Spurs star the main omission from Denmark squad to face Ireland

Denmark have named their squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations league game against the Republic of Ireland.

The main talking point is that talented playmaker Christian Eriksen has been omitted from the squad due to injury, the Spurs midfielder has missed his sides last two Premier League ties against Huddersfield and Cardiff City, while also missing last weeks Champions League defeat to Barcelona at Wembley.

Eriksen who was originally ruled out by Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, while Ajax striker Viktor Fischer has also been ruled out of the squad also due to injury.

Striker Nicklas Bendtner, who featured for Rosenborg in their Europa League qualifier against Cork City this summer, will play no part in the Danish squad as he currently is involved in an assault case against a Copenhagen taxi driver.

The Danish squad is explained in further detail below:

 

Goalkeepers

Kasper Schmeichel: Leicester

Age: 31

Caps: 40 Goals: 0



Debut: Macedonia (Skopje) February 6th 2013

Bio: Son of the great Danish keeper Peter Schmeichel, 31 year old Kasper has become Denmark’s first choice keeper for the past few years now since bursting onto the Premier League stage as part of Leicester City’s impressive league win in 2016. In his 8 years with the foxes, Schmeichel has won the Premier League and Championship respectively, along with being also being awarded Danish footballer of the year twice and being nominated for the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award earlier this year.

 

Frederik Rønnow: Eintracht Frankfurt

Age: 26

Caps: 6 Goals: 0



Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) August 31st 2016

Bio: More of a second choice goalkeeper in the Danish squad, Rønnow has been a relatively unknown figure in the squad mainly featuring in a hand full of games since his debut in 2016. With the focus mainly on Schmeichel as Denmark number 1, Rønnow is experienced backup, having kept two clean sheets in his six appearances only conceding four goals. Rønnow had spent eight years of his career in the Danish Superliga, playing for AC Horsens, Esbjerg and Brøndby before joining Eintracht Frankfurt in April 2018, mirroring the transfers of Lukas Hradecky, the Finnish goalkeeper who also played for Esbjerg, Brøndby and Frankfurt.

 

Jonas Lössl: Huddersfield Town

Age: 29

Caps: 1 Goals: 0

Debut: Scotland (Glasgow) March 29th 2016

Bio: Now Denmark's third choice keeper behind Schmeichel and Rønnow, Lössl has not captivated the Denmark national team since his 2016 debut, only playing 45 minutes for the side coming on as a half time substitute for Kasper Schmeichel. Lössl has mainly been a first team regular goalkeeper at club level for FC Midtjylland, Guingamp,Mainz and

Huddersfield Town but has struggled to only make the bench for his national side having made the 2018 World Cup Squad.

 

Defenders

Simon Kjær: Sevilla

Age: 29

Caps: 83 Goals: 3

Debut: Sweden (Stockholm) June 6th 2009

Bio: Kjær is Denmark’s current captain and has the most mileage put down of any Denmark player in the active squad, having spent 9 years occupying the centre back role. He has also spent the last ten years playing in some of Europe's biggest leagues such the Seria A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and is currently playing with La Liga high flyers Sevilla, who sit above Barcelona in first place by a single point. Despite playing for over 10 years now, Kjær has yet to taste the success of silverware, having only won individual awards by the Danish FA.

 

Peter Ankersen: Copenhagen

Age: 28

Caps: 21 Goals: 1

Debut: Poland (Gda?sk) August 14th 2013

Bio: Ankersen has featured as a right back for Denmark for over five years but was omitted for the final 2018 World Cup squad. Scoring once for his nation in 21 appearances, Ankersen has mainly been a focal player for clubs like Esbjerg, Red Bull Salzburg and FC Copenhagen, where he has enjoyed fruitful success, winning the Danish Super Cup twice with Copenhagen and once with Esbjerg. Ankersen has also tasted league success winning back to back Danish league titles with Copenhagen, on the back of winning the Austrian league and cup double the year prior in 2014-15 with Red Bull Salzburg.

 

Andreas Christensen: Chelsea

Age: 22

Caps: 20 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Viborg) June 8th 2015

Bio: Christensen has been a mainstay in the Danish team since bursting onto the international scene in 2015, having featured in all of Denmark’s World Cup 2018 games, playing as a centre back and defensive mid, he has rightfully earned his place in the starting 11. The 22 year old was signed as a youth prospect by Chelsea on a free transfer aged 16, before going on to spend five years with the blues with a two year loan deal at German club Borussia Mönchengladbach in between.

