Ahead of the all-important semi-final clash with England, Denmark’s defender Andreas Christensen seemed sure that his side will be able to stop Harry Kane. The England striker had an underwhelming group stage campaign and his lack of goals and influence in the attack caused concerns back in England. However, since then, Kane has roared back to life and has scored three goals in the last two knockout matches.
The England captain doubled his side’s lead in the electrifying Round of 16 fixture against Germany. He then opened the scoring against Ukraine early in both halves to round off a complete and dominant England performance.
Christensen’s experiences with club side Chelsea will surely provide him confidence while facing Kane as the Blues have a solid record against the Tottenham talisman. Denmark may also find insights from Kane’s Tottenham teammate Pierre Emile Hojbjerg.
“We know his qualities, and everyone has an idea of what we can do to stop him,” Christensen told a news conference.
“Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also knows him, and it may be that he can share some things. All football players have their habits, and we must take advantage of them.”
Not only does Kane threaten with his knack of finding the back of the net consistently, he also poses a tremendous physical challenge for the Danish defenders. The England captain knows how to utilize his body in order to hold the ball and allow runners in behind and is also strong in the air. These are issues that the Denmark defenders might need to solve in the spur of the moment and Christensen revealed that he relies on instinct.
“He (Kane) is good with his feet and he is one of the best finishers in football,” Christensen said.
“I react a lot on instinct. He is very big, so it is hard to get into his body, but he also has great qualities with his feet, so you should not get too close either.”
Despite not having the same glittering squad as England possess, Denmark are far from intimidated by the Three Lions. “I feel like we have the qualities to play against everyone. As a team, I would not say they are that much better,” Christensen said.
Following the heartbreak surrounding Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in the opening match and losing against Belgium despite playing astounding football to making a remarkable comeback and qualifying for the semis, Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand deserves plenty of credits.
He’s now masterminding a plan to stop the England attack led by Kane.
“We’re aware of Harry Kane, but you cannot place an order to wrap a player up. We know all about how they attack, so we’re creating some structures to stop the English attacks,” he told reporters.
