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Denmark: Opposition Analysis w/Toke Theilade · Scots With A Mic

0:04
Welcome to the Noise. Listen to the passion in Hamden.
0:07
Park, It's John again. It's John again.
0:16
The great done by Dalvish Chancellor one for Scotland.
0:29
Hello, and welcome to the Scottish with Mic podcast.
0:33
I'm your host this week, James. Scott, it's absolutely.
0:35
Lovely to have you along listening with us for what is a
0:39
possible a new series we're sort of going to be doing alongside
0:41
the podcast. Today's episode is an opposition
0:44
analysis on Scotland's opponents and their first game of the
0:49
World Cup qualifying campaign. Denmark on Friday, joining me
0:53
from the Scots for my team and also there from the Scotland
0:56
team is Aaron McIntosh Aaron. How are we doing I'm.
0:59
Very well, how are you? Good, good, very excited.
1:02
Obviously, like I said, massive week this week, the road to US,
1:06
Mexico and Canada is beginning for Scotland and it's starting
1:09
in Copenhagen. Big game Denmark obviously pot
1:13
one side can ask for a harder start to the to the the
1:17
qualifying group, but that's Rivera and yeah, I mean.
1:22
Possibly could have had a harder.
1:23
Side and put one, we're not going to shy away from the fact
1:26
that your Frances and Germanies are definitely far more
1:28
formidable opponents and also more recognizable.
1:32
I think these teams and nations tend to have more of the
1:35
household names. I think it'd be fairly easy to
1:38
name a France or Germany or even a Spain line up, but Denmark a
1:42
squad a lot with quality, but also despite being through a lot
1:45
of the players throughout the top five leagues and such, some
1:48
of the players will maybe not as familiar with.
1:51
Obviously they've had a change in manner as well, manager as
1:53
well. So there's definitely a lot to
1:58
be discussed around the team, things probably the Tartan Army
2:00
and even ourselves aren't aware of.
2:02
And that's what. We're going to do and delve into
2:05
in this episode, we will be speaking to a Danish native,
2:09
Tolkit Thailand, Thailu. I think I'm pronouncing that
2:13
right. I've absolutely butchered it
2:14
even though I was practicing it all day.
2:18
Bromby, fan writer, yeah, he's going to be able to share a lot
2:22
of knowledge with us, hopefully enlighten us going into the game
2:25
on Friday so we know a little bit more about what Denmark's
2:29
been up then what we're going to be up against.
2:31
And I'll come back to you just before we go into the chat with
2:34
Toca. What are you hoping we can get
2:37
from this discussion? A lot of insight, depth and
2:39
analysis hopefully. I think we know know a lot of
2:43
their players, we know them individually, we know them from
2:46
their club sides, but we don't know them from their
2:48
international team. We know our group, we know how
2:50
good we are. You know, we know how you know,
2:52
there's certain things we know. We know about our group and we
2:55
certain things we don't like about our group.
2:57
We don't know much about the Denmark squad as a group in
3:01
total. So I think get some insight,
3:03
analysis, get some strengths and weaknesses.
3:06
They've also got a new manager, you know, they've been a new
3:08
manager within the last year or so.
3:10
So to get some some analysis on how he's doing, but I think just
3:15
to see how the vibes are going into Friday.
3:17
'S just the the Danish perspective on how they look.
3:20
I mean it's I'll be interested to hear as well what he thinks
3:23
about us. It's always, you know, we've got
3:25
a lot of opinions in Scotland and be sure and we see them all
3:27
over Twitter turn around are quite vocal and letting their.
3:31
Displeasure be known. Or if they're they're happy with
3:34
how things have been going. So it'd be good to hear what he
3:36
thinks in terms of whether or not we are maybe a fermentable
3:39
opponent of what he made, what he made of been drawn against
3:42
us. I know if you look at the the
3:44
pot three sides, we were the highest ranked pot three sides.
