Denmark v Australia match thread

[kingfox]

Good open game that, thought Australia deserved to get the win though, played well again, were able to get players up the pitch today something we didn't see from them against France.

 

Last games in that group will be interesting, Denmark will probably do enough though to get 2nd.

[ozleicester]

Leckie was quality... Kruse is the worst no 10 at the cup

[shen]

Caught glimpses of the game. Denmark looked naff bar that goal. Disappointing that we couldn't put the Aussies to bed.

Also, was it a penalty on Cornelius? I listened over the radio and it sounded like it should at least have been called by VAR.

[ScouseFox]

denmark awful again. the whole of peru deserves justice for that first game. ??. 

[shen]

3 minutes ago, ScouseFox said:

denmark awful again. the whole of peru deserves justice for that first game. ??. 

Justice for what? If you cannot put the ball in the net, you've only got yourself to blame.

[MC Prussian]

Congrats to Denmark, through to the knockout stages with one foot already.

Just need to make sure you get a result against France and that Australia don't beat Peru.

[Jimothy]

1 minute ago, MC Prussian said:

Congrats to Denmark, through to the knockout stages with one foot already.

Just need to make sure you get a result against France and that Australia don't beat Peru.

Nowhere near through. Got the hardest match of the group left whilst the Aussie have a decent chance of beating Peru. I'd say slight favourites because of having points on the board, but it not safe, is say it's on a knife edge.

[AKCJ]

10 minutes ago, shen said:

Justice for what? If you cannot put the ball in the net, you've only got yourself to blame.

Scouse laid the bait out for Finners and you've gone and gobbled it up before he had the chance.

 

Edit; Oh wow it's Facecloth that is the part time Denmark fan. No idea why I thought it was Finnegan.

Edited 21 June 2018 by AKCJ

[dhermon]

Sign up our young lad Azarni will be a cheap signing compared to most transfers these days and could be a real gem in years to come

[Finnegan]

18 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Scouse laid the bait out for Finners and you've gone and gobbled it up before he had the chance.

 

Edit; Oh wow it's Facecloth that is the part time Denmark fan. No idea why I thought it was Finnegan.

 

 

I do love me some Denmark tbf. 

 

My FCK Fischer shirt is in the post ready for five a side next week. 

[ScouseFox]

44 minutes ago, shen said:

Justice for what? If you cannot put the ball in the net, you've only got yourself to blame.

imho good football should be rewarded and the most exciting teams should go through. can peru and australia both still qualify? 

[Koke]

Can't ever remember a time where I've been impressed with Australia. The West Brom of international football. They're lucky they play against pub teams and war torn countries in Asia. Put them in a harder confederation like CAF and we wouldn't have to put up with them every World Cup.

[Jimothy]

5 minutes ago, Koke said:

Can't ever remember a time where I've been impressed with Australia. The West Brom of international football. They're lucky they play against pub teams and war torn countries in Asia. Put them in a harder confederation like CAF and we wouldn't have to put up with them every World Cup.

They used to be in the easiest confederation to top, but that always meant the played the 5th placed South American team and never made it. Shouldn't have been allowed to switch, it's tough they are in Oceana. Bet they'll switch back when Oceana gets a a guaranteed place.

[Jonezy]

Meh. Denmark is not really showing any of the stuff, that made us annihilate the Irish in the playoffs. 

 

Can understand the penalty decision, but I have seen many similar not given and that inconsistency is probably what annoys me the most. 

 

Now France to beat Peru and then Peru to play for pride and nick a point or 3 against the Aussies and we have already done enough. 

Edited 21 June 2018 by Jonezy

[VinceNoir]

Apart from a moment of magic from Eriksen, that was a terrible performance from Denmark. Sisto was shocking. I can see us just scraping through and losing in the last 16 to whoever wins Group D.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Denmark and Sweden are the same - fairly dull and defensive, percentage teams. Enough to get out the groups and rack up more points than the poorer South America and CONCACAF countries but will be eliminated as soon as they play a decent attacking team. CBA with either of them, they are staples of World Cups but add very little

[Bob Weasel Fox]

No way a peno so really lucky for the Aussies

[shen]

6 hours ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

Denmark and Sweden are the same - fairly dull and defensive, percentage teams. Enough to get out the groups and rack up more points than the poorer South America and CONCACAF countries but will be eliminated as soon as they play a decent attacking team. CBA with either of them, they are staples of World Cups but add very little

Fair assessment. But both countries are relatively small and football is competing against a few major sports here, so it's more the norm that sides from those countries are 'average' run of the mill teams. It's a notable achievement for either team to qualify and yet both have arguably had more success than much bigger teams over the past 30-40 years.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

8 minutes ago, shen said:

Fair assessment. But both countries are relatively small and football is competing against a few major sports here, so it's more the norm that sides from those countries are 'average' run of the mill teams. It's a notable achievement for either team to qualify and yet both have arguably had more success than much bigger teams over the past 30-40 years.

