Denmark vs Belgium: Shell-shocked hosts to face tough test
Denmark will face a very tough examination as they prepare to host Belgium. The hosts come into this match having lost 1-0 to debutants Finland, but it’s not the defeat that will be weighing heavily on the players’ and fans’ minds. Rather, on matchday one, the team suffered a huge blow as star player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch. Whilst fortunately the 29-year-old Inter midfielder was able to be revived and is now recuperating in hospital, the mental state of his colleagues naturally won’t be at the best right now. Denmark had to resume play against Finland shortly after the terrifying moment involving Eriksen, and unfortunately ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 score-line.
Now, they’ll have to take on Belgium without Eriksen as they hope to qualify for the round of 16. Belgium, by contrast, eased to a comfortable win over Russia in a score-line that was expected due to the gulf in class between the two sides. A Romelu Lukaku brace on either side of a Thomas Meunier goal was enough to give Roberto Martinez’s men all three points and position the world’s number one side firmly in control of their quartet. Belgium are now ten games sans defeat, and they notably cruised through qualifiers, winning all ten of their matches. Should Roberto Martinez clinch a win over Denmark, that would mark eight Euro wins for the Spanish tactician, pulling him level with former manager Guy Thys.
This will be the first major competition meeting between Denmark and Belgium since the 1984 edition of the Euro championship. During the last meeting, the Scandinavians battled to a 3-2 win after coming from two goals down. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see them pulling off that same kind of heroics in Thursday’s game due to the absence of their talisman Eriksen. Belgium beat Denmark both home and away during the Nations League tournament last year, and have lost just one of their last 24 matches across all competitions. During that period, the Red Devils have won a whopping 20 of their last 23 games, and with Lukaku in the form that he’s in at the moment, it’s hard to see them slowing down anytime soon.
In addition, it’s important to remember that Belgium are still missing two key players: Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. Hazard featured during the 3-0 win over Russia and could be fit in time for a full start here. De Bruyne, meanwhile, is still recovering from facial fractures sustained in Manchester City’s Champions League clash against Chelsea, but he could be back in the squad and on the bench. Overall, Belgium have been fortunate to be placed in a pretty comfortable quartet; next up for them will be Finland, which they should have no problems handling.
For Denmark, though, they find themselves in a difficult situation, and sadly, not through any fault of their own. Whilst several Belgium players, including Lukaku, who plays with Eriksen at Inter, have a close relationship with the Danish star and certainly will be feeling quite a lot of emotions in this match, the Red Devils will have to put any sentimentality aside and get the job done. Denmark, for their part, will likely be fighting an uphill battle from the very start and will certainly do their best to contain the world’s number 1 side to try to get some kind of positive result and keep their knockout round chances still afloat.
So far, Italy have booked their spot in the round of 16 after their comfortable win over Switzerland. Will another team join them after this round of fixtures?
