HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL SCORE: CZE 1-2 DEN
FULL-TIME: A tough day for Czech Republic, which just couldn't get going in the first 45 minutes. Schick's fifth goal of the tournament wasn't enough as Denmark's fairytale tournament continues after facing a horrid start when playmaker Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field in a group game against Finland.
Czech Republic will face the winner of Ukraine vs England on Thursday (in IST) at Wembley.
90+5' Barak swings wildly but that goes wide off the crossbar. That may be it!
90+3' Hojbjerg is happy to see the ball roll out for a Denmark throw-in. It is all about running the clock down for his team now.
90+2' The whole of Denmark is hanging back desperately as the Czech's search for that ONE cross continues.
90' We will have six minutes of added time.
89' Czech Republic continues to press to look for a final opportunity before we head into stoppage time, if any.
86' A stoppage-laden last five minutes culminates into another yellow card. Kalas booked for dealing a blow to Norgaard's leg.
84' The first booking of the game and it is Krmencik who has been shown the yellow card. Kjaer clips Vydra but the referee sees no foul play there. Krmencik doesn't like it and his protest sees him go into the ref's book.
83' The Czech are down to 10 men for now. Boril is getting his head bandaged as well after Andersen inadvertently clatters into him, getting an elbow on the back of his head.
Another outing for the gauze inside the medical kit.
81' More substitutions. Jensen and Anderson replace Christensen and Delaney.
79' Schick and Sevcik make way for Vydra and Darida.
78' Vaclik saves! How close was this? Wass feeds Poulsen up top but the latter's shot has been nudged away by the Czech shot-stopper.
76' Denmark is starting to look weary and a bit disjointed even as the Czech- who are a little more than 10 minutes away from elimination - would now look to throw every caution to the wind.
74' Schmeichel gets his fingertip on the ball as Barak's freekick goes behind for a corner.
72' Jankto scoops one in from the left finding himself in a bit of space but Kjaer flicks it out over the goal for a corner.
70' Like-for-like replacement as Hjulmand sends in Wass for Larsen.
68' Braithwaite, cramped for space, does well to flick one into Poulsen's path. Forced to go for it from a distance, Poulsen doesn't get much power behind the shot as Vaclik gathers.
64' The Czech captain is down as Poulsen's studs catch him on the head in the box. An unintentional blow, though. As he receives medical attention, Celustka goes off, seemingly having pulled a muscle. Brabec fills in. Soucek comes back on in a while with a bandaged head.
61' Now Poulsen jumps into action as he breaks into a run on the left. He feeds the ball to Braithwaite, whose clumsy shot sees the Czech win back possession. However, Norgaard recycles it but Soulcek clears.
59' Double change for Denmark this time. Poulsen and Norgaard replace Dolberg and Damsgaard.
57' Jankto whips a ball in from the left but it ends up being only catching practice for Schmeichel. The introduction of fresh pairs of legs in Krmencik and Jankto is working wonders for Czech Republic.
56' Larsen's corner kick has been headed away.
52' Denmark wins a corner, the first in this half in a welcome relief for its fans. The impending danger, however, has been taken care of by the Czech defence.
49' Schick comes to Czech Republic's rescue yet again! Coulfal sends in a brilliant cross from the right and Schick turns it in to go level with Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the Golden Boot leaderboard in Euro 2020 with five goals.
47' Two more opportunities comes Czech Republic's way as Schick and Barak fire. But the scoreline remains unchanged as the Czech continue in their efforts to break open the doors.
46' Kremcik makes an impact straightaway as he charges on and has a shot on goal. Schmeichel is made to work to punch this ball away.
45' Krmencik and Jankto come on for Masopust and Holes at the break as the Czech attempt to stage a comeback into the contest.
HALF-TIME: There's a lot of work to be done in the second half if Czech Republic wants to book a ticket to Wembley! Denmark, presently, is completely in control of the proceedings in Baku.
45+1' Coufal clips Maehle on the leg. The physios have been called in again. Maehle hobbles off the ground aided by the medical staff.
45' Two minutes have been added on.
42' Dolberg makes it 2-0! Vestergaard picks Maehle on the left this time. He sends in a brilliant cross and a clinical finish from Dolberg, at the far post, helps Denmark extend its lead.
39' Larsen and Boril both rise to meet a high ball but end up hitting the deck awkwardly. The medical team rushes onto the pitch and a minute later, both are okay to carry on.
37' Vestergaard sends in a long ball to Damsgaard, who gets the better of Kalas yet again. The winger has all the time to unleash a fiery shot on goal, but Vaclik makes a brilliant save.
