Northern Ireland lost 1-0 to Denmark in a Euro 2024 qualifying match after having a stoppage-time equalizer disallowed by video assistant referee (VAR).
In Copenhagen, Jonas Wind's goal early in the second half was the deciding factor as Callum Marshall, making his debut, had a dream goal disallowed for offside following a review that took over five minutes.
The West Ham player flicked the ball in after Jonny Evans headed a free-kick, but there was disappointment when referee Daniel Stefanski finally gave the offside call after his colleague Tomasz Kwiatkowski took a while to check the video.
The team led by Michael O'Neill defended tenaciously against the Group H top seeds, but made a mistake after just two minutes.
When Ciaron Brown mishandled Joakim Maehle's short cross in from the left, Wind pounced and slammed the ball home from close range.
However, O'Neill will draw inspiration from how a young lineup performed against the most difficult opponent in Group H.
Before the game began, it was announced that Craig Cathcart had sustained a back injury, bringing the total number of first-team regulars out injured to 10. This injury toll threatens to end this qualifying campaign before it has even reached the halfway point.
At the left wing-back position, Trai Hume had his maiden start, with Evans positioned behind Paddy McNair and Brown. Isaac Price, one of three adolescents in the side with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles, also made his debut.
In the boisterous environment of the Parken Stadium, O'Neill was well aware of what he was asking of such young players, and he watched as they endured tremendous pressure before the break as Denmark grew frustrated.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg acrobatically turned to make contact with Andreas Skov Olsen's early cross, but he was unable to find the goal.
The best opportunity fell to Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen just before the half hour mark when space opened up in front of him, but his powerful effort was straight at Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Christian Eriksen then missed a long-range free kick.
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