Soccer
  • Home
  • Football
  • Denmark vs Belgium: Danes need almighty upset to keep Last hopes alive

Denmark vs Belgium: Danes need almighty upset to keep Last 16 hopes alive

Following the dramatic scenes in their Euro 2020 opener, Denmark return to action with their Last 16 hopes hanging by a thread.

When: Thursday, June 17, 17:00 BST

How to watch: ITV

Follow this game live via our score centre

Best Bets

Belgium to win at EVS

Half Time/Full Time Draw/Belgium at 4/1

Romelu Lukaku to score anytime at 6/5

Whether Denmark should have resumed their match against Finland following Christian Eriksen's collapse is a question that will need investigating.

It's unquestionable that the incident had a profound impact on both teams, but in particular Denmark.

Football, results, sponsors and finances are nothing in comparison to human life. However, recent events have cast a further shadow of doubt on UEFA's ethics and priorities.

Peter Schmeichel: Denmark did not want to play after Christian Eriksen collapse

Nevertheless, the show does indeed go on as Denmark prepare to take on a formidable looking Belgium outfit.

Roberto Martinez and his men looked flawless against Russia in their 3-0 victory. But was their performance really that good or was it the Russians who failed to turn up? We will get closer to an answer this coming Thursday.

Last Three Matches

Belgium 4-2 Denmark (UEFA Nations League - November 18, 2020)
The two nations last met in a Nations League group game towards the end of 2020.
On that occasion, Belgium were pushed to the edge but ultimately enjoyed an impressive 4-2 victory over the Danes.
Youri Tielemans opened the scoring in the third minute of the contest but Denmark soon found the equaliser through Jonas Wind.

A second-half brace from Romelu Lukaku saw the hosts take a two-goal lead however, a Nacer Chadli own goal made for an interesting finish.

As Denmark searched for their second equaliser of the game, they were punished by Kevin De Bruyne who sealed the win with a fourth Belgian goal.

Denmark 0-2 Belgium (UEFA Nations League - September 5, 2020)
In their earlier Nations League clash, it was Belgium who again sealed an impressive win.
Jason Denayer opened the scoring in the 9th minute as the visitors went into the interval 1-0 up.
Denmark failed to find a response as Dries Mertens confirmed the win with Belgium's second goal of the night.
Denmark 2-2 Belgium (Friendly - June 2, 2000)
Before the recent UEFA Nations League meetings, you would have to go 20 years back to find the last Denmark and Belgium encounter.
Jon-Dahl Tomasson scored the opener for the Danes in the 37th minute as the hosts enjoyed their lead at the interval.
After the break, the game saw two penalties in a space of seven minutes. The first was well converted by Lorenzo Staelens as Belgium levelled. The other came from goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel who put the Danes back in-front.
Just as the game seemed to be heading in the home team's favour, Marc Wilmots found a late equaliser to make the full time score 2-2.

Last ten head-to-heads

Denmark wins: 5

Draws: 1

Belgium wins: 4

Denmark goals: 18

Belgium goals: 18

Any way of stopping the Red-Hot Devils?

Belgium enter Thursday's game in the midst of a ten-match unbeaten run. During this period, only Greece and Czech Republic have been able to hold them to a draw.
The combination of pace, power, tactical nous and star quality make Belgium one of the strongest teams in the competition.
Belgium, Russia, Euro 2020

Belgium players celebrate together after going 2-0 up against Russia

Roberto Martinez and his men tore Russia to shreds in their opening game. Interestingly, Belgium looked formidable despite the fact that such players as Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne and Michy Batshuayi didn't event feature.

The scary aspect about this side is that they've not even hit second gear yet. Denmark's resilience may force that to change.

Clearer heads for Denmark

For all intents and purposes, Denmark's opening game of the Euros can be chalked off when evaluating their chances ahead of the Belgium game.
The absence of Christian Eriksen is huge however there's still a lot of talent in Kasper Hjulmand's side.

Denmark's Yussuf Poulsen, right, and Mathias Jensen

Denmark will come into this game with clearer heads and they certainly have the ability to make this a tough afternoon for the Red Devils.

Goalscorer bets

Romelu Lukaku is a man on fire. The Inter Milan star helped the club to a league title and now, he's leading the charge for international honours.
Belgium, Russia, Euro, Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring Belgiums first goal against Russia

Since the 2018 World Cup, the striker has scored 22 goals in 19 international matches.

With a record like that, he is the obvious choice in the goalscorer market.

READ MORE: Popcorn viewing! Four games you can't miss on Premier League's opening weekend

More Articles