Wales meet their match as Denmark cruise to last-16 win
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00:00What went wrong? Let's just be honest that Denmark were way better.
00:30What went wrong? Let's just be honest that Denmark were way better
00:54and Wales were just poorer there. I was watching the game from the plane
00:58and Wales were not looking in the game at all. And Denmark, they just came out fighting.
01:05It was like a neutral stadium. They were playing in Amsterdam. So, it's not a home or away fans.
01:11But they just wanted… They were better. The last match, they scored four. This match,
01:16they scored four. They've come out fighting. They've come out fighting for their nation.
01:20They're winning it for Christian Eriksen. So, let's just be honest. They just thrashed Wales
01:25and Wales were nowhere near them. So, and the red card was in the icing on the cake for Wales
01:30after Harry Wilson was sent off. So, Wales were just poor today and they don't deserve to go
01:36through. Yeah, I think they found their level. You know, we talked about Denmark yesterday and
01:45how they really seem to have clicked. Not just for Eriksen, as I said, and Motiongate so far,
01:51but they're really playing as a proper unit. And that first goal just really took the wind out of
01:58them. It was an absolute classic, a brilliant goal. Curled right in the inside of the post.
02:04The goalkeeper had no chance. But I think the key is what they worked out is if they pulled Aaron
02:11Ramsey out of position and lured him onto the left-hand side as Denmark were attacking,
02:18it just opened up all the space and they could just run riot. And that's exactly what they did.
02:23Yeah, for Dahlberg at least. It felt like home for him because he's a former Ajax player.
02:29So, it was their stadium, the Johan Cruyff Arena is well known for him. So, he played like it was
02:35his home country. It was brilliant for him. And especially, he was nowhere near the starting 11
02:41for the last three games. It was Yusuf Polson's injury that made him come into the starting 11.
02:48And what an impact he had. What a brilliant goal he scored for the first one. And the second one
02:52was a bit lucky. But still, he had to be there in the position to score that goal. But you have to
02:57give credit to the Denmark manager, Kasper Hulman, who have been absolutely incredible. Because
03:04Wales started that game pretty well. They had the lion's share of possession. They had the number
03:08of shots. In the first 15 minutes, it was all about Wales. Then, Kasper Hulman identified the
03:14problem with the midfield. They were getting overloaded by the Welsh players. Then, after a
03:19while, he moved Andreas Christensen from the defence to the midfield. So, he changed his
03:25formation from three at the back to the four at the back. And he made Christensen another defensive
03:31midfielder. That gave them the control in that game. Then, ever since that, they looked like a
03:37different side. And once Simone Kerr got injured, then Andreas Christensen moved back to the
03:43RCB role, the centre-back role. And it was all over by then. The credit has to be given to the
03:49manager for making those kind of tactical changes, which Rob Page couldn't even sniff.
03:56That's a good point. Yeah. I mean, we saw definitely Denmark coach making those changes.
04:01Rob Page showing maybe his lack of experience at the top level. But they did start well. Wales had
04:07a couple of chances. Gareth Bale. But just on Bale, it's interesting. At the end of the game,
04:13after the interview, he walked away when he was asked if that was his last match for Wales.
04:20Now, is he going to retire or not? We're going to have to wait and see. But can he still affect
04:24games? That's probably the real question here, isn't it? I think he can affect games if he's got
04:30the quality around him. I think that he's obviously slightly disillusioned right now.
04:37And obviously, it was a very raw time for him. And he didn't want to say anything about the terms.
04:41So that's probably why he wanted to just go down the no comment line,
04:47you know, rather than say something in the heat of the moment. He'll either have to apologise for
04:51or, you know, force his hand if he wants to say something like, yeah, I'm done. And then it might
04:57make his mind up for him. You know, the World Cup's not far away now because it's 2021 already.
05:02So it's only another year or so before he'll be starting to, you know, hopefully if Wales get
05:09there, you know. And he could definitely affect things for the Wales team. But how far he can
05:14carry the Wales team is a different matter. And he would be a massive loss for them. There's no
05:21doubt about that. But it all depends on whether he's in the right frame of mind to carry on
05:29or whether he wants to focus on missing out on trophies with Tottenham.
