Pain for Wales as Danes accept the Amsterdam acclaim
0 Denmark 4
THERE was a cautionary note struck by Jan Molby as he speculated on the impact that playing in Amsterdam might have on Denmark after three emotionally charged matches in Copenhagen. “We could end up with a situation where on the day we’re just flat, we can’t find the energy,” said the Denmark and Liverpool legend. He need not have worried.
There is a catch-all appeal to Denmark at these finals with neutrals uniting behind them in the aftermath of events a fortnight ago when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch against Finland following a cardiac arrest. While Wales weren’t exactly cast as the bad guys here, it struck a contrast between their status at Euro 2016, when they won friends everywhere and their supporters were commended by UEFA for the noise and colour they brought to that tournament.
Quite apart from the presence of 4400 Danish supporters inside the Johan Cruyff ArenA, it was clear from Denmark’s first attack where the Amsterdammers’ loyalties lay as a huge roar enveloped the stadium.
Casper Hjulmand, the Denmark head coach, had played up the significance of his country’s historical links to Ajax. Leading the line for his side was Kasper Dolberg, the former Ajax striker. Eriksen, of course, started his professional career as an Ajacied, while Lasse Schone and Nicolai Boilesen – who were on the bench – also had prolonged spells in Amsterdam. It was a home from home.
But for the first 20 minutes, the game was as Molby had feared. Denmark looked nervous and susceptible to Welsh counters. From one such foray, Gareth Bale cut in on off the right flank and sent in a swirling effort that drifted narrowly wide of
Kasper Schmeichel’s left post. To break the siege, Denmark forced a succession of corners and while they failed to trouble Danny Ward’s goal, there was enough evidence to suggest that they had gained more of a foothold after that troublesome start.
That perception gained significant traction when Dolberg, returning to the ground where he did not always enjoy the happiest of times despite 33 goals in 78 games, curled Denmark in front. The architects were Joakim Maehle and Mikkel Damsgaard, the former feeding a pass between the lines and the latter turning an astute ball around the corner for Dolberg to tee himself up. Damsgaard is a playmaker in the Eriksen mould who would not have seen much action had his more illustrious compatriot not suffered his traumatic misfortune against Finland and this was his second key intervention in this tournament following his delicious strike against Russia just a couple of days earlier.
The goal, after 27 minutes, was just what Denmark needed to settle into their stride. Now it was Wales who looked all over the place defensively and unable to find a way to get up the pitch as their beanpole striker Kieffer Moore struggled to retain possession and Denmark compressed the midfield.
Prior to kick-off, one Danish journalist admitted that fans had already booked tickets for the quarter-final in Baku and four minutes into the second
half they might have been tempted to start snapping up hotel rooms on their smartphones as their team scored a second.
There was the suspicion of a foul by defender Simon Kjaer on Moore before Denmark swept the length of the pitch. Martin Braithwaite controlled a ball while pinned to the touchline then scampered to the bye-line where his cross landed at the feet of Neco Williams. The Wales defender bungled his clearance, succeeding only in sending his it straight to the feet of Dolberg who smashed the ball past Ward. VAR reviewed Kjaer’s possible foul and whether Braithwaite had kept the ball in play but the goal stood nonetheless. It was all that was needed to slay the dragon.
Wales looked spent and Denmark dominated thereafter; when Maehle lashed the ball inside Ward’s near post following a pass from Thomas Delaney with two minutes remaining and Braithwaite buried a fourth in injury time – following another lengthy VAR review – it left those present wondering whether history might be about to repeat itself.
“Trauma bonding” is a psychological term for the scenario in which groups pull together in the face of adversity. Denmark have certainly done that since witnessing the fate that befell their captain in Copenhagen in their Euro 2020 opener. Few countries know as much about triumphing against the odds as Denmark. Not even Hans Christian Andersen could have come up with a tale as fanciful as their victory at Euro 92, when some players were literally on the beach for their summer holidays when they were summoned back to Denmark following Yugoslavia’s withdrawal from the competition, but victory this year would surpass even that.
The players have delivered praise in spades for Hjulmand who acted as counsellor, coach and friend during the emotional fallout in the aftermath of Eriksen’s collapse. He was not even meant to be in charge for this tournament but its suspension as a consequence of Covid means that it is he, not his predecessor Age Hareide, who finds himself at the wheel and he is flourishing in the role. Denmark sit top of their (and Scotland’s) World Cup qualification group and are now into a European Championship quarter-final against Netherlands or Czech Republic.
“The results are the most important thing,” he said in an interview in June. “If we don’t get results I can sit here between now and Christmas Eve and talk and it wouldn’t matter. I want to give the people hope.”
No one can argue that he is not delivering on that mission.