Two goals from Dorgu and Højbjerg In the last minutes they gave Denmark the victory (2-0) in their Nations League debut against a Switzerland that finished with nine players, in a contested, balanced match with an important second half.
Denmark arrived with several weight cuts -Christensen, Højlund- and with an interim coach, Lars Knudsen, due to the loss due to stress of Morten Wieghorst, who temporarily took the position after the departure of Kasper Hjulmand at the end of the European Championship.
Knudsen kept the usual 3-4-3 of Hjulmand’s era, but it was difficult for the Danes to get into the game against a Switzerland that had more of the ball but less reach, amid mistakes by both teams.
The first Swiss warned with a good pass from Rodríguez, whose pass was headed by Widmer, who moments later put in a good cross that Vargas barely got.
Denmark woke up in the last minutes with several chances: the most obvious, a combination between the debutant Grønbæk, very active, and Eriksen, leaving Dolberg alone in front of Kobel, who saved what seemed to be the first goal.
In the Danes’ best moment, Vargas, inside the area, sent an excellent pass to Aebischer, whose shot from the center was saved at the last moment by Højbjerg, who was making his debut as captain after the retirement of Simon Kjær’s team.
The game turned around shortly after the second half began. Elvedi fell asleep, Dolberg stole his purse and the Swiss center back knocked him down on the edge of the area as he left alone.
Against an inferior rival and with plenty of time, Denmark advanced. Switzerland closed its lines, strengthened the middle and left only Embolo up front, a pain in the neck for the Danish defense all night.
Denmark moved and moved the ball, but the spaces did not appear and the ideas were not enough. In only a few distant shots Kobel looks stressed.
The game seemed headed for 0-0. Knudsen moved the bench again, took a defender and refreshed the wings. Less than a minute had passed when another debutant who had just entered the field, Dorgu, hooked the ball into the six-yard box and put Denmark ahead.
The goal did not sit well with Switzerland, or with Xhaqa, who lost his cool four minutes after seeing a yellow card and left his team with nine.
Højbjerg, in stoppage time, closed the match with a shot from Skov Olsen’s center and gave Denmark its first victory and a temporary lead. In three days, the Danes will host Serbia. Switzerland, to Spain.
– Technical sheet:
2 – Denmark: Schmeichel; Nelsson (Dorgy, m.81), Vestergaard, Andersen; Kristiansen, Hjulmand (Nørgaard, d.90), Højbjerg, Bah; Eriksen (Damsgaard, m.62), Dolberg (Wind, m.62), Grønbæk (Skov Olsen, m.81).
0 – Switzerland: Kobel; Rodríguez, Akanji, Elvedi; Aebischer (Amdouni, m.90), Xhaka, Freuler, Widmer (Omeragic, m.65); Vargas (Wüthrich, m.53), Embolo (Duah, m.90), Rieder (Zakaria, m.65).
Objectives: 1-0, m.82: Dorgu; 2-0, m.90: Højbjerg.
Referee: Daniel Sibert (Germany). He showed yellow cards, for Denmark, to Grønbæk (m.23), Hjulmand (m.83), Højbjerg (m.83), Vestergaard (m.90); for Switzerland, to Widmer (m.47), Zakaria (m.83), Embolo (m.86). He sent off the Swiss Elvedi for a direct red card (m.52) and, for a double yellow, his teammate Xhaka (m.83 and 87).
Incidents: The match on the first day of group A4 of the UEFA Nations League was played at Parken in Copenhagen in front of 26,024 spectators.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
