After three emotional European Championship matches in Copenhagen, Denmark will next play the city Christian Eriksson once called home.
The Danes will take on Wales in the round of 16 on Saturday at the Johan Cruyff Arena, a stadium where Eriksson is remembered by Ajax fans as a stylish midfield playmaker from 2010-13 before moving to Tottenham.
Denmark lost their first Euro 2020 match 1-0 to Finland after Ericsson suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and had to be revived with a defibrillator. The Danes also lost to Belgium after beating Russia 4–1 to finish second in Group B and advance to the knockout rounds.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Christian and how much I hope he can experience it,” said Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmund. He’s looking forward to this summer so much, it’s a big, big deal for Christian. dream, and it just hurts to know that he’s not here.
While Denmark is hitting the road for the first time in a tournament being played in 11 cities across Europe, Wales’ itinerary has been tough. The team was based in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it played its first two matches before facing Italy in Rome.
It was not easy as we had to go to Baku and then to Italy. Now we have to go to Amsterdam, said Wales coach Rob Page. On paper it sounds like a great idea to have across Europe, but logically it’s an absolute nightmare, and throw COVID into that mix as well.
Wales’ victory over Turkey and a draw with Switzerland was enough to place second behind Italy in Group A. The Welsh suffered a 1–0 loss in their final match against the Italian, one of the tournament’s top teams.
Now Wales are hoping they can build on the same momentum that propelled them to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, where they lost 2-0 to eventual champions Portugal.
Gareth Bale, one of the stars of the 2016 campaign, is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 33 goals, but has not scored in his last 14 international matches and missed a penalty against Turkey in Baku.
Aaron Ramsey, one of the stalwarts of the tournament in France, is hoping to improve on the team’s performance from five years ago.
We are a threat. We keep the game tight, so who knows,” said Emsie. “Why not go all the way again?
Wales will be without midfielder Ethan Ampadu, who has been suspended after being sent off early for a foul on Federico Bernardeschi in the second half of the team’s final group match against Italy.
Hjulmund said Denmark captain Simon Kajar got a knock in the game but he could have ended it and we hope he will be ready to face Wales.
The Denmark coach said it would be difficult to prepare against an unpredictable Welsh team.
They are very flexible. He said that they change their strategy and their position, so it will be difficult to know what to expect from that team.
Players from both sides should have a good idea of what to expect from each other. Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward both play for Premier League club Leicester, while Ben Davies and Joe Roden team up with Danish midfielder Pierre-Emil Hjberg to Tottenham. are companions. Bale also played on loan for the London club last season.
The winner of Saturday’s match will go to Baku where Wales are undefeated in two matches in this tournament and will face either the Netherlands or the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on 3 July.
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