NEXT STOP WEMBLEY
Delaney and Dolberg help Denmark to see off Czechs and set up a semi-final date with England on Wednesday
DENMARK’S incredible story shows no sign of ending yet as they booked a Euros semi-final spot and immediately sent a ‘Wish you were here’ message to Christian Eriksen.
It is another fairytale of epic proportions as they try and pull off a repeat of their Euro 92 heroics when they were literally called off the beach to take part and won it.
You can’t help wondering if their name might be on the trophy given the trauma of Eriksen’s collapse in the opening game.
The Danes looked to be cruising at 2-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg.
But when the Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick pulled one back it suddenly started to look a bit shaky for Kasper Hjulmand’s side.
Hjulmand (celebrating, right) said: “I still think of Christian every single day and of course we are happy he survived. We carried him in this match and all the way to Wembley.
“I am so happy we can remind everyone what football can do in the world. I am very, very proud to be in a semifinals at a Euros with this team.”
Delaney said: “I haven’t had time to talk to Christian yet and didn’t even look at my phone, but I think about him all the time and thought about him during and after the game.
“I keep thinking how amazing it would be to see him play there. He’s still a big part of the team and part of our road to Wembley.
“This team is not something we built overnight, he’s been part of it for a very long time and I wish he was here. I send a lot of greetings to him and he’s a big part of this result.”
Czech star Schick followed in his hero’s footsteps a bit too exactly – and ended up bowing out of the tournament.
The striker gave the Czechs hopes of a dramatic comeback by banging in his fifth goal of the competition to draw level with childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo. But, just like the Portugal superstar, it wasn’t enough and Schick found himself on his way home after Denmark put them to the sword.
Schick said: “We are very disappointed, it all ends here for us. I think we did everything to succeed, but we did not have any power to turn it in our favour in the final minutes.
“We simply ran out of power by the end.”
When the teams came out after the break it was hard to see any other outcome than a victory for the Scandinavians in the heat of Baku.
But after a shake-up by head coach Jaroslav Silhavy, the Czechs began to bounce and caused real concern that they could stage a comeback.
And when Schick pulled one back just four minutes into the second half a Czech revival looked well and truly on.
Delaney got the Danes off to the perfect start by firing them in front with just five minutes on the clock.
When Jens Stryger Larsen’s corner flew towards the far
I think of Christian every day. We carried him in this match and all the way to Wembley.
post the Czechs totally failed to deal with it and there was Delaney, hardly daring to believe how much time and space he had, to meet it perfectly to break the deadlock.
Denmark really could have gone in at halftime three or four goals to the good and with a semifinal place already booked. In the end they had to settle for a comfortable 2-0 advantage thanks to Dolberg, who volleyed in Joakim Maehle’s brilliant cross three minutes before the break. Within a minute of the restart, Czech sub
Michael Krmencik made an impact when he caused Kasper Schmeichel problems with a 25-yarder which the keeper saved awkwardly low down.
But he was completely powerless to intervene just minutes later when that man Schick grabbed a goal back after latching on to a cross from Vladimir Coufal and volleyed it into the far corner.