3:47
So I can't imagine they're too pleased.
3:49
They were the name that came out of the hat.
3:50
And definitely I was more pleased to see Denmark than
3:53
Portugal to obviously Portugal being the other side, we have
3:57
been drawn against this depending on who won or lost
4:00
their playoff in March. And obviously Portugal
4:03
progressed from that one into the Nations League knockout
4:06
rounds. But yeah, hopefully it's going
4:09
to be a really high value conversation and the listeners
4:13
will be much more well acquainted of the Denmark side
4:15
we're going to be up against this Friday.
4:17
So with it further I do, we'll jump straight into that
4:19
conversation and we really hope you enjoy it.
4:23
So hello, Toki, thanks for joining us on the podcast for
4:28
what will hopefully be our enlightening session for the
4:31
Tartan Army and our listeners. I'll let you first of all just
4:35
introduce yourself and you can sort of tell the listener who
4:38
you are, what you do sort of thing.
4:41
Yeah, thank you very much for having me on.
4:42
It's it'll be good to to get to speak a little bit Danish
4:46
football and maybe learn a little bit about Scottish
4:48
football as well. But yeah, my name is Chuka.
4:51
I'm a Danish football writer, journalist, covering mostly the
4:55
Danish super leaguer and of course the national team.
4:58
I'm the editor in chief at the wilful Park dot DK website
5:01
covering Danish side Bundu and yeah, following everything
5:06
Danish football, have been working with the ESPN, BBC, The
5:11
New Yorker, a lot of different media on things related to
5:15
Danish football. So yeah, I've, I've been around
5:18
for I think 1015 years almost doing this and yeah, I'm pretty
5:26
excited. Now we have a new national team
5:28
code for the Danish team is beginning of a new era.
5:32
Finally we're starting this World Cup qualification group.
5:35
It was a bit ridiculous how we had to wait for so long compared
5:38
to the other groups. So pretty excited finally to get
5:42
started here. Yeah, because obviously everyone
5:45
else, they kicked off the campaigns.
5:47
And is it March or July? July.
5:51
July, oh, I think some of them, yeah.
5:52
So or June, So June, yeah, I think obviously us been in that
5:57
smaller group, we've had to wait that a little bit longer and
6:01
it's turned it into quite a so you know, no one's in in the
6:05
European qualifiers. I don't think we're quite used
6:07
to having such a short and condensed qualifying campaign.
6:11
So but it could provide for a very exciting one, very
6:14
fast-paced, but but yeah, so I think.
6:16
Do you go to a lot of Denmark games yourself or are you a
6:19
watcher from afar? I go to as many as I can, not as
6:24
many as as I want to. I'm I'm, I'm going to all the,
6:28
all the bumpy matches. So I kind of enjoy when, when
6:32
there's a national team break to, to watch some games in in TV
6:35
as well and, and have a little bit of an an off weekend.
6:38
But yeah, of course I watch as much as as I can and I watched
6:41
it watch all the the national team games.
6:43
It's it's been some, some pretty exciting years for Denmark.
6:46
So now we'll we will see what can, what Rima here can can do.
6:52
It should be fun. How is Bromby getting on this
6:56
season? Just to go to the club football?
6:58
I know that you've signed a player from Coventry called
7:01
Lewis Banks and I know that he's actually Scottish eligible and
7:05
I've I've been looking at some of the your games this season.
7:07
How has it been so far this season?
7:09
Yeah, Lewis Binks has been really, really good.
7:11
Actually. He looks like a fantastic
7:13
signing. Apart from that, not the best
7:16
start to the season. We were eliminated in the
7:18
Conference League last last Thursday hereby by Strasbourg
7:22
and just lost in the league against Migilant yesterday.
7:26
So they're setting forth it's it's not a disaster, but but
7:30
also not not great. And of course losing in Europe
7:33
is is that's tough. I mean, you always have that
7:36
dream of going to to the league phase and everything, but it,
7:39
it, it wasn't this year, you know, unfortunately well.