 

Jens Stryger Larsen: Udinese

Age: 27

Caps: 17 Goals: 1

Debut: Poland (Gda?sk) August 14th 2013

Bio: Denmark’s main choice at left back, Stryger has occupied numerous roles since joining the Danish national team, playing at right back, left back and right wing, with the left back slot becoming his permanent home. At club level Stryger Larsen has filled the right back slot for the last number of years at Brøndby, FC Nordsjælland, FK Austria Wien and Udinese. In 2010, he was named by Danish media as “one of the greatest talents in Denmark”.

 

Mathias Jørgensen: Huddersfield Town

Age: 28

Caps: 16 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Brøndby) November 2008

Bio: Despite his debut in 2008, Jørgensen has been a relatively new addition to the Danish squad, receiving sporadic call ups in 2010 and 2011, playing less than a handful of games before not being called upon to feature again until 2016 having only made the bench the year prior. In his club career, Jørgensen joined PSV in 2012 but failed to break into the starting 11 and as a result returned to former club FC Copenhagen where he spent the early stages of his career. In 2017 as part of Huddersfield Town’s promotion to the Premier League, they made Jørgensen one of their new big money additions, spending £3.5 million pounds on the Danish centre half.

 

Jannik Vestergaard: Southampton

Age: 26

Caps: 16 Goals: 1

Debut: Poland (Gda?sk) August 14th 2013

Bio: The Southampton centre half has been in and out of the Danish squad for the last few years, a first team regular in 2015, Vestergaard would see himself later demoted to the bench for the remainder of Denmark’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers in 2017. Nevertheless the centre half holds a big reputation in the club scene,in June 2016 he made a €12 million euro transfer to Borussia Mönchengladbach, before making an £18 million pound move to Southampton earlier this summer.

 

Henrik Dalsgaard: Brentford

Age: 29

Caps: 16 Goals: 0

Debut: United States of America (Arizona) Jan 26th 2013

Bio: Dalsgaard is now the popular choice for Denmark at right back, having played every minute of Denmark’s 2018 World Cup Campaign at the right back slot. Now applying his trade at Brentford in the championship since 2017, he has also had stints in Denmark with Aalborg BK before moving to Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem in 2016.

 

Jonas Knudsen: Ipswich Town

Age: 26

Caps: 4 Goals: 0

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) May 28th 2014

Bio: The 26 year old left back has been mainly used as a second string left back and seen as backup for Stryger Larsen, Knudsen however did start ahead of his compatriot during Denmark's round of 16 defeat to Croatia. Despite only making 4 caps for his nation, Knudsen has made a combined total over 250 club appearances for Esbjerg in the Danish Superliga and Ipswich Town in the championship respectively. 

 

Midfielders

Lasse Schöne: Ajax

Age: 32

Caps: 40 Goals: 3

Debut: Denmark (Brøndby) August 12th 2009

Bio: The oldest player in the current Denmark squad, Schöne has been the midfield general for Denmark in the last few years, as he reaches the golden years of his career. Schöne played all bar one of Denmark’s 2018 World Cup games in what was his second major tournament playing with the Danes. Schöne has played all of his senior club career to date in the Eredivisie, he joined De Graafschap in 2006, later he moved to NEC in 2008, before settling in Amsterdam when he moved to Ajax in 2012.

 

Thomas Delaney: Borussia Dortmund

Age: 27

Caps: 32 Goals: 4

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) October 15th 2013

Bio: Despite having a very Irish name, Thomas Delaney was born in Denmark and spent all his young life in Denmark, his father however, does have an Irish connection as his father Thomas’s grandfather was born in America to descendants of irish immigrants. Delaney has been a first team regular for Denmark since 2015, playing in every game from November 17th 2015 to November 11th  2016. Delaney would also feature in every remaining World Cup 2018 qualifier in 2017, and also replicate the feet in the final tournament.

 

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg : Southampton

Age: 23

Caps: 21 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) May 28, 2014

Bio: Højbjerg was a hugely talked about player when he played underage football at Brøndby, Bayern Munich’s scouts got whiff off the talent young Dane and signed him at 17 years of age in July 2012. He would spend four years with Munich, going out on Loan twice to Augsburg and Schalke respectively along with playing for Bayern Munich II, Bayern’s reserve team. In 2016 Højbjerg joined Southampton for £12.8 million pounds.