35' Holes pulls the trigger from the edge of the penalty area but this has gone straight to Schmeichel.
33' Denmark springs into a counter-attack post a throw-in opportunity in the deep. Braithwaite leads the charge and threads a ball ahead of Larsen. An alert Vaclik, however, steps out to nullify the challenge.
32' Sevcik is fouled again. Delaney is the culprit on this occasion. A freekick has been awarded but Dolberg clears.
29' Damsgaard trips Sevcik and the Czech have rightly pocketed another freekick. Sevcik himself gets behind the ball but Celustka mistimes his jump near the goal.
27' Braithwaite drives from the right but sends the ball wide. A decent effort.
25' Sevcik's corner kick floats to Soucek, unchallenged at the back. The West Ham midfielder should have done better.
22' Schmeichel charges out of his line to deny Holes, who was set up by Masopust from the right. However, the ball trickles behind for a Czech Republic corner.
19' Barak delivers from the corner as another opportunity goes abegging wide off the shoulder of Kalas.
17' Delaney continues to frustrate the Czech defence. It's Larsen with a well-placed cross again but Delaney's touch rolls past the woodwork.
15' The Czech win a free kick from a potentially dangerous spot. Barak, standing over it, finds Soucek, who heads it to Sevcik, but the volley sails off target.
11' Czech Republic wins a corner. Schick goes for goal but it has been dragged high and wide.
10' Braithwaite gives away a free kick just outside the Czech area.
6' Almost another! Larsen and Hojbjerg combine on the right before the latter sends in a cross. However, there was nobody at the other end to act on it.
5' GOAL! The first corner of the match has been awarded to the Danes. Larsen picks Delaney, who is completely unmarked at the far post. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder responds with a regulation nod into the back of the net.
3' Coufal swings at a loose ball from outside the area but his effort has been blocked by the Danish defence.
2' Maehle is up on his feet and good to go.
1' An early stoppage in play as Maehle takes a blow to his head from Soucek in a mid-air collision. The physios have been called upon.
KICKOFF! And we are underway in Baku. Denmark, in its white strip, gets the ball rolling from left to right.
9:25 PM IST: Time for the national anthems. Denmark up first.
9:24 PM IST: The teams are being led onto the pitch from the tunnel by the match officials.
TEAM NEWS AND LINEUPS
The Czech Republic has made only one change to the team, which beat the Netherlands in the Round of 16 last Sunday - Jan Boril is back after his one-match suspension and replaces Pavel Kaderabek at left-back.
Tomas Soucek is set to wear the captain's armband today for only the third time in his career as Vladimir Darida starts on the bench.
Czech Republic : Vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Boril; Holes, Soucek (c); Masopust, Barak, Sevcik; Schick
Subs: Kaderabek, Brabec, Darida, Krmencik, Jankto, Mandous, Zima, Vydra, Kral, Koubek, Pekhart, Pesek
The Danes are unchanged. Kasper Dolberg retains his place. Coach Kasper Hjulmand has also chosen to go with Jens Stryger-Larsen at right wing-back with Daniel Wass among the substitutes.
Denmark : Schmeichel; Christensen, Kjaer (c), Vestergaard; Stryger, Hojbjerg, Delaney, Maehle; Braithwaite, Dolberg, Damsgaard
Subs: Andersen, Skov, Skov Olsen, Mathias Zanka Jorgensen, Norgaard, Lossl, Wass, Wind, Poulsen, Cornelius, Ronnow, Jensen
Match Officials: Referee - Bjorn Kuipers (NED); Assistant referees - Sander van Roekel (NED), Erwin Zeinstra (NED); Fourth official - Sergei Karasev (RUS); Video Assistant Referee - Pol van Boekel (NED)
WHAT THEY SAID
Tomas Holes spoke to EURO2020.com about Denmark: "I expect a more difficult game than the one against Netherlands. From what we have seen, [Denmark] have a similar style of play [to us]. They don't lose the ball, are thorough and aggressive. They have excellent players. They do not concede goals, and in each of the last two matches have scored four. It is not an easy match awaiting us."
Vladimir Coufal tells Euro 2020 : "We're not about world-class players or great individuals. Our strength is playing as a team. That's our weapon, and if someone doesn't do that, he will get called out. We're not getting angry at each other, and I hope it will stay that way – until at least the semi-final."
PREDICTED XI
Czech Republic : Vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Kaderabek; Holes, Soucek; Masopust, Barak, Sevcik; Schick
Denmark : Schmeichel; Christensen, Kjaer, Vestergaard; Wass, Hojbjerg, Delaney, Maehle; Braithwaite, Dolberg, Damsgaard
RECENT FORM
Czech Republic: W-L-D-W-W
Denmark : W-W-L-L-W
OPTA STATS
- Five of the last six matches between the Czech Republic and Denmark have ended as draws, including their most recent encounter in a November 2016 friendly. The other game in this run was a 3-0 Denmark win in a March 2013 World Cup qualifier.
