Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand and Premier League winner Kasper Schmeichel spoke to the press about their upcoming fixture against the favourites to top Group C, England.
After reaching the semi-finals of EURO2020, Denmark began their 2024 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Slovenia.
Denmark v England is scheduled to begin at 20:00 BST on Thursday, 20 June, with FromTheSpot providing full coverage of the game.
What did Kasper Hjulmand say?
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite Denmark’s status as an underdog for the championship title, their manager has not stopped himself or his team from dreaming about potential outcomes.
“Are we favourites? No. Is it a failure if we don’t win the Euros? No. But I think we need to have the dream and the ambitions because that sets the standards.
“When we train every single day, and we have ambitions in terms of how far we want to go, it automatically sets the standards – if we don’t dream, something is wrong.”
Hjulmand recognised the difficulty of the task in front of him tomorrow, however, as he praised England’s newest superstar Jude Bellingham.
“He had a fantastic season. No one could have thought he would score so much. To see a player at his age shine so much with the Champions League winners is fantastic.”
Thursday’s meeting is a repeat of the European Championship semi-final in 2021 which ended in defeat for Denmark, but Hjulmand has used the loss as motivation for their next group game.
“Losing a semi-final when we were so close and it was minor details that decided it – it took me a while to digest it, I carried it for a while.
“Those kinds of games give you motivation and they inspire you and make you realise you can do it. I think those kinds of defeats make us learn and make us grow, but yes it motivated us.”
What did Kasper Schmeichel say?
Embed from Getty ImagesSchmeichel took a different standpoint from his manager when discussing the defeat in 2021. “I’m not the type of person who’s going to be looking back three years.
“The biggest motivating factor for myself is we’re playing another Euros for Denmark and trying to give joy to our fans.”
However, he was able to look back to compare the relative strength of the two teams compared to when they clashed at Wembley in 2021.
“England were a world-class side three years ago, and if you look at some of the additions and the experience they’ve gained, they are probably a better side. We’re going to have to be at the top of our game to beat them.”
However, the Danish goalkeeper also felt his own side had progressed since their last Euros meeting with the Three Lions.
“One of the things I think is very important in this competition is experience – I think we are stronger [than three years ago]. Momentum is also a big part of football. We had a tough beginning in the 2021 Euros, and we created this momentum that carried us through the games.
“We have to use the experience we have and everything we learnt at the last Euro, and we have to re-find that momentum we had last time.”
Follow full coverage of Denmark’s meeting with England here on FromTheSpot.