind out stalemate with Denmark as Southgate experiment fails

As experiments go, this one just did not work.

Gareth Southgate tried to put square pegs into round holes, too many players out of position and a formation that simply did not work.

This was painful, no creativity or spark and a return to bad old days on the road with England and, for once, the fans were probably grateful they were not allowed in.

You felt sorry for the likes of Jack Grealish and Mason Mount who spent most of the game looking on from the bench when the game was crying out for some quality in midfield. England immediately looked better when they came on in the second half.

Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling finally got some service after being horribly isolated by the 3-4-3 formation for most of the game.

Jadon Sancho was subdued again and Manchester United fans must be wondering whether he really is worth £110m while perhaps Borussia Dortmund will be concerned his mind is elsewhere. No wonder Sancho was hooked after an hour.

But Sancho not the only problem as much as the midfield which looked one dimensional with two defensive-minded players in Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips sitting in front of three centre halves.

No wonder England could not manage an effort on target until the 70th minute when Sterling’s shot was beaten away by Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Yes, it is still pre-season. Yes, England are missing big players like Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson while Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home in disgrace after their antics in Iceland. Yes, these back-to-back Nations League ties are England’s first games in ten months.

But it still does not excuse a poor performance which did Southgate no favours because trying out a new system will never work if the players are not suited to it.

In fairness to Wolves captain Conor Coady, he did well and stood out in the middle of the back three not just for his composure on the ball but also because he barked out orders and sounded like a leader even on his senior debut.

Sadly for Phillips, his England debut rather passed him by and, despite his huge promise for Leeds, this looked a game too far. It is, after all, a big step up from the Championship last season straight into international football.

But Phillips was probably not helped by a formation that did not work and it was only after Mount came on, soon followed by Grealish for his Three Lions debut, that England looked better.

Needless to say, Denmark were much the better team in the first half and grew stronger and in confidence as it wore on with England probably lucky to still be level at half time.

Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg fired just over after 19 minutes and then Martin Braithwaite hit a low 20 yard shot which whistled just past the post and produced “oohs” from the virtual crowd noise.

The best chance came after 37 minutes when Christian Eriksen rolled former Spurs team mate Eric Dier and then cleverly played in Dolberg who was denied by a smart save from Jordan Pickford who, despite his club wobbles, has never let England down.

Surprisingly, Southgate did not change it until the 60th minute and Mount gave them some impetus in midfield. Kane headed a chance over the bar and suddenly it looked like England wanted to win the contest.

Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles came on for his debut in the dying minutes. A proud moment to join Coady, Grealish and Phillips as one of four debutants.

Kane had a last gasp effort cleared off the line by Mathias Jorgensen deep into injury time. But it was too little too late. An international break to forget for Southgate. And a game in Copenhagen that few will remember.

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