Denmark defeat holders England to reach last fourDenmark 2 (Fischer 13, Zohore 21) England 0

A fine first-half display, including a splendid strike from Viktor Fischer, earned Thomas Frank's team a semi-final place as Group A winners. 

Denmark are assured of a place in the semi-finals following a 2-0 Group A victory against England.
The holders, unbeaten in a competitive game under coach John Peacock since their last group match of the 2009 finals, now need to beat Serbia on Monday to stand a chance of extending their title defence. Their attempts to retain the trophy were dealt a major blow by an impressive Denmark outfit, who won courtesy of first-half goals from Viktor Fischer and Kenneth Zohore.
Thomas Frank's team were brimming with confidence after their opening win against Serbia. Carrying on from where he left off on Tuesday, when he scored a late winner, Fischer was first to apply the finishing touch. Given all the time and space he needed, the striker let loose from 25 yards with a shot which whistled into the top corner.
Denmark's second came via Zohore, a real route one effort and his shotflew past Jordan Pickford. That setback briefly sparked England into life but still they were second best, Hope's tame header and wayward shot the only fruits of their labour.
Fresh from Peacock's half-time advice, England at last began to stretch their opponents down the flanks that proved so profitable against France. Still, though, chances were at a premium until midway through the half, Max Clayton smashing the bar with a splendid volley before turning narrowly wide from close range 30 seconds later.
Dominant in possession until the final whistle, Peacock's charges could simply find no way through a dogged Danish defence.

In todays other game France drew their second match 1-1 against hosts Serbia so it is between those two and England to decide the second semi fianlist from the group then they play on Monday.

Group B matches kick off at 4pm (BST)

Denmark 1 Japan 3

Scorers: Tomasson (Den), Honda (Jap), Endo (Jap), Okazaki (Jap)

Attendance: 27967

Two wonderful free-kicks from Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo in the first half and a late Shinji Okazaki strike were enough for Japan to beat Denmark 3-1 at Royal Bafokeng Stadium and claim a place in the Round of 16. Japan, who will next face Group F winners Paraguay at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 29 June, ended the hopes of a Denmark side who fell at the first hurdle for the first time.

Japan knew a draw would suffice to earn the runners-up spot in Group E and reach the second round, while Denmark needed all three points to leapfrog them into second place. Understandably, coach Takeshi Okada opted for the same side that impressed against Cameroon and the Netherlands. His counterpart Morten Olsen, meanwhile, made two changes to the side that had defeated Cameroon, bringing midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg in for Jesper Gronkjaer, and giving centre-back Per Kroldrup his FIFA World Cup debut in place of the suspended Simon Kjaer.

The Japanese got off to a bright start, with Daisuke Matsui forcing a good save from Thomas Sorensen following a Yoshito Okubo cross from the left, before Makoto Hasebe shot just over the bar. At the opposite end, Jon Dahl Tomasson broke free on the left side of the area before dragging a low shot narrowly wide. Japan made the breakthrough after 17 minutes, when Honda fired home a superb free-kick from 30 yards into the left-hand corner of Sorensen's goal.

Tomasson could have equalised soon after but he failed to connect with a lobbed pass from Christian Poulsen, and Eiji Kawashima did well to parry the ball away. Instead on the half-hour, the Danes fell further behind, Yasuhito Endo curling in a right-footed free-kick from 25 yards past the outstretched hand of Sorensen after Okubo had been fouled by Kroldrup.

With the Danes struggling to take control in the middle of the park, Olsen responded by replacing veteran Martin Jorgensen with Jakob Poulsen. Christian Poulsen tried his luck with a free-kick from distance that Kawashima comfortably gathered, but Japan did not just sit back and on a breakaway, right-back Yuichi Komano tested Sorensen with a shot from an acute angle, the Stoke City custodian turning the ball over the bar.

The second half opened with a scare for Denmark as Endo's looping free-kick was mishandled by Sorensen and bounced on to the left post behind him. For their part, Denmark had a couple of half-chances but neither Kahlenberg nor Tomasson could convert from close range. Jakob Poulsen then sent a shot straight at Kawashima, before Daniel Agger saw his free-kick punched away by the Kawasaki Frontale goalkeeper.

