Bendtner best bet, says Peter
is,’ said the former Manchester United goalkeeper.
‘There are a lot of Championship players in the Ireland team and some of our players could go out there thinking “sure, they only play in the second tier of English football”.
‘They have got to be reminded that the English Championship is considered the fifth-best league in the world!
‘I hope they don’t think that way. The English-based players in our team like Kasper, Christian Eriksen, Andreas Christensen from Chelsea and Huddersfield Town pair Jonas Lossl and Mathias Jorgensen should hopefully get the message across.’
Schmeichel finds it difficult to choose a winner, insisting the only main difference in personnel is the craft of Christian Eriksen.
The Tottenham star has revelled under Hareide, who unlike his predecessor Morten Olsen, plays to his strengths. Eriksen has scored in each of the last six games for his country.
‘For the first 60 of Christian’s 73 caps, he was being nullified by the opposition from being played out of position,’ said Schmeichel, now back living in Copenhagen after a decorated career.
‘Christian can now roam around the pitch, being free to play his own game, and it has worked really well for him in the last four months.
‘He’s got responsibilities when we’re not in possession of course — he’s used to that with Spurs — but it’s not like he’s occupying a specific area on the pitch as he was asked to do before.
‘Although Christian is a world star, we don’t have other players from the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool of this world. Ireland don’t either, so there is a vulnerability for both teams in playing such a big pair of games in this playoff.’
Admitting Denmark would have preferred other opponents in the draw to Ireland, Schmeichel stressed his home nation have to be wary of a team which ended the four-year unbeaten home record of Wales last month to clinch second spot in Group D.
‘I didn’t think Ireland would beat the Welsh side, with or without Gareth Bale,’ he said. ‘Wales had got some of the most impressive results in their history over recent years and it was a difficult fixture for Ireland to win. But maybe I should be surprised because only victory would do and they went for it.’
There is also a newly-discovered expectancy on this Denmark team to reach a major finals for the first time since Euro 2012. While Eriksen’s form has been consistent, results have not.
In Copenhagen they lost to Montenegro but hammered group winners Poland 4-0. Tomorrow will be one of the few recent occasions a capacity crowd turns out to support them.
‘The stadium hasn’t been full for many matches because fans thought the football was boring,’ explained Schmeichel.
Denmark’s best chance is by deploying the much-maligned Nicklas Bendtner in attack, according to Schmeichel.
The former Arsenal striker may have become a figure of ridicule in English football but has undergone something of a second coming in Norway.
‘Nicklas had a good season, winning Player of the Year in Norway and the title with Rosenborg,’ Schmeichel reasoned.
‘Before, despite not doing great at club level, he did fantastically well for Denmark. I fact he’s done unbelievably well for Denmark.
‘I remember doing punditry for Denmark games where we discussed beforehand, “Why is he playing Nicklas Bendtner? He hasn’t played for four weeks and is a big risk. Then he scores twice and we’re red-faced afterwards.
‘Two weeks ago, I probably would have said Denmark are the favourites to qualify but my mind is different now the game is getting closer. It will be very tight.’