Denmark has done a madness
(Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand via nytimes)
THE SCENES!
Just nine days after the terrible, terrible health scare suffered by Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen on the pitch, Denmark has overcome tremense adversity and earned a spot in the Euro 2020 Round of 16.
For context, Eriksen collapsed on the field towards the end of the first half in Denmark’s tournament opener vs Finland. The media originally told fans that the Danish side wanted to continue play on their own free will, in support of Eriksen, only later to find out that UEFA threatened them with a forfeit if they did not continue the match.
Unless you are Russian, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t have been cheering on the Danish throughout the group stage. The sports world, let alone the football world, was behind Eriksen sending kind words and messages of support from all over. Rooting for Russia in this scenario is like saying you hate puppies, grow up.
Of course Denmark’s chances would have been a hell of a lot better with Eriksen on the pitch, but they were in a relatively favorable group alongside Finland, Russia, Belgium. Game one was a blip, shouldn’t even count if you ask me.
Seeing a teammate and friend nearly die on the field with you is bound to have some sort of psychological effect on these athletes' performance, and that showed in their match against Finland; losing 1-0 despite dominating possession (70%) and the shot count (22-1).
Losing after completely dominating the pace of the game has got to be infuriating, I could only imagine how I would feel if that happened to me while playing FIFA. Alas, the Danish were on to the next. In game 2 of the group stage round, Denmark faced the no. 1 ranked team in the world at the moment - Belgium. I’m sure you can assume how that one turned out for Denmark, but I bet you’d be surprised by the box score statistics.
Denmark dominated the shot count 21-6 (6-5 on target) and held their own in a possession-oriented game against one of the most dominant offensive sides in the world. I was thoroughly impressed. Not only did they compete on paper, but the Danish side held a 1-0 lead for the majority of the 90 minutes until Belgium inevitably kicked into high gear putting two away in the second half to take all three points.
Despite being winless in the tournament up to that point, Denmark still had a chance to advance to the round of 16. Not a big chance, but a chance nonetheless. Heading into the final matchday of the group stage, Denmark NEEDED to secure a 2-goal victory over Russia as well as hope that Finland loses to Belgium.
I’ll admit, I was nervous for them. Belgium had nothing to play for and it seemed like a recipe for an upset as Finland were on their last wind in the tournament. Whereas Denmark’s opponent, Russia, was in the exact same boat, fighting for their Euro 2020 life.
At halftime of each game, Belgium and Finland put up a whopping 0-0 scoreline while Denmark held a 1-0 advantage over Russia. The final 45 minutes is where everything exploded. Belgium scored two goals to secure the win over Finland, and Denmark extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second half.
After one of the softest penalty calls I’ve seen in my life, Russia brought it back to a 2-1 ballgame. Somewhat off topic, but there has always been some sort of lingering conspiracy thoughts going on with the Russian national team. I’m not exactly sure what Putin has up his sleeve, but there is no shot that squad was talented enough to reach the World Cup quarterfinals in 2018 without some sort of external intervention.
Backs against the wall, Denmark needed a goal in the final 20 minutes of the game or else their Euro 2020 could have been over. How did they respond? By scoring two.
Denmark came out on top 4-1 when it was all said and done, and they accomplished exactly what they needed to in order to jump from last place to second place in group B. This is one of the countless moments that goes to show sports are more than just a game. The passion and emotion behind the Danish players and fans was unlike anything I had ever seen. They weren’t only playing for their country, but also their captain.