Five key factors to watch out for in the match against Denmark

On Saturday, the Czech team will play the semi-final match against Denmark. Both teams have ambitions to advance among the top four, but what do Jaroslav Šilhavy’s charges have to watch out for if they are serious about advancing?

Formation changes

The Danes’ strength lies in their variability. Coach Kasper Hjulmand is not afraid to intervene in the game often. We have already seen him change the formation twice during a match at the championship. Andreas Christensen usually moves from a three-man defence to the midfield and the team regroups in a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 system.

Joakim Mæhle

This article is not based on individual names, but I had to mention Joakim Mæhle. The young Atalanta player has been grinding the line all game as a wing-back, he doesn’t care if it’s right or left. He has already scored two goals in the tournament. Watch out for his quick feet and good ball handling.

Standard situation

The Danes haven’t really shown it so far in the tournament, but they are very dangerous from the air. This is not only due to the three-stopper formation, but also to the size of the forwards (Yussuf Poulsen, Kasper Dolberg) and the quality of the enforcer (Pierre Emile Hojbjerg).

A superior bench

Should the match not go in the Danes’ favour, Hjulmand has somewhere to hunt. On the bench he has players from the English and now first league Brentford, and one of the pair Dolberg, Poulsen (depending on who gets the accuracy in the base) can help the offense. The Czechs should also watch out for Robert Skov or Jonas Wind.

Shots from distance

The key to success will be to make the game uncomfortable for the opponent and not allow them to shoot from distance. We have already seen several beautiful Danish goals from distance at the tournament, for example Christensen’s shot against Russia, Mikkel Damsgaard’s placed shot into the same opponent’s net or Dolberg’s opening goal against Wales.

Source: Euro 2020