Danish coach before the quarter-final against the Czech Republic: Insanely good team! We’d rather take the Netherlands

A great respect can be sensed from the statement of Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand after the Czech Republic knocked out the Netherlands 2-0 in the Eight Finals of the Euros and thus became Denmark’s next opponent. He said that Jaroslav Šilhavy’s team will be the first team to match the Danes in intensity of play.

On Saturday, he led Denmark to the quarterfinals of the European Football Championship again after 17 long years. But Kasper Hjulmand, the head coach of the Northmen, did not have much time to rest after the 4-0 win over Wales. The very next evening, he and his team watched to see who they would meet in the next stage of the tournament.

And he probably wasn’t happy about the result, which will put his team in the way of the Czech national team on Saturday in Baku. “You have to remember that the Czech Republic is fantastic, they have a crazy good team. In fact, I’d rather play against the Netherlands,” he told the Danish media with a good deal of respect.

He may well have been reminded of his country’s last appearance in the quarter-finals of the Euros. It dates back to 2004, when, coincidentally, the Danes also faced the Czech Republic. A goal by Jan Koller and two hits by Milan Baros comfortably put the Nordic team out of the tournament.

As a warning against the strength of Šilhavy’s selection, Hjulmand takes the World Cup qualifying match with Belgium, the best national team in the world according to FIFA rankings, in which our team won a 1-1 draw in the spring. The Danes, on the other hand, lost 1:2 to the Red Devils in a group match at the ongoing Euro.

“Let’s remember that spring match. The Czech Republic managed to match Belgium and maybe even surpass them in intensity. We should definitely not say that they are the team to beat. We have to have respect,” the 49-year-old strategist pointed out.

Denmark narrowly missed out on the knockout stage. It only needed three points to finish second in the group after beating Russia 4-1. “I think we’ve managed to win in the intensity of the game so far, we’ve managed to upset the teams. Now, for the first time in the championship, we will face a team that can match our intensity,” Hjulmand is convinced.

So what could be the recipe for Soucek and co.? “It will be extremely important to combine well with the ball. We won’t be able to run and sprint all the time. We have to find the right rhythm in this game.”

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