Denmark beginning to dream of a second Euros title
The Czech Republic meet dark horses Denmark in the quarter finals of Euro 2020 late on Saturday at the Olympic Stadium in Baku. De rød-hvide have overcome ridiculous psychological and emotional odds without Christian Eriksen to reach the final eight of the tournament, and their last two performances, in particular blowing away Wales 4-0 in the previous round, have made them favourites to at least reach the semis of a major competition for the first time since they stepped in at the last minute because of the war in Yugoslavia in 1992, an occasion which they marked by surprisingly winning the trophy. Their opponents at the weekend were also impressive in dispatching Netherlands 2-0, and whilst they will make things difficult for Kasper Hjulmand's players, the momentum appears to be with the Scandinavian nation. Read our preview here:
4,000 Holeš
Though lone striker Patrick Schick has shone the path for Jaroslav Šilhavý's charges to reach the latter stages of the competition with his four goals to date, he has been well supported by a squad not replete with leading luminaries across Europe's biggest leagues like the vintage sides of the 90s and 00s, but they have nevertheless been both resolute in defence and efficient in attack. The double pivot of Tomáš Souček and Tomáš Holeš in the 4-2-3-1 has been instrumental in really throttling the number of chances created in central areas by the opposition in the competition thus far, and have also been effective at the other end. Schick will be able to count on the support of his teammates from set pieces and open play, whilst also being cognisant that the displays of goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík, understudy to Yassine Bounou with club side Sevilla, will have alerted others to his situation, but more pertinently, that the defensive unit as a whole give very little away.
Not in the Dol-drums
The key difference between Denmark and Netherlands for the Czech Republic will be a mental one. As soon as things started going against the now departed Frank de Boer's men, they collapsed from both a psychological and tactical point of view. Given everything the squad, the staff, and the fans have been through in the last fortnight, that is extremely unlikely to occur with them, and if anything, they have been galvanised by their deep adversity. Even without Eriksen's on-field leadership and creativity, his fellow countrymen have found a way to be huge threats in attack. Sole striker Kasper Dolberg, who has only started once, fired in twice against Wales, and will be looking to enhance his reputation once more after a stop-start domestic season with Ligue 1 outfit Nice. The intricacy of his short passing could be crucial in unlocking the opposition's defence on Saturday, and he'll be aided by the selfless running of Martin Braithwaite and penetrative dribbling of Mikkel Damsgaard just behind him.
Czechs bounced
England or Ukraine will await the winners of this clash in the semi-finals next week. Neither side would've realistically expected that opportunity to be 90 (or potentially 120) minutes away at the start of the tournament, although Denmark might have harboured some hopes before the tragic events of their game with Finland. Either team will be worthy contenders in the last four, but it is difficult to see past Dolberg and co. with their greater all-round cutting edge and resilience. Parimatch have odds of 2.10 for them to win in 90 minutes.
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