The Matildas’ round of 16 opponents Denmark says they are ready to take on the Women’s World Cup co-hosts, despite Australian home crowd advantage and the potential return of Sam Kerr.
The Danes booked their place in the next round of the tournament with a win over Haiti on Tuesday. They will face the Matildas at Stadium Australia on Monday. It will be Denmark’s first appearance beyond the group stage of the World Cup since 1995.
Captain Pernille Harder, until recently a teammate of Kerr at Chelsea, said the Danish team were not going to underestimate her former striker partner.
“I’ve been lucky to play with her for three years,” said Harder, who recently moved to Bayern Munich. “She’s an amazing player, an amazing person. I’m looking forward to seeing her, but not to play against her. She’s a great striker. She knows where the goal is. She has some unbelievable skills with her header, that’s for sure.”
Denmark coach Lars Søndergaard was also quick to sing Kerr’s praises. “She can score goals, she’s fantastic header, she’s quick, on counter-attacks she sees it,” he said. “She’s perhaps the best striker in the world, and of course you have to have an eye on her if she’s fit.”
The Danes are ranked 16 in the world, but failed to progress past the group stage at last year’s Euros. On Monday, they will face not only the Matildas but also an expected capacity crowd of around 80,000 at Stadium Australia. But Harder said she was unfazed.
“Australia is a good team,” she said. “And it will be a full stadium with a lot of Australians in it. It will be an experience for us. Something I look forward to. I will just imagine they’re cheering on Denmark instead of Australia.”
Søndergaard said he was buoyed by his team’s successful navigation of the group stage, in their first appearance at the World Cup since 2007. “I’m really proud of the team and the way they stand together,” he said following the Haiti victory. “They really fight for each other.”
The European side have conceded just one goal in the group stage, an early strike by Lauren James in the loss to England. The Matildas will need to break down the capable Danish defence if they are to progress through the tricky encounter. “Normally you say that good defence wins championships,” said Sondergaard. “I hope that’s true.”
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While Søndergaard conceded that his team would enter the knockout match as underdogs, he was optimistic Denmark could contain the Matildas.
“Anything can happen in those ‘cup’ games,” he said. “We have a pretty good defence, we have a player like Pernille who can decide games. I think we have a good chance – but we also know it’s going to be difficult. We’re looking forward to the game; we see it as a fantastic experience.”
Denmark opened their World Cup campaign with a late winner over China, before losing to England. The win over Haiti, combined with China’s loss to England, was enough to secure second place in group D. The winner of the round of 16 clash will then head to Brisbane for their quarter-final.