The minimalists from Denmark continue to play at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Only three goals in three preliminary round games were enough for the Scandinavians to advance to the round of 16.
It wasn’t “Danish Dynamite” in the 2-0 win over Haiti, but it was a solid end to the group stage. Top star Pernille Harder put her team ahead with a penalty in the 21st minute in the Perth Rectangular Stadium on Tuesday (01.08.2023), Sanne Troelsgaard added to the 2-0 final score shortly before the end of eleven minutes of injury time. Denmark progress to the knockout stages in second place behind England, where they meet hosts Australia.
The footballers from the Caribbean said goodbye to the world stage on their debut without a point or a goal, but they certainly have an entry in the history books: It has never happened that three of the four goals conceded came from the penalty spot.
New Bavarian Harder meets
After a lot of offensive lean food in the first two group games, Denmark started furiously. After the first corner and Kathrine Kuhl’s shot, defender Simone Boye scored to make it supposedly 1-0 (3rd minute). The cheering quickly died down as the check revealed Boye was narrowly offside.
The more attacking formation, top striker Harder was flanked for the first time by Amalie Vangsgaard and Nicoline Sorensen, but continued to have an effect and let coach Lars Söndergaard’s team really celebrate in the 21st minute. New Munich resident Harder converted a legitimate hand penalty. At her 71st international goal, the record goalscorer Harder waited ripped off and pushed the ball into the left corner in Robert Lewandowski style.
Third penalty against Haiti
The lead was deserved, albeit unfortunate from the Haitians’ point of view: the World Cup newcomer also conceded his first two goals from the penalty spot. However, there was nothing to shake about Betina Petit-Frere’s handball. The deficit did not bring the outsider out of rhythm. It was always dangerous when Dayana Pierre-Louis ignited the turbo on the right side, only one recipient of her input was missing. Nerilia Mondesir fired the first shot at Lene Christensen’s goal after half an hour. The Danish goalkeeper did not encounter any problems when she finished at full speed.
Simone Boye (left) and Pernille Harder celebrate the opening goal. Harder hit from the spot.
The Danes were largely in control of the game, but kept faltering on the defensive and failed to calm things down with the second goal. Harder, who scored significantly more goals than in the first few games, scored just before the break, but was clearly offside when Karen Holmgaard crossed in.
Haiti – will yes, quality no
Because England played in a goal frenzy against China in the parallel game, it was already clear at the beginning of the second half that Haiti could only grab the sensational round of 16 with a big win. The outsider started accordingly briskly and with a dream pass into the interface. Kethna Louis was slightly offside, but had also crossed into no man’s land. This scene alone revealed what was lacking in the debutant’s game: the last pass was just not precise enough to hit the world level.
Christensen only really had to grab it once: after a free kick, Louis headed on goal in distress. All other attempts by the strong-willed newcomer were blocked or ended in failure.
Denmark’s Karen Holmgaard (right) and Haiti’s Melchie Dumonay fight for the ball.
Denmark breaks black streak
Denmark managed the lead relatively unspectacularly, occasionally shifting from first to third gear and calmly headed towards the knockout round. The tension that the formation in Group D indicated before kick-off was completely absent thanks to Harder’s early goal and England’s clear lead.
The Scandinavians dived for long stretches of the second half and reappeared late but powerfully: Harder headed into the empty goal in the 83rd minute to make it supposedly 2-0 because Kerly Theus had rushed far out of her box when attempting to save. After another video study, this hit didn’t count either. Theus is said to have been fouled by Mille Gejl in front of the goal. Questionable, but not game-changing.
The second Danish goal was scored by Sanne Troelsgaard in the tenth minute of added time. The substitute striker completed a counterattack with a shot into the far corner. The 2-0 victory also ended a black series: For the first time in their World Cup history, the Scandinavians did not lose the last group game.
2023-08-01 19:28:24
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