Schmeichel and Poulsen the stars as Danes deliver

STRIKER Yussuf Poulsen struck a dramatic winner six minutes from time (above) as Denmark beat Switzerland 1-0 in Copenhagen in a Euro 2020 qualifier on yesterday to join Ireland, who were held to a scoreless draw in Georgia earlier, at the top of Group D.

The Irish and the Danes both have 12 points after playing six games while the Swiss, who have a game in hand over the top two, are third on eight points.

Having barely managed a decent effort on goal, Denmark snatched all three points when Poulsen latched on to a sublime reverse pass from Christian Eriksen before going on a surging run and rifling home the ball to send the Parken stadium into ecstasy.

Despite Poulsen’s goal, the man-of-the-match award went to Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who pulled off a string of world-class saves.

The most important one came deep into second-half stoppage time as he somehow managed to get down to his right and steer a ball destined for the bottom corner to safety, and shortly afterwards the final whistle went.

Meanwhile, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic warned Wales his World Cup finalists will not ‘park the bus’ when they clash today.

Dalic made the comments at an extraordinary Cardiff press conference in which his translator was replaced halfway through.

A Cardiff draw today will be enough for Croatia to qualify for the Euro 2020 finals next summer should Hungary fail to beat Azerbaijan in Budapest.

Dalic said: ‘We don’t need to win but we won’t force anything. We don’t have a team that can just defend and park the bus in front of its goal. We have to be patient and smart enough.

‘The defensive side of the game for us will be very important.

‘We need to be focused because we can’t expect to dominate the game.

‘Wales have quality in the team – they showed that with 17 shots in the game in Slovakia – and the fact they are playing at home shows we need to be careful on the defensive side.’

Dalic’s words were translated by Croatia FA press officer Tomislav Pacak after he had replaced the original translator moments earlier.

Pacak stepped in as Bayern Munich winger Ivan Perisic spoke six minutes into the 18-minute press conference.

‘If you don’t mind I will translate the rest of the press conference because you are missing out some pieces of information that he has said,’ Pacak told the translator.

The Football Association of Wales uses translators recommended by UEFA.

Croatia are three points clear of second-placed Slovakia but would have had an even tighter hold on the group but for slipping up in Azerbaijan last month.

Azerbaijan claimed their only point in Group E by holding Croatia 1-1 in Baku.

‘It was an important warning for us, especially as we had a similar situation in March against Hungary,’ Dalic said.

‘We played a good game against Azerbaijan in Zagreb but then not against Hungary in Budapest.

‘It’s happened two times so, as I say, it’s a good warning for us.

‘We expended a lot of energy against Hungary in Split on Thursday, so we need to recover as good as possible.’

Elsewhere, Scott McTominay spoke of the positive effect a wake-up call can have on Scotland as they look to bounce back from four straight European Championship qualifying defeats.

The Manchester United midfielder missed Thursday’s 4-0 loss in Russia through suspension but is back in contention to face Group I’s basement club San Marino today.

‘Football is not always sunshine and rainbows, you have to stick in through the bad moments and keep pushing as a team,’ he said.