Denmark kept their World Cup qualification dreams alive with a solid 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic in Olomouc, tonight.

Three second-half goals by young striker Andreas Cornelius, Simon Kjær and Niki Zimling sent Denmark into third place in their qualification group B.

After a scrappy first half with few clear cut chances, the Danes emerged from the locker rooms invigorated and scored three quality goals.

Cornelius scored his first goal for Denmark just before the hour with a well taken blast into the roof of the net past a stunned Peter Cech, before Simon Kjær settled the Danish nerves with a towering header from a corner. Niki Zimling then completed the rout with a long drive with eight minutes left on the clock.

“It was a fantastic match with two teams who wanted to win at all costs. There were not so many chances but very direct football and when we scored we gained more composure and space to play our game,” Morten Olsen, Denmark’s coach, told Kanal 5 television channel.

With the win, the Danes move up to third with five points, four behind Bulgaria, who have played a match more and who they meet on Tuesday in Copenhagen in a group showdown, and five behind leaders Italy.

Bulgaria beat Malta 6-0 in the other group B match tonight.