Denmark travel to Belfast to face Northern Ireland on Monday after sealing their place at Euro 2024 on matchday nine.

A 2-1 win at Parken over Slovenia on Friday means Kasper Hjulmand will lead the nation to a third straight major competition under his stewardship.

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Having already confirmed their spot at the finals next summer, and the honour of winning the group, Denmark will now hope they can secure another three points in the faint hopes of claiming a pot one seeding.

Denmark only need a draw here to absolutely guarantee a pot two placing, but a slip-up from Spain against Georgia paired with a Denmark win here could see them end up in pot one.

Playing without pressure could help the Danes, as Thomas Delaney's winner on Friday means they have overcome a shaky start to make the finals.

After qualifying for the 2022 World Cup with nine wins from their opening nine and eight straight clean sheets, Denmark were not as convincing this time around.

A loss in Kazakhstan and a lucky escape against San Marino suggests Hjulmand's side are not at the same level they were at when reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals.

The 1992 winners will certainly be hoping for a better showing than at the last major tournament, when Denmark crashed out in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup after losing to Australia.

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Northern Ireland will finish a rotten campaign here after what has been a turbulent few years for the country on the international stage.

Things went from bad to worse on Friday as Michael O'Neill's side suffered a 4-0 thrashing in Finland, condemning them to a seventh defeat from nine in the group.

The only two occasions where the Green and White Army avoided defeat was in beating San Marino - the world's lowest-ranked nation - home and away.

Northern Ireland did feel hard done by away in Denmark when losing 1-0 though, as a very harsh VAR decision disallowed Callum Marshall's 94th-minute equaliser in Copenhagen.

Their campaign will end here, though, as a poor Nations League showing last year means there is no chance of them falling back on a playoff spot.

Failing to beat Cyprus, losing home and away to Greece and in Kosovo meant they were never in contention at the top, and also contributed to their record of just three wins in 16 competitive outings.

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Recent injuries ruled Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Paddy Lane and Brad Lyons out of this squad for Northern Ireland.

Jonny Evans picked up an injury playing in Denmark for Manchester United in the Champions League just over a week ago and had to withdraw from the squad.

Shayne Lavery and Ali McCann also remain absent from the squad for the hosts, who may remain largely unchanged despite a heavy defeat in Helsinki.

With the slight possibility of still being able to finish in pot one, Hjulmand should still pick a strong Denmark team here.

There have been plenty of ins and out in the squad this month due to injury, as Matt O'Riley, Mohamed Daramy and Morten Hjulmand were all late call-ups.

Robert Skov was the first withdrawal with injury, and he was soon followed by Man United teammates Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund, with Jens Stryger Larsen and Jesper Lindstrom coming in to replace them.

Andreas Skov Olsen is also absent with injury, joining Simon Kjaer, Philip Billing, Alexander Bah and Mikkel Damsgaard on the sidelines.

Captain and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is set to make his 99th cap in this one, returning to the British Isles where he spent much of his career.

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Toal, McNair, Ballard, Hume; McCausland, Saville, Thompson, Price, Lewis; D Charles

Denmark possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Maehle, Andersen, Christensen, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Hojbjerg, Norgaard, Delaney; Wind, Poulsen

We say: Northern Ireland 0-2 Denmark

Northern Ireland have only scored in one of their qualifiers, excluding the wins over San Marino, and are likely to struggle again against the group winners.

Denmark will hope for slip-ups elsewhere, but with the impetus of chasing a pot one seeding, Hjulmand should have them motivated here.


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Written by
Andrew Delaney

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