Wales have enjoyed another solid European Championships run after making the last-16 stage of the tournament, but this could be where their journey ends as they prepare to face Denmark on Saturday at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
Danes to Slay Dragons
Wales continue to punch above their weight when qualifying for a major event and, arguably, they have already exceeded expectations by making it out of a group that included Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.
Robert Page’s men managed to scrap a point in their opener against the Swiss, coming from 1-0 down to draw 1-1, before then securing the all-important victory over Turkey in their second outing at Euro 2020.
Although only losing 1-0 to Italy, the Dragons were outclassed during that contest and they may find life difficult against Denmark, who have already been on an emotional roller-coaster.
Having seen Christian Eriksen collapse during the opening defeat to Finland, the Danes managed to rally to finish second in Group B and set up this last-16 tie against the Welsh.
Denmark have had the beating of Wales in recent times, winning six of the previous 10 meetings, including both Nations League matches in 2018 – those games ending 2-0 and 2-1.
It is hard to look past Kasper Hjulmand’s men and the 20/23 on them to win looks a solid price.
Tight Encounter Expected in Amsterdam
Although Denmark defeated Russia 4-1 last time out, don’t expect Saturday’s clash to follow a similar path as the nerves and tension of knockout football come to the fore.
One area Wales have impressed in during this tournament is defence, having conceded once against both Switzerland and Italy while keeping a clean sheet against Turkey in between.
Nos da, Cymru. Another big day tomorrow in the #EURO2020 adventure.
Ni yma o hyd
#WAL | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/0g7WytxgD6
— Wales
(@Cymru) June 25, 2021
The fact under 2.5 goals has landed in all three of their group matches is no real surprise, given the fact three of their four matches prior to Euro 2020 also saw this bet come in, and backing this outcome again at 20/39 could prove prudent.
Although conceding against Russia, which came from the penalty spot, Denmark did look stronger with a back-three and this could turn out to be a war of attrition between two defensive-minded sides.
Penalties Required?
Given the fact I expect this to be a tight encounter, backing Denmark to qualify after penalties at 9/1 provides some real value.
If, as expected, the two teams can’t be separated after 90 minutes, then the possibility of penalties coming into play.
Extra time can often be a damp squib, neither side wanting to make an error that would ultimately cost them their place in the tournament, so the 30-minute period is usually played at a serene pace.
Denmark have the better quality team on paper and, with the experienced Kasper Schmeichel in goal, they could advance to the quarter-finals via a penalty shootout win.
*All odds correct at time of writing.