7:43
I mean, Scotland, let's say Scotland, Scottish clubs have
7:46
had their fair share of defeats in recent weeks in Europe.
7:49
So I think a lot of fans from from Scotland, they'll be able
7:52
to sympathize me on that front. Yeah, you've not.
7:54
You've not lost badly, have you, compared to the Scottish clubs?
7:57
I mean, look at Rangers, you've not actually lost that badly
7:59
compared to losing to Stroudsburg.
8:01
That is true. That is very true.
8:03
I was, I was watching the Hibernian match against the
8:05
middle and actually that was, that was crazy.
8:09
I mean that that finish with the sizzle kick and everything, that
8:12
was definitely unexpected. We were talking to Hibs
8:16
supporter the other week in our podcast and he was at the game
8:19
and he said, you know, it's like the worst way to lose because
8:22
it's like the best goals you could actually concede but in
8:24
the worst possible time. You know, it's it was such a
8:27
topsy turvy game. But if you've been looking at
8:29
Hibs very much the whole year being run, they've had so many
8:32
crazy games. All three games have went all
8:34
three times have went to extra time.
8:37
So they've had their fair share of the roller coaster.
8:39
So I think you've featured very well.
8:43
So yeah, I'll just, first of all, we'll just ask you what's
8:46
your sort of take on the group talk, because as a Scotland fan,
8:50
it feels like a very tight group being a, we were obviously a pot
8:54
three side and we were the highest ranked pot three side we
8:57
could have been. I think we could have been pot
8:59
one had the had the results gone the right way for us.
9:02
But unfortunately it wasn't. But from a Danish perspective,
9:04
how are you looking at the sort of the next six games and what
9:08
you're up against? It's it's a funny time to be a
9:12
Danish football fan because I can.
9:14
I mean, these past five years, there has never been higher
9:17
expectations in my entire life. I mean, obviously my first, the
9:21
first major tournament I really remember was the 1998 one.
9:25
But since then, the expectations have never really been high
9:29
until we had the human went to that, the semi final at the Euro
9:33
four years ago and and failed miserably, unfortunately in
9:37
Qatar. But still, Despite that, there's
9:40
a lot of, a lot of expectations, but there's also a lot of
9:43
confidence. So generally I would say that
9:47
people are pretty happy with the group we avoided.
9:51
I, I think both Greece and and Scotland are, are good teams,
9:56
but also I think on paper they might still have the best team
9:59
and, and it will be considered a, a failure if we don't
10:03
qualify. I mean, there's a lot of
10:05
respect, of course, for especially the Scottish team and
10:08
there's a lot of respect for Scottish fans, especially
10:12
because of, of, of how great numbers they travel to the away
10:14
matches, how how much fun it is to play against Scottish teams
10:18
because of the fans and the football culture and everything.
10:20
But but, but yeah, the expectation is definitely that
10:23
Denmark wins the group and and qualify for for for the World
10:28
Cup here because it is a very strong team.
10:31
We are fielding. It's not as good as it was at
10:35
the Euro during the Covic Euro, but still we have a very good
10:40
team. There's a lot of confidence in
10:41
this team and also have been integrating some new, young,
10:46
exciting players. So we are looking stronger than
10:50
we did in Qatar at the last World Cup, I would say for sure.
10:53
So, yeah, Denmark, Denmark are definitely expected to to win
10:57
the group. It's not expected that we that
10:59
we will go out and dominate the group because, yeah, especially
11:02
the away matches against Scotland and Greece will be,
11:05
will be difficult. But once all six matches are
11:08
played, Denmark I expected to be leading the group.
