Damsgaard of honour for Eriksen
DENMARK TO PLAY WALES IN AMSTERDAM IN LAST-16
It was fitting that the man who replaced Christian Eriksen scored a goal that the Denmark ace would have been proud to call his own. And of course it was only right that it ended up being the goal which inspired the Danes to pull off a remarkable qualification.
Mikkel Damsgaard’s first-half strike was good enough to win any game. But this was a huge goal and a huge moment for the Danes. It started it all on a crazy night in Copenhagen.
The second was a gift for Yussuf Poulsen and one he gladly took after the break. The third a rocket from Andreas Christensen to seal the win and ensure Russia’s penalty from Artem Dzyuba counted for nothing.
The fourth from Joakim Maehle was the icing on the cake.
And thanks to Belgium’s win over Finland it meant Denmark are through – it is miraculous that they are still in this tournament but how well it is deserved after all they have been through.
Just nine days ago, Inter Milan star Eriksen was fighting for his life on the very same pitch, when he suffered a cardiac arrest during their opening game of the tournament. Understandably they lost against Finland, and days later were beaten by Belgium. Like Eriksen, they would not give in though.
Russia should have taken the lead when Aleksandr Golovin weaved his way through the Danish defence but fired straight at Kasper Schmeichel.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tried his luck from distance for the Danes but his effort fizzed wide.
The packed Parken Stadium was starting to get nervous and then annoyed by Russia’s time wasting. But a moment of magic from Damsgaard was about to lift the roof off the place.
The 20-year-old Sampdoria midfielder took the ball 25 yards from goal and fired home with the ball looping past Russian keeper Matvei Safonov.
Eriksen will have been smiling as he watched at home, as Damsgaard became the youngest scorer at this tournament so far. Denmark still needed a goal in St Petersburg from Belgium.
They also needed a second here. It came thanks to a misplaced backpass which put Poulsen in.
The Danish fans were celebrating again when news came that Belgium had taken the lead. Yet just as that was being ruled out in St Petersburg, Jannik Vestergaard gave away a penalty for a foul on Alexander Sobolev. Dzyuba stepped up to smash it.
But soon after news of a Belgium goal came through again and this time it was not ruled out.
Then Chelsea ace Christensen fired home a rocket before Maehle got the fourth as he slid home after breaking down the left.
Now for Wales in Amsterdam.
RUSSIA (3-4-2-1): Safonov 6; Diveev 5, Kudryashov 5 (Karavaev 67, 6), Dzhikiya 5; Fernandes 6, Ozdoev 6 (Zhemaletdinov 62, 6), Zobnin 7, Kuzyaev 7 (Mukhin 67, 6); Miranchuk 7 (Sobolev 61, 6), Golovin 7; Dzyuba 7. Goal: Dzyuba 70 pen.
DENMARK (3-4-2-1): Schmeichel 7; Christensen 7, Kjaer 7, Vestergaard 5; Wass 6 (Larsen 60, 6), Hojbjerg 7, Delaney 7 (Jensen 86), Maehle 7; Braithwaite 8 (Cornelius 85), Damsgaard 8 (Norgaard 72); Poulsen 6 (Dolberg 60, 6). Goals: Damsgaard 38, Poulsen 59, Christensen 79, Maehle 82.