05:35You know, no wonder I saw Gareth Bale walking off. He has been swarmed with that particular
05:41question after every game in the group stages. You know, he'll make his decision and he'll let
05:46us know. So we don't need to ask him that question every time, you know. But yeah,
05:51whether he can affect the game, he can. He has shown that against Turkey. But, you know,
05:56he needs help. You know, you can't just carry the team just like that. You know, he needs help.
06:02After the first 15 minutes, especially all the big players were missing for Wales, you know. Even
06:08Ramsey was anonymous. They just couldn't cope with the tactical change Denmark made in between.
06:15So I think, can Gareth Bale affect games? He can still. But can he carry the whole country?
06:23I don't think so.
06:27You know, it's been almost 30 years that Denmark won the European Championship for the first time.
06:33There's a lot of similarities to the team that won it in 92 with the current crop of the players.
06:38For starters, you've got Peter Schmeichel's son, Kasper Ingol. Then you've got a pretty strong
06:42spine. Back then, they had Jenson in midfield, had Brian Ladder up front. Now they've got,
06:49we mentioned Christensen. They've got Barcelona's Braithwaite. Are they the dark horses again?
06:57I don't think so. No, no, no. I don't think we should get carried away. I mean,
07:02congrats to them for beating Wales 4-0. But I think they will lose the quarterfinals
07:09with whatever team comes. I mean, yes, they won 4-0. But still, I think there are better
07:18teams than they are out here. So I don't think Denmark can go through after the quarterfinals.
07:25Yeah, I think that there's way too much strength still in those other teams that have still got it
07:32all to play for. None of the big guns are out yet. We'll get to Italy in a minute.
07:39But yeah, they've done their nation proud. They may get through to the semis, but they can't go
07:49all the way. I mean, we've seen Greece do the unimaginable, and obviously Denmark did it all
07:54that time ago in a tournament that they were actually invited to late on. But you know,
08:01the safe thing is coming threes. It's not impossible, but I think it's fairly unlikely this
08:07time around. Yeah, I don't think they can go all the way. But like what Matthew mentioned,
08:12you know, there can be a handful to any team that they're facing, especially against Czech
08:17Republic or Netherlands, whoever comes in for them in the quarterfinals. They'll give a real
08:21fight. And I think they can go through to the semifinals at the very least. Because yes,
08:25they don't have big players. They don't have, you know, super talented youngsters and all these
08:30things. But you know, they are playing as a team, you know, and their manager knows a trick or two.
08:35And with that Christian Eriksen and everything, you know, they have that extra motivation within
08:40them. So at least the semifinals, I think they can achieve. Even whether it is Dutch or the Czech,
08:45I think that they'll beat them in the quarterfinals.
08:48Okay, well, the journey continues for now. Moving on, let's speak about the Italy
08:53game last night. They were given a real fright by Austria. Eventually, they came away 2-1 winners.
08:58They booked their place in the quarterfinals, but they were really made to work for that. They
09:02needed extra time to advance with goals from Chiesa and Pessina, two substitutes in fact.
09:09It was a really good game, this one, wasn't it?
09:11Yeah, it was indeed. I'd said 2-1 yesterday in the prediction, but I bet we're all wishing
09:20they could have done that, that you would have got these three goals in 90 minutes,
09:23because it was a late night for all of us. You just know, the early game, no, that won't go
09:30to extra time, but the late game, of course it will. The quality that we saw from Italy was the
09:39fighting spirit again. They knew they were in a game. They've obviously had it fairly easy so far,
09:44but they were able to keep punching and keep punching. Also, the strength on that bench
09:50showed again as well, with two guys able to come off and get the vital goals.
09:54Horstry got one back later on, but it wasn't enough.
09:57Mancini was less than impressed with his team, but he knew that they'd done enough to get through.
10:03I mean, he's quite an amicable manager, but you can see that he was a little bit fuming
10:09underneath, because he knows they're a lot better than that, and I think they will be a lot better
10:13than that in the next round.