11:15
I was just going to say because a lot of people in this country
11:18
are saying that maybe Greece are the favourites for the group
11:20
just because of the way that we played, because we played
11:22
against them in the the Nations League playoffs and back in
11:26
March. And they totally, you know,
11:28
first game, you know, they dominated us, but we got the win
11:30
at hand and it was a three nil. Would you say that's fair?
11:33
Do you think you're just going or you're going to be loyal to
11:36
your team and say that Denmark is still the favorite?
11:38
Especially, I still think Denmark are the favourites and
11:40
the strongest team, but do you think that could be a fair
11:43
assessment from people in this country in Greece might be the
11:46
favourites for the group? No, I I would still say that
11:49
Marcus is the is the favorite. I mean, when, when we're looking
11:52
at our squad, we we have a player from Barcelona too, from
11:56
Man United. I know Man United, it doesn't
11:58
have the same weight these days, but I mean, practically all our
12:02
players are in the in the top five leagues.
12:05
The odd is the odd player in in Portugal and Belgium, but but
12:10
most of them are playing in the top leagues, whereas I think
12:14
Greek. I was looking at the at the
12:15
squad the Greek squad earlier today.
12:17
Most of them are in the domestic Greek league.
12:19
So actually I would be I'm more afraid of of Scotland than I am
12:23
of the of the Greece. Yeah, that's interesting to hear
12:28
actually. Glad we're carrying that sort of
12:32
way. Glad.
12:32
Somebody's are scared of. US, yeah.
12:34
I'm glad because everybody that we, because I've been putting
12:37
post stuff about the group and everybody's saying how scared we
12:40
are for Friday and how scared we are for the group in general
12:43
because it's such a tight little group as well.
12:44
Four games, you know, four teams and you know as you were saying,
12:47
Ella James, it's you know, we we're normally A5 team or a six
12:50
team being in the four teams like being in the Nations League
12:52
group. Yeah.
12:54
And I mean, just usually in your, your qualifying campaigns
12:57
as well with the, the EUR, the World Cup, because the way you
13:01
know, these groups work, if there's six or five teams in the
13:03
past, you've only got 10 games, maybe only eight games.
13:09
There's not a lot of margin for either.
13:10
You know, it's you feel like you've got to land all your
13:13
punches and in a group like this, I think, you know, you
13:18
have just eliminated maybe one of the lower seeded teams from
13:21
the group. But at the same time, it still
13:23
feels that there's more pressure to get things right in this one
13:26
because you've not got a lot of time to rectify them with how
13:28
quickly the games are coming round.
13:32
But yeah, no, so I mean, looking at the DNS team coming into this
13:36
in terms of your form since of EUR 2024, I don't know if you
13:41
class it as a bit of a disappointment.
13:42
Obviously you got you've got the same wins as Scotland, but you
13:46
did a lot better getting 3 draws in a group against England,
13:50
Slovenia and Serbia. That was enough for you to
13:53
progress and then you lost two nil to Germany, which was quite
13:57
a massive improvement on what we managed in our opening game
14:00
against them. Don't bring back nightmares
14:02
first, James. Don't.
14:03
Bring back nightmares. That's less about that the
14:05
better. But yeah, since the start of
14:09
2024, competitively, you've only lost four games and they've been
14:14
to Spain home and the way Portugal away and Germany and
14:17
the EUR, only one of them, only one of those games is at home,
14:22
the Spanish one and the Nations League.
14:25
Do you view Parkin as about a fortress view?
14:28
Is that somewhere you feel like you've got really good form?
14:30
Obviously, I mean, obviously you do, but just how do you feel the
14:33
Danish team is going into this? Yeah.
14:36
That's definitely very true. And, and I mean, I said in the
14:39
beginning how there was a lot of expectations and a lot of
14:42
excitement around this Danish team.
14:43
And I think that's part of it. I mean, now the, the, the Danish
14:47
matches, it hasn't always been like this, but there's generally
14:51
sold out for, for these qualification matches that that
14:54
has not always been the case, but there's a lot of support for
14:57
this team. It really started during the the
14:59
COVID years where everybody came together to support the national
15:03
team. Of course there was the disaster
15:06
with Christian Erikson collapsing on the pitch and
15:08
there was the whole team and the country came together.
