Denmark will welcome Northern Ireland to Parken for an international friendly in Copenhagen this Saturday evening.

In a rare occurrence for European nations during the advent of the Nations League, neither nation has any competitive commitments this month, with their World Cup qualifying journeys not starting until September.

Match preview

Denmark will have been mightily disappointed at not having a Nations League semi-final to look forward to this week, as they were beaten in extra time by Portugal during their quarter-final back in March.

With former Brentford assistant Brian Riemer at the helm, his side were just four minutes from victory in Lisbon, but a late goal forced extra time, where Portugal netted twice more to win 5-3 on aggregate.

It was a promising response to an underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign, that saw the Danes draw all three group games against Slovenia, England and Serbia, before going out to the hosts Germany in a rain-soaked last-16 affair in Dortmund.

Kasper Hjulmand left after the finals, and Riemer arrived, guiding Denmark to second place in their Nations League group ahead of Serbia and Switzerland, despite taking just eight points from six games.

Competing with higher-ranked nations in such a manner means Denmark will feel confident heading into World Cup qualifying in the autumn, and they will be favourites to secure an automatic spot at the finals in a group containing Scotland, Greece and Belarus.

Denmark have become part of the furniture at major tournaments over the past decade, and they cruised through Euro 2024 qualifying despite an early defeat to Kazakhstan, but with only six matches to be played in the upcoming campaign, as opposed to 10, there is less room for error.

Facing a nation below their level could be good exercise for the hosts here, but Northern Ireland are a team they have struggled against across the 21st century, winning just one of their six encounters.

The two faced off in Euro 2024 qualifying, with Northern Ireland snatching a surprise win on the final matchday when they had already been eliminated and Denmark had sealed top spot, but that should give the squad belief they can improve this time around.

It was a dismal campaign for Northern Ireland, whose only other points in the section came against San Marino, losing seven of their 10 qualifiers.

With Michael O’Neill back in charge though, the man who led them to Euro 2016 will hope he can revive those halcyon days and get the Green Army back in the qualifying picture.

They did win their Nations League group back in the autumn, pipping Bulgaria to top spot, but a 5-1 defeat to Sweden in March suggests that O’Neill’s side will be up against it in qualifying when they will face Germany, Slovakia and Luxembourg

Team News

Denmark’s veteran stopper Kasper Schmeichel came in for some criticism following the defeat to Portugal in March, and there are young goalkeepers threatening to take his place in the side, such as Filip Jorgensen of Chelsea, and Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen, who is, albeit, missing from this upcoming squad with injury.

Rasmus Hojlund has been a regular for the Danes ever since breaking out at Atalanta, but his poor Manchester United form could open the door for Mika Biereth to come in, after his excellent second half of the campaign with Monaco.

Riemer is without a number of first-choice options for this month’s fixtures though, with Jesper Lindstrom, Jonas Wind, Andreas Skov Olsen, Morten Frendrup, Victor Nelsson and Victor Kristiansen all missing from the squad present in March.

There is no Ross McCausland in the Northern Ireland camp this month, and he joins injured duo Jordan Thompson and Ciaron Brown in missing out from those named in March’s squad.

It is an inexperienced squad named by O’Neill, as they seek to rebuild after a few disappointing years, with Paddy McNair and George Saville the only players on more than 50 caps, while the former Man United defender is the top scorer in the squad, with seven international goals

Denmark possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Kristensen, Vestergaard, Andersen; Maehle, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Hjulmand, Dorgu; Hojlund, Biereth

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:

P. Charles; Ballard, McNair, Hume; Bradley, Devenney, S. Charles, Saville, Smyth; Price, D. Charles