Denmark 1-1 England: Kane's opener cancelled out as England labour to draw with Denmark

England must wait to secure a spot in the European Championship knockout stage after a 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday, a game that Harry Kane ignited with an early goal but ended with his team clinging to a single point.

Gareth Southgate's men delivered a lacklustre performance for the second time in a row, squandering the opportunity to become the first England team to win both of their opening Euro tournament games.

The draw puts the 2020 runners-up at the top of Group C with four points, while Denmark are second with two following Slovenia's 1-1 draw with Serbia earlier.

"We know we can improve," Kane said. "I know there will probably be loads of noise and a bit of disappointment back home but we experienced this in the last Euros as well."

The game got off to a sloppy start with wayward passes from both teams, quickly quieting the sea of red and white fans, which included the Prince of Wales and Denmark's King Frederik.

But Kane, who now has more goals at major tournaments than any other England player (13), put England ahead in the 18th minute when Kyle Walker swooped in to dispossess Victor Kristiansen and fired in a cross that fell to Kane.

The captain lunged, firing a left-footed shot from close range into the bottom left corner. The goal draws him level with Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney as the players to score for England at the most major tournaments, with four apiece.

After that, Denmark were the better team, and an equaliser seemed inevitable.

The Danes took advantage of England's sloppy play in the 34th minute, when Kane passed up the field from a throw-in to Kristiansen, who then passed to Morten Hjulmand. The 24-year-old fired a rocket from about 30 yards out, ricocheting off the left post and into the net.

"It hasn't quite dawned on me yet -- to score a goal for Denmark at a major finals is really, really big, so of course I'm proud," Hjulmand said.

Denmark's midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, felt his team should have won, however.

"I would have traded it for three points," he said of his man of the match award. "We played well, we played smart, annoying that we couldn't get one to go in. We have a lot we can take with us, we have to keep looking ahead and do it, we have time."

Southgate replaced Kane, Phil Foden, and Bukayo Saka with Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, and Eberechi Eze with about 20 minutes to play, hoping to inject some fresh legs and energy.

Both teams squandered chances, with Foden's narrowest miss coming in the second half, when he rang a shot off the post in a far more lively performance than the Serbia game.

Jude Bellingham, who scored England's only goal in a stunning first-half performance against Serbia, had little impact on Thursday against Denmark's physical midfield of Hojbjerg and Hjulmand.

Within a few minutes of the final whistle, the England fans had mostly dispersed, while the Denmark end remained packed with celebratory supporters.

"We understand the supporters' frustration from the outside, but as a staff and a team we need to stay together," said England defender Kieran Trippier, who won his 50th cap. "We know as players we can take it up so many levels."

England face Slovenia in their final group game on Tuesday, while Denmark face Serbia on the same day, with all four teams still technically able to advance in the tournament.