GROUP B
Denmark 2 - 1 Finland
Pukki '16
Erikson '42
Poulsen '87
Eamonn Foster
Telia Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark
Saturday 13th June
Denmark had not lost at their national stadium in their previous sixteen matches and with a hard-fought win over their Scandinavian neighbours Finland they demonstrated that they have no intentions of allowing an international tournament to end that run. With its 38,065 capacity, Telia Parken is the smallest stadium to hold matches at this Euro 2020 and is a compact little box of a stadium, appearing almost a shrunken Anfield- even more so with the sea of red in attendance today. And like Anfield it was noisy, too.
For Finland today was a momentous occasion, given that it was their first appearance at a major international tournament. The peculiar thing given this year’s format of this tournament was that it still very much had the feel of simply playing an away match against Denmark, as opposed to the first game of a European Championship. As everybody knows, their hopes for this tournament were- and continue to be- largely pinned on the man leading the line for them, Teemu Pukki. And rightly so, given that he has just ended the Premier League season with a hugely impressive nineteen goals despite being part of a relegated Norwich City side. It seems that leading the line for the unfancied underdogs has sort of become Pukki’s thing.
And just as Pukki started the Premier League season in scoring form, so he did here as well. After a quarter of an hour in which little happened, Pukki suddenly found himself cleverly played in over the top by Glen Kamara, of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers. The Norwich forward still had a lot to do, however, and did well to keep his composure as he breathed in on the Denmark goal before sending the oncoming Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel one way and taking the ball with him the other, before rolling the ball into the empty net.
The goal helped to open up the game. Both teams soon became a bit bolder in their play and reckless with their positioning, which ultimately made the game a much more enticing watch for the neutrals. Christian Erikson, on the back of a very fruitful second half to first season in Italy with Internazionale, pulled strings from the middle of the park. Perhaps Jose Mourinho will have been watching and wondering if, when all is said and done, he would have benefitted from holding onto the playmaker at Tottenham. From the wider areas Robert Skov and Martin Braithwaite, the Barcelona back-up who is said to be close to agreeing a loan deal with Everton for next season, looked to stretch Finland’s wing-backs while the athletic frame of Yussuf Poulsen in the middle pegged Finland’s three centre halves back.
It was Erikson who levelled for the Danes shortly before half-time with a speculative shot from thirty yards out, aided by a huge slice of luck as it flew off the heel of Paulus Arajuuri and looped into the net. The fact it was Erikson’s seventh shot of the game from the outside of the box could have been enough to make the Finland goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký quietly question his own abilities, however Erikson dismissed such notions when asked after the match and stated that he had been shooting from distance so frequently because he feels the tournament Adidas matchball Uniforia moves in such an unpredictable way that he wanted to try to take advantage of it. The equalizer, in the end, was clearly less for the design of the ball and simply thanks to the proximity of a big Finnish heel after Erikson struck the ball but as the saying goes, a goal is a goal.
The second half was fun: five yellow cards were handed out, fourteen corners were taken and the woodwork was rattled twice. One fan, not content with his seat in the stands, made it onto the pitch and all the way to the halfway line, where he planted a slobbery kiss somewhere deep in the beard of Teemu Pukki. Pukki and Erikson exchanged a laugh. Even Mark Lawrenson chuckled from the commentary box!
Despite the entertainment it seemed all set for a point apiece until the 87th minute. Yussuf Poulsen had the speed of thought to spin around after laying the ball off to Erikson and, just as everybody was expecting another shot, this time from the edge of the box, Erikson caught everybody by surprise as he hooked the ball back into the path of Poulsen, who took one touch with his left, steadied himself and opened his body to stroke the ball into the far corner with his right. It was top quality from the Red Bull Leipzig forward to decide the result and it will do little to reassure Belgium, who visit on Wednesday. But this evening, at least, the spectators were well entertained and as the bizarre synthy-dancey Euro 2020 anthem I Feel Football / Football Feels Life rang out, the Danes left smiling, singing and sitting top of Group B.
Man of the Match: Yussuf Poulsen