Lars Sondergaard stated the strain is on co-hosts Australia in entrance of a packed home after his Denmark aspect reached the knockout levels of the Women’s World Cup for the primary time in 28 years.
The Danes arrange a date with Australia within the final 16 after a 2-0 win over debutants Haiti to take second place in Group D behind England.
They will face Australia in entrance of a partisan sellout crowd in Sydney on Monday, however Sondergaard stated: “Anything can be decided in those kinds of cup games, anything can happen.
“We have a pretty good defence, we have a player like Pernille (Harder) who can decide games.
“So we have a pretty good chance. We know it is going to be difficult but we are looking forward to the game. We are going to see it as a fantastic experience.” The coach added: “The whole nation are standing behind them. That’s important for them, but it could also be pressure when the game goes into the second half and it’s still 0-0, and anything can happen.”
Skipper Harder, the undoubted star of the Denmark workforce and whose first-half penalty put them on the best way to victory over Haiti, stated her aspect is not going to accept merely reaching the final 16.
“I’m so proud of the girls, proud of the team that we made it through the group stages,” stated the Bayern Munich attacker.
“It’s a long time since a Danish team did that at the World Cup so I couldn’t be more proud for the hard work that we put in and I am also excited for the next game.
“It’ll be a full stadium with a lot of Australians in it, so it will be an experience for us and it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
“But of course we are also hungry for more,” added Harder, who additionally had a second aim towards Haiti harshly chalked off after a VAR overview.
Australia’s skipper and talismanic striker Sam Kerr is predicted to return from a calf harm to make her debut at this World Cup.
Harder is aware of Kerr nicely, having performed together with her at Chelsea earlier than her current transfer to Germany.
“I’m looking forward to seeing her, but not playing against her,” she stated.
Originally printed as Denmark coach says strain is all on Australia forward of knockout conflict
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
