After just three games, Denmark’s hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia are already on the back foot following two losses in five days to Poland and Montenegro.

While the 2-3 loss to a strong Polish team away was expected, going down 0-1 at home to Montenegro was certainly not, and it leaves the Danes with a lot of work to do to get back into contention in Group E.

Aage Hareide’s boys could simply not score last night at the Telia Parken Stadium after conceding a first-half goal from what was one of Montenegro’s few chances in the match.

READ MORE: Denmark off to winning World Cup qualification start

Kazakhstan up next
Despite dominating in possession throughout the match, the Danes couldn’t get it to work in the final third with Christian Eriksen, Thomas Delaney, Andreas Cornelius and Viktor Fischer all going close.

Denmark now sits fourth with three points behind leaders Montenegro (7 points), Poland (7) and Romania (5).

Up next for the Danes will be Kazakhstan at home on November 11.

That’s how it’s done
In related news, the Danish under-21 national team has completed its 2017 Euro qualifications in style by beating Bulgaria and Luxembourg over the past week.

The Danes were dominant in qualification, going undefeated and netting 28 points out of a possible 30 while conceding just two goals.