Denmark and Sweden are benchmarks for small countries punching above their weight 

 

bravo to them to be fair 

[Blue ROI]

1 hour ago, shen said:

Fair assessment. But both countries are relatively small and football is competing against a few major sports here, so it's more the norm that sides from those countries are 'average' run of the mill teams. It's a notable achievement for either team to qualify and yet both have arguably had more success than much bigger teams over the past 30-40 years.

What other sports have a high profile in the 2 countries?

[ozleicester]

9 hours ago, Koke said:

Can't ever remember a time where I've been impressed with Australia. The West Brom of international football. They're lucky they play against pub teams and war torn countries in Asia. Put them in a harder confederation like CAF and we wouldn't have to put up with them every World Cup.

 

 

To get to the world cup, they played more games than any other country and against three different confederations.

 

So far this week they have...

Matched the No 7 ranked side in the world

Outplayed the No.12 ranked side in the world

and they are still a chance to qualify for the next round

[VinceNoir]

5 hours ago, Blue ROI said:

What other sports have a high profile in the 2 countries?

Handball is huge in both countries. Ice hockey is a big deal, too. Especially in Sweden. 

[shen]

6 hours ago, Blue ROI said:

What other sports have a high profile in the 2 countries?

Badminton, handball, swimming and cycling in Denmark, but football is definitely a major sport too.

 

Sweden are very well rounded as a sports nation and have a lot of focus on winter sports too, especially bandy/ice hockey.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

15 hours ago, shen said:

Fair assessment. But both countries are relatively small and football is competing against a few major sports here, so it's more the norm that sides from those countries are 'average' run of the mill teams. It's a notable achievement for either team to qualify and yet both have arguably had more success than much bigger teams over the past 30-40 years.

Fair and restrained comment from you here as I was being a bit of a knobhead. I recognise not every country has the players to be expansive.

 

However, I do find that the percentage teams add nothing to a tournament unless you're a fan of that country though - defend, get some luck, defend a bit more, get knocked out, rinse and repeat onto the next tournament. You're not realistically going to win it so why not try to have some fun and entertain while competing?

 

Peru who have been knocked out have left much more of a mark on the neutral that Denmark for instance have done in a number of tournaments.....

[shen]

3 hours ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

Fair and restrained comment from you here as I was being a bit of a knobhead. I recognise not every country has the players to be expansive.

 

However, I do find that the percentage teams add nothing to a tournament unless you're a fan of that country though - defend, get some luck, defend a bit more, get knocked out, rinse and repeat onto the next tournament. You're not realistically going to win it so why not try to have some fun and entertain while competing?

 

Peru who have been knocked out have left much more of a mark on the neutral that Denmark for instance have done in a number of tournaments.....

I'm not going to pretend that Denmark or Sweden have played well so far. I'd agree that neither have done much noteworthy apart from that fine goal yesterday.

But I'm not entirely sure I understand your criticism of those teams in particular.

 

Denmark have quite a long and established reputation of trying to play on the deck and under Olsen were a very decent and often entertaining possession based team (topping their group in 2002 and defeating World and Euro champions France (coincidentally) in their final group game (another coincidence)) and have rarely been defensive-minded. The team are trying and by their own admission they are disappointed that they have not been able to control the games better against Peru and Australia like they did against Ireland in the playoffs. You could argue it's a lack of form and ability rather than lack of ambition.

Ironically, there is common consensus that their Euro 92 success was probably the most defensive Danish team that's been. The Greeks took it that little step further in 2004, putting to bed your argument that they're not realistically going to "win it" by being defensive.

 

It's probably because of culture and the general mentality of the Nordics that Sweden and Denmark are typically well-organised teams. Nobody was (or is) pointing the finger at Iceland when they had great success in their first Euros or against the Argies in the first round. They know they cannot compete talent-wise with the big boys, so they just stick to what they're good at and they have unreal belief. I saw an Icelandic documentary the other week about the Icelandic team post-WC qualification and they genuinely believe they can win. They know they are deluding themselves, but they end up believing that they can beat anyone on their day.

 

But I think another aspect that might influence your view is the great focus from the media on nations like Northern Ireland, Iceland, Costa Rica and Peru over the past two tournaments. Obviously because they're minnows but also because of the fans.

 

I've been smitten by Peru, but I don't think they're all that on the football pitch. It's just that few of us are familiar with how these guys play. I've not seen them on this stage before so there's an X factor there, making me give them the benefit of the doubt. Yes, they've looked lively but their finishing has been atrocious. You're looking through Peru-tinted glasses if you think they've left their mark from a footballing perspective when they have yet to score a goal.

 

Finally, and yes I realise this is a rather long post, I would say that most national teams in recent years look rather ordinary with the exception of Spain and Germany. It's understandable when we're so used to watching club teams. I don't feel that England add any more to a tournament than Sweden or Denmark, bar the glamour of PL names. From a quality perspective, they might as well cut the World Cup down to eight teams, but then, that's not what the World Cup is about.

Edited 22 June 2018 by shen