‘Not that much better’ – Denmark’s Andreas Christensen on England
The Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen has said that Denmark are looking forward to facing England at Wembley in the Euro 2020 semi-final, despite Gareth Southgate’s side being the favourites.
The 25-year-old has been a rock in the Danish defence throughout the tournament and believes his team have what it takes to worry England on Wednesday night. Kasper Hjulmand’s side may not have as many players at top European clubs but the Danes are not intimidated by the English lineup of household names.
“I feel like we have the qualities to play against everyone. As a team, I would not say they are that much better,” Christensen said on Monday.
Christensen is looking forward to taking on Harry Kane, whom he has faced on several occasions in London derbies at club level and says they have some insight from the England striker’s club teammate Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. “We know his qualities and everyone has an idea of what we can do to stop him,” Christensen said.
“Pierre-Emile also knows him and it may be that he can share some things. All football players have their habits, and we must take advantage of them. He is good with his feet and he is one of the best finishers in football. I react a lot on instinct. He is very big, so it is hard to get into his body, but he also has great qualities with his feet, so you should not get too close either.”
The defender revealed he had received a message from his Chelsea teammate Mason Mount wondering why he doesn’t score goals like the one against Russia – a thunderous long-rage effort – for his club. Christensen replied that it will come in the future, but for now he is focusing on Wednesday’s semi-final, adding that “Wembley is a stadium for big games. I have good and bad memories from there.”
The game will take place in front of 60,000 fans at Wembley but due to Covid-19 travel restrictions only Danes resident in the United Kingdom will be able to attend. “We’re going to be outnumbered, but we are happy and we try to be as calm as we can. We have shown that we have the quality to play against the best. It’s going to be about who wants it the most,” Christensen said.
Hjulmand added that “the pressure will be on England” and that Denmark can take heart from last October’s victory against Gareth Southgate’s side at Wembley in the Nations League. “We can use that meeting to make us believe that it is possible [to beat them],” he said. “They have a lot of support but also a lot of pressure on them.”