 

Mike Jensen: Rosenborg

Age: 30

Caps: 6 Goals: 0

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) August 11th 2010

Bio: Jensen has had a very sporadic time in the Danish squad since his 2010 debut, making one appearance earlier on this year, his first since a World Cup qualifier in September 2017. He has received numerous call ups in recent years but was omitted from the Denmark 2018 World Cup squad. He has been a mainstay at Rosenborg since joining in 2013 and is now the club captain, Jensen also featured against Cork City earlier this summer in their Europa League Qualifier.

 

Lukas Lerager : Bordeaux

Age: 25

Caps: 5 Goals: 0

Debut: Denmark (Brøndby) June 6th 2017

Bio: Lukas Lerager has burst onto the Denmark national team seemingly out of nowhere, having played very little games at youth level, Lerager was called up in 2017 to the senior side. Having moved to French side Bordeaux in June 2017, it seemed to have spearheaded his international hopes as he has only been left out of the Denmark squad once since then, playing four times including a substitute appearance against France at the World Cup.

 

Anders Christiansen: Malmö

Age: 28

Caps: 4 Goals: 0

Debut: United States of America (Phoenix) Jan 31st 2013

Bio: Despite his 4 caps for Denmark, Anders Christiansen has never played a competitive game for his nation, in fact his latest call up to be a part of the UEFA Nations League squad is his first time being in a competitive matchday squad.

 

Forwards

Yussuf Poulsen: RB Leipzig

Age: 24

Caps: 32 Goals: 5

Debut: United States of America (Phoenix) Jan 31st 2013

Bio: Poulsen is one of Denmark’s brightest forward talents, whether it be playing as a right winger or striker, he has delivered five goals and contributed eight assists already for his country. He began his career in 2011 at Lyngby BK in Denmark before joining RasenBallsport Leipzig in 2013 where he has managed over 40 goals.

 

Martin Braithwaite: Middlesbrough

Age: 27

Caps: 25 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Aalborg) June 5th 2013

Bio: Braithwaite has become an all purpose forward under the Danish national team, playing at either left wing, right wing or striker, he has managed just one goal in his 25 appearances but has also contributed four assists. Braithwaite began his senior career at Esbjerg in the Danish Superliga in 2009 before moving to France where he would join Toulouse in 2013. He would later sign a four year deal with Middlesbrough for £9 million pounds in July 2017.

 

Andreas Cornelius: Bordeaux

Age: 25

Caps: 22 Goals: 4

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) September 8th 2012

Bio: Cornelius has featured as an impact sub striker or has been Denmark's main attacking option since getting the call up in 2012. He predominantly featured for Denmark during their run to the 2018 World Cup finals, scoring one goal in the six qualifying matches he had featured in. Cornelius has spent most of his club career at Copenhagen joining in 2012, before making a short one year deal with Cardiff City in 2013. In 2014 he would return to Copenhagen where he would remain until 2017 when he joined Atlanta permanently in Italy. Cornelius is currently on loan at Bordeaux from Atlanta until end of 2019.  

 

Pione Sisto: Celta Vigo

Age: 23

Caps: 19 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) September 4th 2015

Bio: Denmark’s go to option on the wide flanks, Sisto has featured heavily for Denmark over the last few years. Sisto played the majority of Denmark’s qualification games including two assists in the 5-1 whitewash of Ireland before going on and featuring in all of Denmark’s World Cup matches this summer. Sisto attracted huge interest from European scouts during his time at Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga from 2013 until 2016, where he joined Spanish side Celta Vigo in July of 2016 for €5 million euro.

 

Kasper Dolberg: Ajax

Age: 21

Caps: 7 Goals: 1

Debut: Denmark (Copenhagen) November 11th 2016

Bio: The British media coined the nickname “the baby-faced assassin” to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, for his youthful appearance and deadly finishing and the same could be said for 21 year old Kasper Dolberg. He may only have one goal in seven games for his country but has managed 23 goals in 54 appearances for Ajax since joining them from Silkeborg IF in 2015. Dolberg is seen as a backup striker by the Danish side but has some serious potential going forward in his career.

 

Christian Gytkjær: Lech Pozna?

Age: 28

Caps: 1 Goals: 0

Debut: Czech Republic (Mlada Boleslav) November 16th 2016

Bio: A very kate addition to the Danish squad is the inclusion of Christian Gytkjær, who has only received one call up to the national team, coming all the way back in 2016 during a friendly against the Czech Republic. Despite a lack of international attention, Gytkjær has been a proven goalscorer at club level, amassing 106 goals in 248 appearances in total.