10:15Yeah, it was a cracker of a game. We all loved it. This is the beauty of the knockout
10:20rounds. It can get to the extra time, though we don't want it to go to the extra time, but
10:25it was an incredible match to watch. For Italy, they just showed this fighting spirit again,
10:32but you have to give credit to Austria, man. What a game they have given to the Italians.
10:36They never expected them to be so good. They were fighting, literally fighting in the middle
10:42of the pitch. They were being so physical. They were giving tough times to the Italian players,
10:47but they held on and they won the game. Man, the bench strength was absolutely
10:54immense for the Italians. He could bring on Chiesas and Pessinas for whoever the substitutes,
11:01you know. They made a difference for them. But for Austria, I have to hand it down to them for
11:09giving us such an entertainment game. Arnatovic was this close, this close to take Austria to
11:16the round of 60. Maybe, maybe. To the quarter-files, I'm saying. It was an incredible watch, man.
11:23Sahil, what did you make of it?
11:25I mean, I'm going to be honest with you. It was a great game of football. And you just thought,
11:29like how Shamsher said, you just thought Arnatovic had scored. And when I was watching,
11:34I thought he was onside. I thought it was a goal. And when I was watching, because Italy had a few
11:39chances and the game was going on. But you know, when one chance comes from the underdogs,
11:43they take it. You know, that was that terrible moment. He just thought, oh, what a header by
11:48Alaba to assist also, right? I felt sorry for them. I felt really sorry because you know how Arnatovic
11:56is after celebrating. He kept his mouth shut. Yeah. That's the VAR horror, isn't it? You know,
12:03like when you celebrate and then you feel more deflated. It can almost feel like a goal against
12:08some things because it really does take the wind out of your sails and it really can deflate a team
12:14after that. You know, the what ifs are there and you also feel a little bit silly after celebrating
12:21as well. It's one of the nasty bits about this new VAR. You also see the flip side of sometimes
12:29you don't know whether to celebrate or not. And it takes the fans out of it as well to a certain
12:33extent. But that's a conversation for another day, I think. Yeah, it's a real shame for Australia.
12:44Again, it is a great fight in spirit.
12:48But you saw how VAR was slow yesterday. There was a reason for that. You know, the Premier League
12:53referees were there. The English referees were handling the VAR team yesterday. It was very slow.
12:58I mean, look, in the end, they got to the right decision. Of course, it was really close. But we've
13:03seen a lot closer, given, not given. It was the right decision. It did slow the game down. It wasn't
13:08a goal. I mean, Austria was really unlucky. They battled away all night last night. You could see
13:12what the game plan was. It was to unsettle Italy with a physical approach, going hard early, put
13:17some tackles in. But I mean, this was Italy's first proper test. And they come away, they found a way
13:24to score, you know, after being pressed back like that. So that bodes really well for them going
13:30forward, doesn't it?
13:31Exactly. They were stretched. They were tested. It's good for them. They have got a proper test
13:37out. And they can make the necessary changes tactically or whatever. That could do well for
13:42them in the tournament. And they are waiting Belgium or Portugal in the next round. It's
13:48going to be fascinating again anyway.
13:51Yeah. It's very reassuring for Mancini to know that he's got those options on the bench.
14:00That he can have a plan B and a plan C if things are not going his way. And he may need that
14:04against Belgium or Portugal. You know, he'll obviously put out a strong team to start with.
14:11But he'll know that he'll have those options to change things up or change things around if he
14:15has to, should they find themselves go behind something that hasn't happened in the tournament
14:20yet. But, you know, he'll take a lot of confidence and the team themselves will know that they've got
14:27the reassurance of these other options and the teammates that have got each other's backs.
14:34Yeah. I was going to say, Matt, they finally did concede a goal. Kalacic got a brave header,
14:40stooped down low to get one finally. And that's the first one that they've conceded in 12 games.
14:44But they've set a new record, 31 games unbeaten. So it's going to take either Portugal or Belgium
14:51whoever wins tonight. It's going to be a real effort to try and stop them, isn't it?
14:56I think the only team which can beat them is England.
