In the second half of the game, news must have trickled into the Danish camp that Australia was losing to Peru and that even a draw wouldn’t affect their hunt for a spot in the knockout stages. That sense of security was a primary reason for the game being a damp squib, and one with very little goalmouth action, compared to other games at this World Cup.
Denmark fans have, over the last few games, questioned coach Age Hareide’s tactics, which despite bringing results, has been to prioritise pragmatism over pyrotechnics. Denmark has not lost a competitive game of football in almost two years, so Hareide will justify his methods using the end-result, but it wasn’t soothing on the eye for anyone to watch.
With the presence of attacking players such as Christian Eriksen, Kasper Dolberg and Viktor Fischer, one would have expected Denmark to give it a final push, especially if they knew that there was no pressure of qualification, given the result in the other game. But in the end, that wasn’t to be, as Denmark came and got the clean-sheet that they’d have so craved at the start.