Denmark and Albania shared the spoils as they played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in their Euro 2016 Group I qualifier this evening.

A win for either side would have taken them top of the group ahead of current leaders Portugal's qualifier with Albania on Monday night.

The visitors felt they should have had an early penalty when Sokol Cikalleshi took a tumble in the box, but referee William Collum dismissed their claims.

Denmark created little in the first half, and their best chance came just seconds before half time when Simon Kjaer headed a Pione Sisto free kick narrowly wide.

The highly-rated Sisto, who was making his full debut for Denmark, showed flashes of his ability throughout the opening period.

Albania, however, were a constant threat on the break, and twice had good chances to take the lead, first when Cikalleshi's header from Ermir Lenjani's cross was tipped over the top by Kasper Schmeichel.

Shkelzen Gashi's through-ball then sent Cikalleshi through on goal, but he could only stab an effort wide.

Morten Olsen's side upped the tempo at the start of the second half, and almost went ahead when Nicklas Bendtner picked up the loose ball after Michael Krohn-Dehli's effort had been blocked, but the VfL Wolfsburg striker failed to find the target with his shot.

Albania's goalkeeper Etrit Berisha then threw out an arm to push clear Nicolai Jorgensen's powerful header from a corner.

Jorgensen was denied twice more by Berisha, first when he got down low to save the Copenhagen striker's effort from the edge of the box, then when he punched a near-post effort clear from close range.

Denmark were totally dominant for the final 20 minutes as Bendtner was only denied by Lorik Cana's last-ditch tackle, before he had a goal ruled out for offside.

However, a winner for the hosts would have been harsh on Albania, who defended well and could even have stolen all three points.

Written by
Joe Sharratt