Euro 2020: Danes to Slay the Dragons

Denmark vs Wales

Wales meet Denmark at the Johann Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on Saturday, as the business end begins to come into view at the 2020 European Championships.

Euro 2020 Wales vs Denmark is the opening match in the knockout phase and what a game it promises to be. The Dragons made it through to the Round of 16 courtesy of a draw with Switzerland and a huge victory over Turkey, while Denmark’s journey was all the more dramatic. No one will forget the collapse of Christian Eriksen and his subsequent recovery and the way his teammates reacted. The Danes lost to Finland on that terrible evening in Copenhagen and then again to Belgium after giving the Red Devils a real fright in the first half.

The way they then thrashed Russia to qualify for the knockout phase put Denmark back up there as many neutrals’ favourite team and dark horse for the competition. And the latest Wales vs Denmark betting odds pitch the Danes as clear favourites, at odds of 1.85, to win this tie in 90 minutes, with the draw at 3.30 and Wales at 4.30 to spring a surprise.

Talking Points

Can Bale inspire Wales again?

Wales interim head coach Robert Page has done a great job in guiding his team to the knockout phase and they are not ready to pack their bags any time soon. They have shown they can compete with some very good sides, but they need their talisman Gareth Bale to thrive. The Real Madrid man went missing for long spells in Wales’ opener in which they were dominated by Switzerland, but a late equaliser from Kieffer Moore gave the Dragons a 1-1 draw and took a whole lot of pressure away from their next fixture against Turkey when Bale was back to his best.

Euro 2020: Can Wales win against in-form Denmark at Johan Cruijff ArenA? — Gareth Bale talking to the team after Wales’ victory against Turkey

He put in a man-of-the-match performance, brilliantly setting up Aaron Ramsay for the first goal as Wales ran out 2-0 winners, before losing to Italy’s second string in their third group game. Bale is his nation’s best player in a generation, and the top scorer with 33 goals from 95 appearances and, while this is by no means a one-man team, Wales are a different prospect when he is on song.

Juventus midfielder Ramsay is a class act but his career has been dogged by injury, while young wingers, Manchester United’s Dan James and David Brooks of Bournemouth, both have pace and trickery and, at 23 years of age, they both have time to improve.

As the last line of defence keeper, Danny Ward has had a good tournament and he will have his work cut out to keep Denmark’s buoyant forwards quiet.

Damsgaard stepping up for Denmark

After losing their first two games in unbelievably difficult circumstances Denmark roared back to hammer Russia 4-1 in a scintillating display of attacking football. Sampdoria forward Mikkel Damsgaard set the Danes on their way with a brilliant dipping strike from outside the penalty area and the 20-year-old continued to torment the Russians throughout the game. Damsgaard was drafted in to replace Eriksen and he looks the real deal in a Denmark team dripping with quality.

Centre back Simon Kjaer is the seventh favourite, at odds of 22.00, to become player of the tournament. The 32-year-old Milan star is the most experienced player in the squad with 110 caps, and he is a born leader. Behind him keeper Kasper Schmeichel has calm authority and, in front, Thomas Delaney is an all-around box to box midfielder. In the victory over Russia Yussuf Poulsen scored his second goal of the tournament while Andreas Christensen scored a thunderbolt which whistled past the Russia keeper before he saw it.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side is down to 20.00 to repeat their triumph of 1992 and win the tournament, and available at 7.00 to reach the final.

They are 2.40 to exit in the quarter-final, where they could well meet the Netherlands and that would be a fascinating contest; but first, they must beat Wales.

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UEFA EURO 2020

History

Both teams have enjoyed success in the Euros; Wales were 2016 semi-finalists, while Denmark are former winners and I wouldn’t rule out them going deep into this competition.

The Danes have edged the head to head Wales vs Denmark results since 1987, winning four to Wales’ three of the seven meetings. The last encounter was a Nations League match in 2018 when Denmark took all three points from the Cardiff City Stadium with a 2-1 win, thanks to goals from Martin Braithwaite and Nicolai Jorgensen while Bale scored a late consolation for Wales.

In terms of recent form, Denmark have won five, drawn one and lost two matches in 2021 while Wales have won three, lost three and drawn two this year.

Betting Tip

	Denmark vs Wales	Over 2.25 @ 2.25
	June 27, 00:00 (GMT+8)

Denmark are hot favourites at 1.85 to advance to the quarter-finals, with Wales at 4.30 and I believe they will have too much quality and energy for the Dragons.

For an alternative bet, you can get SBOTOP odds of 8.00 on a repeat of the outcome the last time the two teams met; a 2-1 correct scoreline.