Russia vs Denmark
Denmark welcome Russia to the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Monday in a must-win game for the hosts, while a draw would be enough to take Russia through to the Round of 16.
The news of Christian Eriksen’s recovery and his discharge from hospital has lifted everyone involved in football. But for the Denmark team, the events of the last week and the happy ending could be just the tonic they need to get their Euro 2020 campaign back on track.
Denmark came into the tournament as a well-fancied dark horse and they could still go deep into the competition, but they must hold their nerve against a dangerous Russia team which needs just a point to progress.
Talking Points
Play like they did against Red Devils and Denmark will win
Head coach Kasper Hjulmand’s task is to prepare his team for this game with Russia, which is to play to their strengths and expose any weaknesses the Russians show, and he does not need to motivate his players to be up for this game.
Without Eriksen, the Danes have lost a creative spark of genius to score a goal or provide for his teammates.
But behind the front men, Denmark have a formidable spine with Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel in the goals, AC Milan’s Simon Kjaer at the heart of defence, and Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Delanay controlling the middle of the park.
All three were in superb form in Denmark’s narrow defeat to Belgium as Yussuf Poulsen’s early strike inspired a brilliant first half of football from the Danes.
They could have been three up at the break but the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne to the Red Devils’ second half line-up turned the game on its head.
Denmark’s Euro 2020 results have not been the story of their competition so far given that they have suffered two defeats since the terrible moment of Eriksen’s collapse.
But now that their friend and teammate is well on the road to recovery, the Danish players will go to the end of the earth and back to secure three points against the Russians.
And it helps that their next opponents don’t have Kevin De Bruyne in the team!
Miranchuk is Russia’s danger man
The pre –tournament Euro 2020 betting odds backed Russia to finish third in Group B and that might well be where they finish up.
But as things stand, Stanislav Cherchesov’s team is in pole position to qualify alongside Belgium and they need a draw against Denmark to reach that goal.
They don’t have the best players in the world and, in recent years, have been over-reliant on captain and main striker Artem Dzyuba.
At 6-foot-6 and with 29 goals from 54 appearances, the Zenit man is a tower of strength on many levels. But Russia have another weapon in their arsenal for Denmark to be wary of.
Aleksei Miranchuck scored the only goal in Russia’s hard fought 1-0 victory over Finland. Since his transfer from Locomotiv Moscow to Atalanta in 2020, he has impressed in his first season with the Serie A high flyers.
His winner against Finland was a beauty as he curled into the far corner and he has the ability to turn a game with a solo goal or incisive pass.
History
Denmark famously won the Euros in 1992, beating the mighty Germany 2-0 in the final in a result which shocked the world of football.
In Denmark’s goals that day was Kasper Schmeichel’s dad Peter, who went on to have an illustrious career with Manchester United.
Russia too have been champions of Europe as the Soviet Union back in 1960, and they did reach the semifinals as recently as recently as 2008.
The two teams have only met once before, when Russia emerged with a 2-0 victory in a friendly back in 2012.
In terms of recent form, both teams come into the game with a record of three wins, two defeats, and a draw, but in entirely different circumstances of course.
Betting Tip
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Russia vs Denmark | Denmark Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.95 |
| June 22, 3:00(GMT+8) |
The Danes are strong favourites here at SBOTOP at odds of 1.70 to beat the Russians, with the draw at 3.50 and an away win at 4.80.
This is a huge game. And if Denmark can win, they will probably make it through to the Round of 16 and their campaign can really get back on track while Russia can confirm their progress if they can hold their hosts to a draw.
Emotions will be running high particularly after the game. But if the Danes can stay focused and play as they did against Belgium then, their superior quality should be enough to do the job.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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