One famous Dane once spent a lot of time weighing up the pros and cons of revenge, before opting to indulge in “bloody thoughts”. Hamlet’s approach, it appears, will not be taken by Denmark when they face England in Frankfurt.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side were defeated in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 by a penalty won by Raheem Sterling, a decision that was “borderline, let’s say it that way”, in the words of Brentford’s Danish manager, Thomas Frank. But speaking on Wednesday night in the depths of the Frankfurt Arena, Hjulmand and his goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said the past was behind them.
“I’m not looking into that,” Hjulmand said of the penalty incident. “We are looking at a football match out of the front window, and we have a great team in front of us. I’m not using that [moment] as anything – maybe some of the players, I don’t know – but I’m looking at it as another football game.”
Schmeichel was quick to make clear he was not among those players. “I’m not the type of person that’s going to be looking back three years to have motivation,” he said. “The biggest motivation is that we are playing another Euros with Denmark and we shouldn’t take that for granted. We have 16,000 fans following us and the biggest motivation is to be celebrating with them after a victory.”
Hjulmand did confess he had not been able to move quickly past the defeat. “I carried it for a while,” he said. But ultimately he believed the match had left a positive legacy. “That kind of game gives you motivation. They make you realise you can do it if you really go for it and strive for a win. Those kind of defeats make us learn and grow.”
Schmeichel felt their opponents had grown, too. “I think England were a world-class side [in 2021] but look at the additions that have come in and the experience gained and they are probably a better side than ever, at least in the time I’ve played against them. They have world-class talent throughout the side, we are going to have to be at the top of our game to beat them.”
Schmeichel extended his praise to include the entirety of English football and, a free agent after leaving Anderlecht, suggested he may return to the country where he and his father, Peter, left a strong legacy. “For me English football is the ultimate,” he said. “I love playing in England, it’s the type of football I grew up with, and watching English football has a great space in my heart. I miss playing there but maybe I’m going to end up there again at some point.”
Denmark could do with at least a point after their disappointing draw with Slovenia in Stuttgart. Hjulmand and Schmeichel spoke of their “hope” and “dream” of pushing deeper in the tournament and, on this question at least, Schmeichel was happy to refer to the past.
“If we don’t dream something is wrong,” he said. “No one comes to the Euros without dreaming of gold. Dreams are a funny thing. As a country we’ve done it before – it’s something that inspires us. Our standards are high and that’s how it is supposed to be.”