15:11
We went to the semi final, of course, also a little bit of
15:14
some lucky draws. But since then they've been
15:16
riding on a wave basically with with really, really impressive
15:20
support from from fans, both in the stadium, but also just
15:24
people behind the at home in the couch in front of the TV.
15:28
There's so much more attention and excitement around the team
15:31
here. And I think you can really see
15:33
that on the pitch as well, especially when they're playing,
15:35
when they're playing at home. When that is said, I think the
15:39
results we have delivered over the past years also a little bit
15:44
deceptive because yes, on paper they look really, really good.
15:48
But for example, that Euro we played last summer, results were
15:53
decent. I mean, advancing from the
15:54
group, you can never really be unhappy with that than losing
15:57
never lead to Germany. But at the same time, I think
16:01
anybody who watched our games were very, very disappointed
16:03
with how they were playing offensively.
16:05
It was super predictable, boring, uncreative and very slow
16:12
paced. And which was also part of the
16:14
reason why you men and and the association went their separate
16:19
ways, because that whole relationship, despite all the
16:22
love that that it, it, it gave birth to with the fans, it had
16:27
also run it's time. And it was time to to try
16:30
something to, to try something new.
16:35
And, and I think also, yeah, so so and that was the case as well
16:38
in the Indonesians league, which we saw last year that yes, the
16:43
results were good, but it was not, it was not Danish dynamite.
16:46
I mean, it was not the explosive, entertaining
16:50
football. It was a little bit more
16:52
defensive minded, cynical. And and that's not really what
16:58
Danish football fans want. I mean, it's we want to win, but
17:01
it's also very important to win in the right way.
17:03
And, and I think anybody who who are on the older side and
17:06
remember like the 80s and so on, they also understand that for
17:10
many Danish fans, like they're fine with being the best losers.
17:14
They're fine with with with losing as long as you do it in a
17:17
way where it's like you're playing entertaining of
17:19
offensive football and doing things what kind of like the
17:22
right way instead of playing this defensive cynical football
17:27
that we often mark, for example, Sweden and no Norway for doing
17:32
so. Yeah, we, we want to see our
17:35
team be entertaining and we want to get to the World Cup.
17:38
But we also have to, we have to do it in a way where we
17:40
hopefully score a lot of goals and we're playing with a way
17:43
that excites people and makes us proud for the national team.
17:46
Because just going to the World Cup and, and I mean, that's not
17:50
enough, it it also has to be. Yeah, it's not about.
17:54
Just yeah. Exactly.
17:55
Exactly. I was going to say back in
17:59
March, we had a topsy turvy game in the nation in the nation's
18:02
league playoff against Portugal. What was that like?
18:06
Because every time I was looking at the game, it was just raining
18:10
goals at one point. You know, one thing wasn't gone.
18:12
You know, this was the second leg or anything.
18:14
It was just to go away the Portugal and play for a
18:16
performance like what you did. And I've seen some of the
18:18
second-half as well. I was trying to watch as much as
18:20
I could because we were we had them the grease second leg and I
18:24
was trying to watch in your your game against Portugal.
18:27
What was that game like? Because it was just, it seemed
18:29
like tactics at one point just went out the window.
18:31
Yeah, that was that was a lot of fun because of course, I think
18:35
it's probably the same in in Scotland.
18:37
But the Nations League is obviously big for us and it's
18:39
it's it's big when we get to play against these huge nations.
18:43
I mean, it's not, I think we care more about Nations League
18:45
than Portugal or Spain or these other countries do, because it's
18:49
not often that they might get to win anything.
18:51
So the fact that we can play a semi final and, and I mean,
18:56
obviously there was also some, some potential advantages of, of
19:00
World Cup seeding and all of this stuff.
