Denmark impressed on Saturday evening in the first eighth final of the European Championship by dealing 0-4 with Wales. The team of national coach Kasper Hjulmand will continue the tournament next Saturday in Baku against the winner of the game between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Hjulmand does not have a clear preference in advance.
“The Netherlands is a team that looks very sharp and good. We know Dutch football very well. It is a very strong team with good players,” said the national coach of Denmark after the victory in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “For me one of the top teams of the tournament. The Czech Republic has also played good matches. Against Belgium, for example, it was very impressive in March. One of these teams will make it very difficult for us. I certainly have no preference in advance.”
Martin Braithwaite also has no preference for the Netherlands or the Czech Republic, although he went a little overboard in his euphoria. “It’s great, but I’m not surprised. We’ve been through a lot in this tournament, but if we play like this, no team can keep up with us,” assured the attacker, who took the 0-4 himself. “Every opponent breaks, sooner or later. We don’t care where we go or who we play against. We are Vikings and always come to conquer. We will also do that in Baku.”
It was the first time that Denmark played a European Championship match outside of Copenhagen. That it was precisely the Johan Cruijff ArenA could certainly charm Hjulmand. “Johan Cruijff is one of my biggest sources of inspiration and then there was the knowledge that this was Christian Eriksen’s first home outside Denmark. That this is where the foreign adventure started for him at the age of sixteen. Christian was here with us.”
“I already said beforehand that I would really like to win for him here. This is a home not only for Christian, but also for Kasper Dolberg. So in many ways this was a very special evening for us.” Dolberg was in the starting line-up for the first time during the European Championship and took on both the first and second goal. Joakim Maehle and Braithwaite accounted for the remaining goals.
At the Danish daily newspaper Extra Bladet one is brimming with self-confidence. “If I were the national coach of the Netherlands or the Czech Republic, I would grab a Heineken or an Urquell. The rebirth of the Danish Dynamite would make me quite nervous!”, wrote head of sport Allan Olsen, referring to the Dutch and Czech beer.
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