Schmeichel is toast of Denmark

Saransk, June 17: Kasper Schmeichel — son of former Manchester United goalkeeping legend Peter — was showered with praise after his acrobatic display helped earn Denmark a 1-0 over Peru on Saturday to get their World Cup off to a flying start. Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen redeemed himself with the winning goal in Saransk after conceding a first-half penalty, awarded by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, which Christian Cueva blasted over the crossbar.

However Denmark have the next-generation Schmeichel guarding their goal.

The 31-year-old Leicester City shot-stopper pulled off a string of saves to deny Peru’s attack and especially Paolo Guerrero, who went close after coming on for the final 30 minutes. “He is acrobatic, he’s fast on his feet and his goalline play is probably one of the best in the world, that is his strength,” Denmark coach Age Hareide said of Schmeichel. “He had a fantastic performance, they threw people forward including their star striker (Guerrero), so you have to acknowledge his performance.”

Schmeichel’s heroics and Poulsen’s finishing mean Denmark extended their unbeaten run to 16 games and ended Peru’s 15-match streak without defeat.

“This is our fifth game without conceding a goal, it’s very hard to do that, especially at a World Cup game,” added Hareide.

“They got very little out of this game, they probably deserved more, but that’s football.” — AFP