The Tottenham playmaker, together with goal man Nicklas Bendtner, ought to give the U.S. males’s nationwide staff loads to fret about in Wednesday’s worldwide pleasant.
BY
Andrew Gastelum
Posted
March 24, 2015
7:14 PM
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THE U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM arrived in Aarhus, Denmark right now forward of Wednesday’s pleasant, however till just a few days in the past there was hypothesis as as to if there could be a match to play.
OK—which will have been a slight exaggeration. However the Danish soccer affiliation (DBU) mentioned it could have changed its senior gamers who didn’t comply with phrases as a collective bargaining stalemate between the federation and its gamers began to show ugly. Thankfully, the 2 sides have come to a decision, permitting us to correctly preview the Danish squad forward of tomorrow’s pleasant.
Overview
The long-standing collective bargaining feud started on the prime of the 12 months after the DBU needed to chop worldwide funds by 17% together with getting into into particular person agreements with gamers over wages quite than paying the staff as a collective. Gamers responded final week by calling the calls for “un-Danish” and a “waste of time for all parties” as negotiations sputtered.
The DBU threatened to depart out the gamers who disagreed and name up solely those that agreed to the brand new wage proposal for the 2 friendlies this week (the latter coming in opposition to France on Sunday). However stress eased over the weekend as the 2 sides agreed to decrease general wages with greater bonuses for qualifying and advancing in main competitions.
In the meantime, long-time supervisor Martin Olsen introduced he’ll step down following Euro 2016 subsequent summer time after greater than 100 matches on the helm. After captaining his nation to its first World Cup in 1986, Olsen has served as head coach since 2000, main the Danes to the 2002 World Cup in his first 12 months in cost. Two years later, Olsen led Denmark to the quarterfinals of Euro 2004, arguably his largest achievement but.
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After lacking out on Brazil, Denmark ended its 2014 atop Group I in Euro 2016 qualifying, securing seven factors from a potential 12 in a bunch that includes Portugal and Serbia. The Danes’ solely loss in group play got here by the hands of a stoppage-time aim from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Whereas Olsen’s males have fared nicely in qualifying, Denmark is winless in two friendlies for the reason that World Cup. Most not too long ago the aspect dropped a 2-0 lead to Romania, the place it managed solely 4 pictures heading in the right direction. Nevertheless, Denmark will look to copy its final consequence over the U.S, a 3-1 comeback win in 2009 when it scored three unanswered second-half objectives.
Tactical Overview
Because of the stalwart presence of Nicklas Bendtner up prime, Olsen has adhered to a 4-2-3-1 weight loss program since Euro 2012, when Denmark took down World Cup runner-up Netherlands in its opening match. However only in the near past Olsen has reverted again to an attacking 4-3-3 to treatment a one-goal-per-game common in 2014.
Denmark’s largest vulnerability this week will doubtless be its younger protection which will miss Daniel Agger and Anders Bjelland, each of whom had been left off the roster as a result of damage. That might make room for 22-year-old Aston Villa defender Jores Okore—one among two Premier League Danes together with Leicester Metropolis goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Denmark can be with out veteran midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg, who has recorded 5 objectives in 46 caps.
Prime Gamers to Watch
Christian Eriksen is the most important star on the staff and can function the first playmaker in Olsen’s assault. The Tottenham attacking midfielder has put collectively his greatest season since becoming a member of the North London aspect in August 2013 following the transfer-record exit of Gareth Bale. Eriksen is third amongst Premier League midfielders with 9 league objectives (11 in all competitions), highlighted by his knack for stoppage-time winners and replay-worthy free kicks.
Whereas Eriksen facilitates the objectives in Denmark’s assault, Bendtner has made a behavior of ending them. The 27-year-old has scored 26 objectives in 64 senior caps since 2006 because the instant successor to all-time main scorer Jon Dahl Tomasson. However Bendtner has struggled to attain since shifting to Wolfsburg on a free switch in the summertime. The previous Arsenal star has tallied simply as soon as in 16 Bundesliga matches, and was pushed to the bench following the thunderous run of Bas Dost.
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Defending the inexperienced again line shall be Wigan midfielder William Kvist, who serves because the staff’s captain in Agger’s absence. The 30-year-old defensive midfielder has discovered a house within the holding slot immediately in entrance of Denmark’s two central defenders, deftly clogging passing channels and utilizing his physicality to win aerial challenges. Kvist has recorded 2.2 interceptions per match this season within the Championship, greater than Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets.
At 31-years-old, Michael Krohn-Dehli has proven no indicators of slowing down. The previous Ajax winger has six objectives in 47 worldwide caps and has develop into a fixture on both wing beneath Olsen. This season with Celta Vigo, Krohn-Dehli has recorded a aim and 4 assists as his efficiency even spawned rumors of a transfer to Spurs. However most impressively, Krohn-Dehli is within the Prime 10 of La Liga attackers with a mean of 59.2 passes per sport—on par with Lionel Messi and Xavi.
Andrew Gastelum shall be overlaying the U.S. males’s nationwide staff in Zurich over the subsequent few days. That is his first piece for ASN and we actually assume it is best to comply with him on Twitter.
