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The Danish view: We haven't played a team like Ireland yet

Danish journalist Rasmus Dam Nielsen believes Martin O'Neill's side will provide a different test...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.01 10 Nov 2017


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The Danish view: We haven&...

The Danish view: We haven't played a team like Ireland yet

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.01 10 Nov 2017


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Danish journalist Rasmus Dam Nielsen believes Martin O'Neill's side will provide a different test for Denmark as the sides prepare for their crucial World Cup play-off. 

Dam Nielsen joined Friday's Off the Ball:AM where he explained some of the frustrations the Danish public have had with Christian Eriksen's inability to replicate his club form at international level on a regular basis.

"The frustration in Denmark has been seeing Christian Eriksen play so well for Tottenham and then when he gets into the national team, he wasn't able to perform," he told Eoin Sheahan, "until Age Hareide entered as national coach." 

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"Under him he has been scoring - I think it's twelve goals in sixteen games and that's totally unheard of if you compare to his statistics under Morten Olsen.

"So, I guess you're right that Age Hareide has been very inspired by how Pochettino has been able to get the best out of Christian Eriksen."

The Danish team haven't lost in over a year and while confidence is high in the country, they are wary of the Irish challenge. 

"They haven't met a team like Ireland and I think that's what gives Age Hareide a bit of a headache actually because what has been giving Denmark the most success is playing with long balls, doing the high pressure, doing the tackles, being aggressive and I know that Age Hareide is in doubt whether that will be the right recipe against Ireland. 

"When the draw was made and we saw that it was Ireland that Denmark were up against, he told us, the media right afterwards, that 'Ok, maybe we have to change the plan a bit'.

"We can't play, as we did for example against Poland, where we won 4-0 - a surprising win because we surprised Poland with the aggressive style of play but now we have Ireland which is more physical than Denmark probably is so I think the way he will approach the game is by playing a little more on the grass so to say, not playing too many long balls because we know that Ireland is strong in the air and strong in the tackle so, we have to be smarter and play faster than the Irish," he added. 


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