- With a 4-1 victory against Russia and a 4-0 victory against Wales, Denmark became the first team in European Championship history to score four plus goals in consecutive games in the competition. It has nine goals so far at Euro 2020, only scoring more in a major tournament in the 1986 World Cup (10).
- This is the Czech Republic's fourth European Championship quarterfinal, progressing from two of the previous three (1996 vs Portugal, 2004 vs Denmark) but failing the last time it reached this stage in 2012, losing 1-0 to Portugal.
- Denmark is averaging 18.8 shots and 7.3 shots on target per game so far at EURO 2020. Both are its highest numbers on record at a single edition at a major tournament (since 1966 - World Cup and EURO).
- Mikkel Damsgaard has been directly involved in seven goals in his six appearances for Denmark in all competitions, scoring three and assisting four. Damsgaard created more chances than any other Danish player in its 4-0 victory against Wales in the last round (three).
MATCH PREVIEW
From the despair of seeing a teammate suffer cardiac arrest to the European Championship quarterfinals, somehow Denmark keeps on going.
Denmark will face the Czech Republic on Saturday, exactly three weeks after midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field in the team's opening game and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
While Eriksen recovers — initially in the hospital and now at home — Denmark has improved at Euro 2020. A 4-1 win over Russia got Denmark out of the group stage after two losses. Beating Wales 4-0 in the round of 16 matched the team's best showing since “Danish Dynamite” won the 1992 European Championship.
EURO 2020 quarters: In-form England faces Ukraine at Stadio Olimpico
“Culture-wise, there's similarities. Values of sticking (together), one for all and all for one," Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said on Thursday. "There's this pride also to be playing for your country and all these values that I don't think have changed too much since 1992.
“But my biggest respect to the guys in ′92 because they went on to win it. We haven’t done anything yet.”
Since the “shock” of Eriksen's sudden collapse, Hojbjerg said, Denmark has gone through huge emotional ups and downs.
“Now we’re in the quarterfinals, so it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, a big one," he said. "And the good thing is that we are still hungry. We’re still determined to push for more.”
More than half of the 26-man squad was not yet born when Denmark beat Germany 2-0 in the 1992 final. The only European quarterfinal appearance since then came in 2004, a 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic. Hojbjerg was eight years old back then and recalls he was “not very happy” he couldn't watch the match because of a school trip.
READ |
That tournament ended in disappointment for the Czechs, too. They lost to eventual champion Greece 1-0 in the semifinals. As Czechoslovakia, the team won the European title in 1976. As the Czech Republic, the high point was being runner-up to Germany in 1996.
Both Denmark and the Czech Republic have been at their best at EURO 2020 when playing high-intensity, physical football against opponents who wanted possession. They could end up cancelling each other out in the quarterfinals. That's playing on Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand's mind, so much so that he admitted he was disappointed the Czech team upset the Netherlands 2-0 in the round of 16.
“I would rather have played the Netherlands,” Hjulmand told Danish broadcaster DR on Monday. “Now we’re facing a team for the first time (in the tournament) that I think can match our own intensity.”
Danish striker Yussuf Poulsen could return after missing the Wales game with a muscle injury, when replacement Kasper Dolberg scored twice. One more goal would see Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick match Cristiano Ronaldo as tournament leader with five.
Few Danish or Czech fans will be in the Baku Olympic Stadium for the game. Only Turkey, Azerbaijan's close ally, has had more than a couple hundred fans at games in the city so far.
“In my view it doesn't really make sense (to play in Baku). We are a bit frustrated but we respect this decision," Czech Republic midfielder Michal Sadilek said through an interpreter on Thursday. “We hope for any support we can get at the stadium and we are going to play so that we can have the fans at our next game.”
ALSO READ |
Plans for a Czech charter flight to Baku fell apart because not enough fans agreed to go. Denmark may have up to 1,000 supporters and offered 50 of its most loyal fans a ride on the federation's plane.
Denmark has felt closer than most teams to its fans, who roared the team on to beat Russia in Copenhagen. In Amsterdam, too, the Danes were the local favourites in what felt like a home game against Wales.
“Every time we put on the shirt, every time we wear the badge of the Danish national team, we are playing for the country, we are having the country with us,” Hojbjerg said. “So in that way they will always be with us. Everybody will always be with us.”
- Associated Press
Comments
SHARE