Sports News in Brief: Danes have 1.13 percent chance of winning World Cup

Elsewhere, more Danish cycling glory in Switzerland and Eriksen is being eyed by Barcelona

Jun 15, 2018

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Denmark’s chances to win the 2018 World Cup are minimal.

But now a statistical technique usually reserved for hydrology has come up with just how minute Denmark’s chances are to go the whole way in Russia.

Jørgen Henriksen, a senior consultant from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), has come up with an analysis that shows the chance of a Danish triumph is an unlikely 1.13 percent – which is marginally better than most bookmakers, which are offering 100/1.

Still, Denmark has a decent chance of progressing from Group C – their chances of victory are 46.7 percent against Peru, 54 percent against Australia and 16 percent against France, but after that it gets difficult.

Germans to repeat?
Denmark’s opponent in the last 16 is most likely Argentina, against whom the Danes only have a 25 percent chance of prevailing.

A potential quarter-final for the Danes would occur at a 11.43 percent chance, while the chance of a semi-final berth is just 4.16 percent.

According to Henriksen’s calculations, Germany are favoured to reach the final again, followed by Brazil, France and Spain.

More Swiss glory
Two days after Christopher Juul-Jensen won the fourth stage of Tour de Suisse, there was more Danish glee as Søren Kragh Andersen triumphed in the sixth stage of the race. The 23-year-old Sunweb talent was part of an early breakaway group, and then he managed to power to victory thanks to strong legs on the final ascent. Richie Porte (BMC) leads the overall standings. Jakob Fuglsang is the top Dane overall in 17th, sitting a minute and a half behind Porte.

Barca closing in on Eriksen?
Denmark’s star midfielder Christian Eriksen could be making the long-awaited move to Barcelona following the news that Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann would not move to the Catalan giants. Spanish sports media outlet Sport.es previously revealed that Eriksen was Barcelona’s second choice after the Frenchman. But Eriksen’s club Tottenham will probably ask for a hefty fee for the Dane, who does not have a release clause.

FCM talent Bundesliga bound
Danish champions FC Midtjylland are on the cusp of selling highly-touted left back Andreas Poulsen to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach, according to Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet. The 18-year-old is expected to sign for around 34 million kroner (not including various clauses). The talent played eight games for FCM in the Superliga last season. FCM has been very active in the transfer market recently, signing Dominick Drexler (Holstein Kiel), Sammy Skytte (Silkeborg), Ayo Okosun (Horsens), Manjrekar James (Vasas) and Søren Reese (Viborg).

Gambian ref for DK-Peru
When Denmark kicks off their World Cup campaign against Peru tomorrow, the match will be managed by the Gambian referee Bakary Gassama. The 39-year-old is considered one of the top refs in Africa and has been marshalling in the top flight for ten years. He has blown the whistle at the 2012 Olympics, 2014 World Cup and the 2017 Confederations Cup, to mention a few. The linesmen for Denmark’s opener hail from Burundi and Algeria.