JANNIK Vestergaard admits he was left “gutted” Denmark will not take their place in the Euro 2020 final, adding: “We had a shot at beating England.” Saints star Vestergaard featured in all six of Denmark’s matches at the tournament. Having began the Group B opener against Finland on the bench, Vestergaard was introduced during the second half and then became a starter for Kasper Hjulmand’s men for the remainder of the competition. Asked for his assessment of the England side he faced at Wembley and if he thinks they will beat Italy in the final this weekend,
Jannik Vestergaard said: “They’re a good team. I don’t know how their chances are against Italy, I haven’t played Italy. Italy look very strong as well. I thought we gave it everything we had and we had a shot at beating England. I’m not worried about their chances in the final, I’m not really bothered to be honest right now. I’m just gutted that we aren’t in it.”
Denmark gained plenty of fans across Europe during the tournament following the harrowing scenes in their opening match against Finland, when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. With Eriksen recovering in hospital, the Danes regrouped and beat Russia, Wales and Czech Republic before being edged out by England. And boss Hjulmand says the squad have done the nation proud.
Kasper Hjulmand said: “First of all, congratulations to England on (reaching) the final. Primarily I want to congratulate my colleague, Gareth (Southgate). I followed what the FA has done strategically and especially how Gareth has led this team for a number of years now, how he works with the young players, how he gets involved and how he behaves himself with the values he has and how he represents and communicates is outstanding. So congratulations Gareth, I think you are doing a great job in a difficult job.”
Discussing his own side,
Kasper Hjulmand added: “I can’t describe how much I admire the technical staff behind these players, they have been through so much. We have two people from the staff who saved the life of one of our best players. We have been fighting like crazy and played good football and I am grateful for Denmark, the entire nation. We needed the empathy when that happened with Christian, we have been receiving a lot of love and support and it was amazing to feel. Unfortunately we did not get to the final but we will attack again and our future is full of hope and belief. These guys are outstanding and the whole nation can be proud, they are an amazing squad and they have done an amazing job. They have made Denmark proud. We have an amazing group and we definitely can do something great again.”
