'We are better if we score one or two goals' - Denmark won't play for draw in Aviva showdown
Denmark’s Kasper Schmeichel and Simon Kjær confront Jeff Hendrick
DENMARK captain Simon Kjær insists that his side will not be quick on the draw when they face Ireland in Dublin in Monday's key Euro 2020 qualifier.
On the back of Friday's results, where Denmark beat Gibraltar 6-0 in Copenhagen while Switzerland scraped a narrow win at home to a gritty Georgian side, the stakes for Monday's game in Dublin are clear: a win by any scoreline will send Ireland through to the Euro 2020 finals while a point will guarantee qualification for the Danes.
Denmark are on a three-game winning streak and defender Kjær says they won't ditch that winning mentality, even though a point will do.
"It's a huge game, a lot of pressure but these games are why you play football, a lot at stake and big rewards," he told independent.ie after the hammering of Gibraltar.
"We have to go and win the game, see how the game develops, it would be the wrong approach to go to Dublin and look for a draw, that's not our style of football or our mentality, we are better if we score one or two goals instead of sitting back at 0-0 as Ireland can hurt you.
"Monday will be a big test, you have two teams who know each other very well, they know our strengths and we know theirs, it's a very competitive team, we know their weaknesses and strengths, we have respect for them, that's why they get results and they are very tough to play against so we have to go with the right mentality and mindset. We can't go out on Monday and underestimate the Irish team, we need 100% focus," added the Danish captain, who has struggled for game time at his Italian club Atalanta this season.
Coach Age Hareide fielded a strong XI in the win over Gibraltar, starts for key men like Kasper Schmeichel, Christian Eriksen and Thomas Delaney but Henrik Dalsgaard, Pierre Emile Hojberg and Andreas Cornelius are likely to return to the starting XI on Monday.