19:02
So yeah, that was a lot of fun. And, and especially after we won
19:06
the first match at home, that was OK.
19:08
Maybe maybe we have something here.
19:10
I mean, ultimately we lost to, to Portugal after extra time,
19:13
but the fact that we could go down to to Lisbon and be
19:16
competitive, that that really said a lot.
19:18
Then that gave birth to to a lot of optimism And, and yeah, that
19:22
match was just crazy. It's that moment to see.
19:26
I think it was a fight to exactly.
19:30
Mean for I mean, I'd agree with you about the nations leagues.
19:34
I feel like that's something that's been very kind to
19:36
Scotland. We started way down in Group C
19:39
initially and I did think Scotland kind of got stuck in a
19:42
cycle at points where we we did get out of tough draws and we
19:46
were finishing in positions in groups that maybe I don't know
19:49
if I'm just been a rose tinted glasses fan here looking, you
19:52
know, kind little modern team, but I felt we were we were we
19:56
sometimes got a raw deal and the Nations League allowed us to
19:58
progress up through the ranks and.
20:00
I feel like we're in a. Position, it's much more.
20:02
Reflective of where the national team actually is on the patch
20:07
and you know, the players we've got.
20:10
I think we had we had actually quite similar Nations League
20:13
campaign to you again, maybe been kind to Scotland, but it
20:18
was slim margins for getting Stan had been in the playoffs to
20:23
move up the way or getting relegated and or the playoff
20:26
down the way. And inside that was the playoff
20:28
down that we got us cop with Greece in March.
20:33
But yeah, it's it's definitely been a good thing for testing
20:36
yourselves at the right level. And I can understand why sort of
20:39
Denmark as well. Appreciate having the platform
20:42
to do that. We'll move on and sort of look
20:47
at the Danish squad because obviously I think over the years
20:49
there's been a lot of names people could recite straight off
20:53
the top of their head. You know, Danish players,
20:56
football legends. Krishna Ericsson is a massive
21:00
name, obviously past his prime, but you know, everyone's more
21:04
than familiar over his time at Spars what he's capable of.
21:08
Obviously he's not got a club right now and he's not been
21:10
included in the squad. I've heard different opinions
21:14
from Danes on this really have been in the squad if you were
21:17
the one picking it. It's a good question.
21:21
I've been going back and forward on that for a long time.
21:24
I think ultimately, yes, I would have picked him because we don't
21:28
have any players who can do what he can and I think the the
21:32
playing style he has is is less dependent on on the physical
21:38
part of his game. He's very professional,
21:40
obviously at his age, so I'm sure he has stayed fit over the
21:44
summer even though he hasn't had a club to train with.
21:47
I mean, you can also draw some comparisons to Lasmos Hoyland,
21:50
for example, who's been out of the squad for the first Premier
21:54
League matches with United and he is in the squad.
21:59
So of course he had a preseason and played friendly matches and
22:02
so on. But Ericsson is not the only
22:04
player who who is lacking is lacking competitive games.
22:09
Also Philippe Anderson, the second goalkeeper hasn't played
22:12
really for Chelsea either. So there are other players were
22:15
in the same boat. And I think Ericsson is such a
22:17
special player that that I would have, I would have called him up
22:21
unless of course he requested that I, I need time to find
22:24
myself a club. So but I don't think so.
22:27
I mean, he he loves the national team and I can't imagine that he
22:30
would tell the coach that he's unavailable.
22:32
Yeah, yeah. I suppose you never really know
22:33
what's going on in conversations, buying closed
22:35
doors, but that's certainly, Yeah.
22:38
I mean, he's an absolute Talisman for your country and
22:41
some, you know, we've all seen the goals he scored, the moments
22:44
of magic can produce in just a second.
22:46
So as a Scotland fan, I will say I'm quite pleased he's not not
22:52
in there and we'll be dealing with someone else instead.
