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Denmark a top World Cup seed for the first time in 25 years
Christian Wenande
November 16th, 2020
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This article is more than 3 years old.
Elsewhere, there were Danish triumphs in tennis, golf and a contender for the world goal of the year in the Danish Cup
When the draw for the 2022 World Cup qualification groups takes place on December 7, Denmark will be a top seed.
The recent 2-0 friendly win against Sweden meant that Denmark will be among the top ten teams in Europe for a World Cup draw for the first time since 1995.
That means that the Danes will avoid drawing other top seeded teams like France, Spain, Belgium and Germany in next month’s draw.
What a streak by Stryger
Following the news, Denmark continued their good run by beating Iceland 2-1 in the Nations League thanks to two Christian Eriksen penalties.
The win sets up a grand finale with Belgium on Wednesday to see who wins Group 2.
In related news, Jens Stryger Larsen maintained his impressive streak against Iceland of never losing for Denmark.
The Udinese right back now has 31 caps and has yet to be on the losing side for his nation.
Denmark could host handball Euros on its own
Just 17 days ahead of the 2020 European women’s handball championships starting, Norway has pulled out of co-hosting duties with Denmark over coronavirus fears. Norway’s tough coronavirus rules means that if one player tests positive, the entire team – and its most recent opponent – will be kicked out of the tournament. Denmark is looking into whether it can assume hosting responsibilities by itself.
Holger hits his stride
Danish tennis starlet Holger Rune underlined he is one for the future by winning the ITF tournament in Valldoreix, Spain on Sunday. The 17-year-old beat home favourite Cosano Javier Barranco 7-6, 6-3 in the final. Rune is currently ranked 545 in the world, but can look forward to taking a leap up the rankings after dispatching several players, including Barranco, who are ranked well above him.
Emily wins another one
Danish golfer Emily Kristine Pedersen continued her good run of form in 2020 by winning another tournament over the weekend. Pedersen looked to have thrown away a lead at the Saudi Ladies International on Sunday, but stormed back to take the title in a playoff against English golfer Georgia Hall. The win is the 24-year-old Dane’s third on the Ladies European Tour. She recently won the Czech Ladies Open in August.
Seventh heaven for Nadim
Danish striker Nadia Nadim racked up quite the goal haul over the weekend by scoring seven in Paris Saint-Germain’s 14-0 brutalisation of Issy in the top French league. Signe Bruun, a fellow Dane, also got a goal in the one-sided match. Nadim has plied her trade for PSG since January 2019 after escaping an unhappy time with Manchester City.
First Euro win in 15 years
The Danish women’s national basketball team earned a rare Euro qualification win on Sunday with a 17-point triumph over Romania in Riga, Latvia. After losing their first three qualification games, the Danes overcame the Romanians by a score of 91-74 to mark their first Euro qualification win in 15 years. The win was a bit of a surprise considering the Romanians are ranked 12 spots ahead (44th) of the Danes (56th) in the FIBA World Rankings.
A Danish contender for the Puskás Award
To the world’s footballing community, Lyngby’s 9-0 demolition of Slagelse in the Danish Cup last Wednesday probably wasn’t of much interest. However, Nicolai Geertsen certainly got global attention for his goal in the 69th minute – it was an absolute stunner. On a corner kick, Geertsen overhead-kicked the ball onto the crossbar and when the ball bounced back to him, he immediately scissor-kicked it into the goal directly on the volley. His goal has been seen over 365 million times across the world and is a candidate for the Puskás Award given to the best goal of the year. Previous winners include Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar. See the spectacular goal in the video below.
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