Germany’s round of 16 meeting with Denmark has been brought to a halt after severe weather conditions forced referee Michael Oliver to temporarily suspend proceedings until further notice. The two teams were engaged in an entertaining battle, with a place in the quarter-final of the European Championships on the line.
Germany started the stronger of the two sides, with several glorious opportunities to get in front early. The Euro 2024 hosts even had a goal disallowed after there was deemed to have been a foul in the build-up to Nico Schlotterbeck’s header. As the half progressed, though, Denmark slowly played their way into the game and looked to be on the front foot. Their momentum was firmly brought to a halt, though, when Oliver stepped in to pause the match after some truly wild scenes.
Lightning Strikes, Heavy Rain and Deafening Thunder Halted the Match
There was even hailstone
Before halftime had even come around, Oliver was forced to bring things to a stop and suspend the game due to severe weather conditions. First, thunder could be heard roaring, while heavy rain down poured onto the pitch. If that wasn’t enough to pause the match, a series of lightning strikes that occurred dangerously close to the stadium caused the referee to step in and halt things.
After a brief discussion on the touchline about the best possible move, the decision was made for the game to be suspended indefinitely while the weather was given a chance to improve and the players and coaches of both teams were sent back to their dressing rooms to await further news.
Fortunately, the weather eased up not too long afterwards, and the two sides were seen returning to the pitch to warm up ahead of a restart less than half an hour after the game was interrupted.
Denmark’s Momentum Continued After the Restart
They finished the half strong
When the match was brought to a halt, there was a belief that it might have hurt Denmark’s chances of getting anything out of the match. Christian Eriksen and company were firmly on the front foot beforehand, and there was a risk that the suspension would stop their momentum, but that wasn’t quite the case.
Once the match returned, they remained the team in control and if it wasn’t for some superb work from Manuel Neuer to deny Rasmus Hojlund, they likely would have entered halftime with a one-goal lead. Whether they can keep it up remains to be seen, though. There’s still plenty to play for in the second half.