22:56
I was going to mention a player that isn't the squad and Matt
22:59
O'Reilly. A lot of Scotland supporters
23:01
will know him from his time at Celtic and he's going to
23:04
Brighton we think. I don't know if it's went
23:06
through. We're recording this on Monday
23:08
so I don't know if it's went through or not, if he's going to
23:10
Marcia or not. What would you think a deal like
23:13
that, if it has went through going to Marcia would be like
23:17
for Matt O'Reilly? Would that be a good move for
23:19
him personally or do you think he should have stayed at
23:20
Brighton? I was a bit surprised when I
23:23
saw, I mean, I saw the videos of him standing with the Mercedes
23:26
Gov and meeting the fans and everything.
23:28
I was a bit surprised because I thought he did well in the first
23:30
two matches here in the in the Premier League.
23:33
But I think also it's it's super important for him to get regular
23:37
game time at A at a very high level.
23:39
And probably Brighton indicated that he it wasn't going to
23:42
happen at the level he wanted to.
23:45
So Mercedes is a good club. So him going down to play with
23:49
Pyramid Hobia, our captain, I'm fine with that.
23:53
The most important thing for me is that he gets game time on on
23:56
a high level. Obviously last season he missed
23:59
most of the time with with an injury.
24:01
So he's still very new on the national team, hasn't really
24:04
been integrated. He has four games so far and he
24:08
hasn't really done anything as a as a national team player.
24:11
So, yeah, I think it, it sounds like a good move and, and it'll
24:16
be fun to follow him because he he has some, the way he plays
24:20
his, his, his, how dangerous he is in front of goal and his
24:26
offensive qualities is something we we don't have a lot of
24:29
players like that. I mean, we have a lot of winners
24:31
and, and of course we have Erickson who can be the creative
24:33
midfielder. But but other than that, yeah,
24:36
he's a good backup and, and hopefully can, can take some
24:40
pressure off Erickson coming off the bench or maybe even yeah,
24:44
he's only 24. So, so he should have a a long
24:46
future on the national team to establish himself at some point.
24:50
Do you think he would take over Ericsson's position in the
24:53
national team going forward? Do you think there's somebody
24:55
else that's in the winds going to take over from Christian
24:59
Eriksen in that position? I think right now it's it's it's
25:03
him and Michael Damsko that are the leading people for for that
25:07
position. But as I said, we we still
25:09
haven't seen so much for Matt O'Reilly on the national team.
25:13
He was very, very hyped when he played for Celtic.
25:15
He had that amazing season scoring 18 goals, I think it
25:19
was. And people were outraged when he
25:22
wasn't called up for the for the Euro last summer because of that
25:25
season. I mean, everybody was asking how
25:27
can we have a player that scores so many goals for Celtic and
25:30
it's not called up. Which again, also says a little
25:34
bit about the respect that Danish fans have for for both
25:37
the the big Scottish clubs and, and Scottish football in in
25:40
general. But yeah, I think it's very,
25:43
very open and and I hope that Erickson gets to play at least a
25:48
couple of more years. I think the way he's playing
25:50
means that it's not urgent for him to step down.
25:53
So it all depends on his on his hunger.
25:55
But I wouldn't say that Matt O'Reilly is like a clear cut #2
25:59
right now he's still new on the national team.
26:01
We have a lot of a lot of players, also some creative
26:04
players who are not called up like yes, Palindstream, who
26:06
played on The Who played forever time in the Premier League last
26:10
season and who's back in in the Bundes League and right now.
26:14
So it's very open behind him, behind Ericsson.
26:17
I mean, and yeah, O'Reilly is is a candidate for sure, but but
26:21
it's not like a clear cut thing and and he is still on the
26:25
fringe of the national team in general really.
26:27
So he needs to prove himself for for my say, otherwise it's not a
26:32
given that he would be in the squad the next time.
