“Battle of the Dark Horse”
Both Czech Republic and Denmark came to Euro 2020 as a dark horses. However, their journey to reach the quarter-final are very different. The Czech Republic started Euro 2020 with a positive result; a win over Scotland and a draw against Croatia were enough to advance into the next round. Although the last match, the Czech Republic lost to England. At the same time, Denmark had to go through a steep struggle, starting with the incident that happened to Christian Eriksen in the first match against Finland in the 42nd minute, followed by two consecutive defeats against Finland and Belgium. When the chance to qualify to the next round seems impossible, the Danish team succeeds in maximizing their opportunity against Russia in the last match of the group stage.
In the round of 16, Denmark continued their scintillating form by winning with a convincing score in Wales. On the other hand, the Czech Republic managed to make a surprise by beating the Netherlands. Czech Republic Success took advantage of leading players after De Ligt was dismissed following a direct red card for a handball in front of the Netherlands penalty box.
In this quarter-final, Denmark was handed a dream start when Thomas Delaney headed home Jens Stryger Larsen’s corner unchallenged from six yards out in the fifth minute. Then, after a period of Czech pressure, the lead was doubled when Joakim Maehle superbly crafted a cross from the left wing with the outside of his right boot, which Kasper Dolberg volleyed home from close range.
The Czech Republic came out for the second half with great purpose, and Patrik Schick guided home Vladimir Coufal’s cross for his fifth goal of the tournament, which may earn him a share of the golden boot with Cristiano Ronaldo, but was too little to avoid his country’s exit at the last-eight. Despite the four-goal victories on this game, it is clear that the central defense is the strength of Kasper Hjulmand’s side. All the defenders were crucial in this triumph and will be to emulate their 1992 triumph.
Kasper Schmeichel looks almost as imperious as his father did in the win 29 years ago. In front of him, it is clear that a forward will have a lot to do with Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen, and Jannik Vestergaard — in this instance, a clever strike from the most in-form striker in the competition has failed to win against them. So it is no surprise they came into the game having conceded the least amount of shots at goal.
In addition, wing-backs Jens Stryger Larsen and Joakim Maehle look as dangerous in the future. The rest of the team may not compare to the remaining team in the tournament, but this win means they can win it all. Furthermore, this win is a memorable victory to reach the Euro 2020 semi-final. It is the first time Denmark has made a major tournament semi-final since their shock triumph at Euro 1992.