With progression to the EURO2024 knockout stages confirmed for Denmark, the rød-hvide turn their attention to Saturday’s clash with tournament hosts, Germany. The two sides will clash at Dortmund’s famous Westfalenstadion, though the Danish squad opted not to train at the stadium on Friday.
Preparation time ahead of this must-win clash was limited, says Kasper Hjulmand, who also gave an update on Christian Eriksen’s health after the midfielder was a notable absentee from this morning’s training session in Freundenstadt, Baden-Württemburg.
What did Kasper Hjulmand say?
Eriksen’s absence from training was understandably the focal point of discussions throughout Hjulmand’s pre-match press conference, though he assured reporters that the 32-year-old just “had some stomach issues this morning.”
“It’s the same thing that we had with Thomas Delaney, so just to make sure that it doesn’t develop, we told him not to join the training session. Thankfully he’s feeling better… hopefully he can join us for tomorrow’s game.”
“He’s in his own car on the way here, we didn’t want to mix him with the other players but we expect him to be ready for tomorrow,” Hjulmand added, confirming that the rød-hvide have their team doctor with them in Dortmund.
As was the case for all four teams in Group C, goals were hard to come by for Denmark in their opening three matches. Just two goals were scored by Hjulmand’s men, and he accepts that “it’s true that we had some difficulties scoring goals in these three matches – three completely different matches. Our intention has always been to be on the front foot.”
“It’s not only the strikers, the same goes for if we concede too many goals, it’s not only the defenders or the goalie – it’s a team effort. The way we’ve been servicing Rasmus [Højlund] hasn’t been the best. He’s been in the box at the right times, at the right space so it’s all about our way to crate bigger chances – not only for Rasmus but for other players… the ability to crate more chances and to give service to Rasmus is the next step for us.”
As for playing in front of a majority-German crowd at the Westfalenstadion, Hjuland suggested that “the atmosphere tomorrow will be like an away game, but we’re ready and we’re so glad for the people that are coming because they’ll do their very best to be loud and support us.”
“We’re happy for all the love and support we’re given by the people and we’re be ready for tomorrow.”
What did Jannik Vestergaard say?
For Leicester City’s Jannik Vestergaard, playing against Germany will be a unique experience. The 31-year-old defender was eligible to play for die Mannschaft too, and he told reporters on Friday that he “had some meetings with them when I was young and I played for Hoffenheim.”
“Back in the day, it was about [playing for] the U21 team. I imagined myself representing their team, but I just lacked something. I felt that I’d miss out on standing at Parken and hearing the national anthem there,” he added.
Vestergaard’s role has changed a little for Denmark in recent years, operating on the left side of the defence. “It comes really naturally to me,” he said, stressing that “it’s also something we did at the last EUROs, so it’s not something that makes any difference to me. It just gives us more flexibility in defence, so I see it as a strength that we can do that.”
After an impressive performance in Group A, Germany have established themselves amongst the leading contenders to lift the Henri Delauney Cup this summer. Julian Nagelsmann has developed an incredibly flexible side, with questions remaining as to whether Kai Havertz or Niclas Füllkrug will lead the line on Saturday.
“We’re preparing for every situation we can be in during the game, and no matter who is in their [starting] lineup, the other one is probably going to get involved later in the game. No matter what, they’re all quality players so it’s going to be a game where we all have to play as a team,” Vestergaard commented.
“There’s no doubt that for anything special to happen, we would have to be a bit of an upset. It’s a mentality that we embrace, we’d like to beat the favourites and obviously Germany wil be strong favourites here in front of their home crowd. I think taking that bit of grit, trying to be a little bit of a pain and playing to our strengths is what we’ll take from it.”
Germany face Denmark in the EURO2024 round-of-16 at 20:00 UK [21:00 CEST] on Saturday, 29 June. The match will be played at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.