Japan remained a threat on the counter-attack, with Okubo sending a curling shot at Sorensen. Denmark also had a glorious chance to halve the deficit, only for Tomasson to miscue his shot from close range after Dennis Rommedahl had broken into the area from the right. Denmark desperately needed a goal to get back into the game, and it finally arrived from the penalty spot after 81 minutes. Hasebe pushed Agger from behind inside the area, and Tomasson stepped up to take the resulting penalty. Diving to his right, Kawashima parried the effort but the Danish captain responded well to flick in the rebound for his 52^nd international goal – tying Poul Nielsen's all-time scoring record for Denmark.

However, there was still time for the Japanese to seal their victory, as substitute Okazaki slid the ball into an empty net after Honda's clever footwork had beaten a defender and Sorensen to set up their third goal of the night. It was the first time Japan had hit three in a FIFA World Cup match and Honda might even have added a fourth goal, but his shot sailed well over the bar just before the final whistle.

Holland 2 Denmark 0

Scorers: Agger O.G (Hol), Kuyt (Hol)

Attendance: 83465

A Daniel Agger own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late winner earned the Netherlands a deserved 2-0 win over Denmark at Johannesburg’s Soccer City as the Dutch took an early lead in Group E and stretched their long unbeaten run.

Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk had sprung a pre-match surprise with the inclusion of Arjen Robben as a substitute and the early stages could certainly have done with the Bayern Munich winger’s pace and trickery. With Soccer City bathed in afternoon sunshine, the players took some time to establish the expected tempo, and the best efforts of a tight opening 20 minutes came through two hugely ambitious and off-target free-kicks from Wesley Sneijder and Thomas Enevoldsen.

Neither side were doing themselves justice at this stage but, of the two, it was the Netherlands who were displaying the greater attacking intent, with Rafael van der Vaart proving a lively deputy for the sidelined Robben. Twice in as many minutes midway through the half, the Real Madrid midfielder turned neatly on the edge of the box to fashion scoring opportunities, but on each occasion was unable to find the target.

Thomas Sorensen, fit again after suffering a dislocated elbow, endured a heart-stopping moment shortly after when he fumbled a tame-looking Dirk Kuyt shot only to recover the ball at the second attempt. The Dutch would have been worthy of a goal at this stage, but their failure to convert territorial dominance into goals threatened to cost them dearly as half-time approached.

The warning signs had been there when, with 28 minutes played, Nicklas Bendtner found space at the back post to head wastefully wide from a measured Dennis Rommedahl cross. Rommedahl himself tried his luck soon after, firing straight at Maarten Stekelenburg at the end of a lightning Danish break, while Thomas Kahlenberg provided the best effort of the half with a flashing left-foot shot that forced a terrific save from the Dutch No1.

However, it is not for nothing that Van Marwijk’s side came into this match on a record 19-match unbeaten sequence, and they took a deserved lead within a minute of the second half commencing. Robin van Persie was the goal’s architect, beating Sorensen to a through ball before curling over an inviting cross which Simon Poulsen, in his attempts to clear, headed across goal, but crucially against the back of Agger and into the net.

The Danes nearly self-destructed again four minutes later when a misplaced pass allowed Van Persie a clear sight of goal, but the Arsenal forward hesitated and Sorensen smothered bravely. Van der Vaart then came close an early contender for goal of the tournament with an audacious flick matched only in quality by Sorensen’s agile save, while Sneijder rattled the crossbar with a deflected 25-yard shot.

The Dutch were not to be denied, however, and their continued superiority was rewarded with five minutes remaining when Dirk Kuyt slotted home from close range after substitute Eljero Elia’s initial effort had struck the post. The bounce of the ball had again favoured the Oranje, but there could be no Danish complaints about a result that is sure to enhance their Group E rivals’ standing as genuine FIFA World Cup™ contenders.

Holland: 1. Stekelenburg, 2. Van Der Wiel, 3. Heitinga, 4. Mathijsen, 5. Van Bronckhorst, 6. Van Bommel, 7. Kuyt 8. De Jong, 9. Van Persie, 10. Sneijder, 23. Van Der Vaart

Subs Used: 14. De Zeeuw, 17. Elia, 20. Afellay

Denmark: 1. Sorenson, 2. Poulsen, 3. Kjaer, 4. Agger, 6. Jacobsen, 10. Jorgensen, 11. Bendtner, 12. Kahlenberg, 15. Poulsen, 19. Rommedahl, 20. Enevoldsen

Subs Used: 8. Gronkjaer, 17. Beckmann, 21. Eriksen