Eriksen praises Parrott ahead of Aviva showdown

Macdara Ferris reports from the Aviva Stadium

The Boys in Green know all about the threat of Christian Eriksen.

The Spurs striker scored a hat-trick the last time he played for the Danes in Dublin – the 5-1 playoff victory for Denmark that sent them to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.

The 27-year-old player, who missed the more recent scoreless draw in the Aviva due to injury, has scored 21 times in his last 29 internationals so he knows a bit about finding the back of the net.

When asked about this club teammate Troy Parrott, who made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in last week’s win over New Zealand, Eriksen described the 17-year-old striker as someone who is “good on the ball, makes some good runs and is a good finisher.”

Parrott has been training with Eriksen and the Tottenham first team squad this season but has a difficult task to claim the number nine jersey at White Hart Lane. 

“He has a tough one to beat if he going to beat Harry Kane. I wouldn’t say it fair to say he is like Harry Kane because he is obviously not but he is similar. He is still young, has a lot to learn but he is a good lad.

“He has done very well. He has trained with us for a while now. He played a few games in pre-season. He is a good player.”

Looking back on that 5-1 World Cup playoff win over Ireland two years ago, Eriksen reckons that Monday’s match “will be a completely different game. We got a very good result. 

“The game changed at half time. They changed a few players in the second half that created more options for us in midfield and it was a more open game. I think tomorrow it will be less open. We know Ireland needs to win but we want to win.”



Both Denmark and Ireland are looking to make it to the European Championship with Copenhagen and Dublin will be hosting games. While Ireland need a win, the Danes just need a draw and they come into the game with just the one defeat in their last 34 games.

“This is a very big game,” said Eriksen. “To play for the national team to be at a Euros in our own country where we could play some games would be massive thing. To get there we need to get a result against Ireland.”

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile