Denmark dare hosts Germany in last 16 knockout on Saturday

BERLIN | Xinhua | Kasper Hjulmand seemed in a surprisingly good mood after Denmark narrowly made it into the last 16 of the UEFA Euro 2024.

Following the goalless draw against Serbia, the 1992 European Champion proceed as the Group C runners-up.

Having to face tournament host and big favorite Germany this Saturday in Dortmund didn’t cause concern for the Danish manager.

“We like games like that; we feel comfortable being in the outsider role,” the 52-year-old said and mentioned he played four games against England without losing a single game.

“We can manage games like that,” the Dane said.

Defender Yannik Vestergaard, under contract at the Premier League side Leicester City, followed his coach’s optimism.

“Switzerland has proven Germany is vulnerable. They might be a role model for us having detected Germany’s weak points,” the 31-year-old Danish-German emphasized.

Having played for three German clubs such as Hoffenheim, Bremen, and Moenchengladbach turns the son of a German mother and a Danish father into a German football expert.

Together with his coach he praised their opponents’ quality and said, the biggest achievement of German coach Julian Nagelsmann has been the return of Real midfielder Toni Kroos.

“He is providing balance and stability for the German game,” Hjulmand said.

Having achieved three draws in their group coming along with a rather poor performance is far from concerning for the Danish side.

“We reached our goal, no matter how. No things start again from zero,” the Danish coach said, adding that his side can develop a performance plunging the German side into trouble.

Relying on a mood of easiness, and not bearing any pressure, aside from the experience of United midfielder Christian Eriksen, makes Denmark confident.

“Christian is our soul,” Hjulmand said after the 32-year-old scored one of the two group goals three years after a life-threatening heart attack that forced him to play with a defibrillator.

Morten Hjulmand scored the second Danish goal, leading to a 1-1 against England. The Sporting midfielder isn’t related to his coach despite wearing the same last name. The 25-year-old is just one of 206 Danish inhabitants named Hjulmand. ■