15:02Kidding, kidding.
15:05Yeah. There's a laugh all around happening when you say that.
15:12If you want to beat Italy, you need to draft them Brazil and beat them on penalties.
15:19Yeah, man.
15:20The next two games, we've mentioned it now already, Belgium against Portugal. Let's have
15:24some predictions. I think there's a lot more to come from Belgium. They've done one of the group
15:29stages, obviously. They've won their three games. It's going to be tough. It's going to be tough,
15:34of course. All the games are going to be hard now. But I think they've got too much quality
15:37in that team. They're going to edge it 1-0, I think. What do you guys think?
15:44I think it might be more extra time on the cards. But I can see goals. So I think it
15:51may be 1-1 or 2-2. And then maybe Belgium edge it an extra time.
15:57I think for Portugal, they have been tested properly in the group stages. They have played
16:02the likes of France and Germany, which will give them, I think, an edge over Belgium.
16:09But Belgium, as you have been saying, they have quality all around the pitch. And they have won
16:15all three games in the group games. And they are high on confidence. And they have big players
16:19like KDV, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku are all on sync. I think I want Belgium to go through.
16:28But I can't just write off Portugal with that guy, Cristiano Ronaldo. It has got superstars
16:36all around, man. Two Serie A superstars. Then two guys from Manchester clubs. Two
16:41talismanic figures from Manchester clubs, like in Bruno Fernandes and KDV. It's going to be
16:46a blockbuster game. I'm just tipping Belgium to go through, maybe an extra time.
16:53Sahil, what do you think?
16:55Man, I don't know. It's going to be a good game. Of course, I want Portugal to win.
17:00But yeah, Portugal will win. Come on. 1-0 Portugal.
17:06Does Ronaldo get the record, Sahil?
17:08Oh, good question.
17:10There will be a penalty or two.
17:13I want Bruno Fernandes to score this time.
17:15But he's not going to give the penalty to Bruno anyway.
17:18No way, yeah. With that record, he's taken all the free kicks, all the penalties, everything.
17:23Even the goal kicks.
17:27All right. The other one is Netherlands against the Czech Republic. I think the Czech Republic
17:31are missing their captain, Darida, for this one. But with the attacking threat that Netherlands
17:36have got, they've got Depay, they've got Wijnaldum playing that nice attacking role.
17:41I think they'll have too much. I'm going to go with a 2-1 Netherlands win. What do you guys think?
17:46Yeah, but the Czechs even missed their training yesterday because they had a mishap with their
17:52plane. One of our planes is missing. Yeah, they seem to have had not the ideal preparation for
18:00this game. And the Dutch have unearthed a few gems in this tournament as well as the established
18:07players. And yeah, they seem to have a bit of a vibe about them. I'll say a pretty comfortable
18:133-0 victory, I think. I think the Czechs have had their day. And also, they beat Scotland,
18:20so don't look. For Netherlands, Frank de Boer's Netherlands have been absolutely brilliant.
18:29I thought they'll be struggling in this tournament. But in the group stages,
18:32they have shown they have the capability to score goals from all around the pitch.
18:36And Wijnaldum has been one of the players of the tournament so far. He has been absolutely
18:40incredible for Dutch. And yes, the problem for Czech is about scoring goals. Patrick Schick
18:48has scored all the three goals for them in this tournament. And Schick has got only one shot on
18:53target in the last two games. I don't know. Czech Republic might win this game by 1-0.
19:03I have to say this. But on all honours, it is going to be the Dutch win, I'm sure.
19:12I'm going to go for a 3-0 Dutch victory. Come on. I just want to be different.
19:19Come on, it's the Dutch midfield. That's one of the best midfields in the Euros.
19:23Yeah, yeah. Could be a lot of goals.
19:24They could smash them.
19:26Could be a lot of goals. And I think we might even see some exercise penalties today.
19:30That will mean very late nights for us. They're going to finish around about two in the morning
19:34if it goes that far. So we'll see. All right, that's all from us now. Remember to head to
19:38gulfnews.com for all the latest news. We'll be back tomorrow. We'll see you then.