26:34
Yeah, because I think I'm writing saying he's only got 4
26:37
caps for Denmark as it stands. But I mean at 24 he's still got
26:41
the best part is clear ahead. I'm sure you know, if he keeps
26:44
improving, doing ways, you know, this trajectory from Celtic has
26:47
been very promising. And yeah, I think personally
26:51
he's a player I would love to have in the Scotland team.
26:54
Looking across the board the the, the Danish squad, obviously
26:58
there's a good few names that people will be familiar with.
27:00
Kasper Schmeichel is currently Celtic.
27:03
Matt Riley we've already mentioned Mikael Damsgard is a
27:06
player way back, EUR 20. I think Scotland fans will have
27:09
fond memories of watching him score that free kick against
27:12
England, Andreas Christensen for Barcelona.
27:17
But there's a lot of other names that maybe aren't as striking
27:20
out, one that I picked out more and humans highly rated player
27:26
for sporting. Is there any others you'd sort
27:30
of the the like for you or names that you appreciate and around
27:35
Denmark that aren't maybe ones that are going to instantly jump
27:38
out as to to fans like myself who are looking out, who's the
27:41
one to watch? Yeah, I think, I think two
27:44
players that are really worth highlighting.
27:47
And I can mention another one who's like an honorable mention,
27:50
but but two players that are really worth highlighting is our
27:53
striker Mika Beers. He plays for AS Monaco.
27:57
I think if Scotland is anything like Denmark, you probably don't
28:01
watch a lot of matches from from the from the French league.
28:04
But he came from. Yeah, I will say one thing.
28:07
Mika Burev is he he has a name that will be familiar with
28:10
handfuls 'cause it's because of his time at Motherwell.
28:14
Oh, yeah. It was only, I think it was
28:16
maybe only it was only sex moms. He was there.
28:18
He was only there. He's unknown to Marshall.
28:19
Yeah, he. Was only there to like Christmas
28:21
on new year I think. So, yeah, but he was a name I
28:27
was going to bring up. So it's interesting to hear your
28:28
thoughts on him because he's not a name you're much talked about.
28:31
Like you say, the French league's maybe not one of the
28:34
ones that is in the limelight too much, unless you're maybe
28:37
playing for PSG or that, but yeah.
28:40
Yeah, he he went absolutely nuclear last season.
28:43
He came in January from Stone class in in Austria, scored 13
28:47
gold in 16 matches. I think he had two hat tricks
28:50
and I mean, he he is dangerous. It is, it is really impressive.
28:54
And we saw in the friendlies before the before the summer
29:00
vacation that he has actually taken over the the starting
29:03
strikers. But from Asmus Hoyland, which I
29:05
think everybody expected Hoyland to, to just sit on that position
29:09
for the next 10 years. But right now the earth it is
29:13
our strongest option as the number 9.
29:14
And yeah, he he looked decent in those matches.
29:18
But I think now when he he's a little bit older, he has been on
29:21
the national team before, a little bit more experienced at
29:24
the highest level. I think him I'm really, really
29:27
excited to watch he he can be. Yeah, he he looks incredible.
29:31
His scoring rate at Monaco. I mean, he's not a guy who he
29:35
doesn't do a lot of things, but the things he do in front of
29:38
goal are just they are, they are incredible.
29:41
And then he can become a really, really good striker.
29:44
I'm very happy that he chose to stay at Monaco instead of
29:46
already moved to a bigger club because I think another year in
29:49
the French league and then to the World Cup next summer.
29:52
That sounds like a really good recipe for him.
29:55
Also on the midfield, I think Scottish fans should keep an eye
29:59
on which of 400 he just left FC Copenhagen to join FC Porto in
30:04
in Portugal and has started like like a Thunder down there.
30:09
I mean, he's already established himself as one of the better
30:13
midfielders, of course early, but one of the better
30:15
midfielders in Portugal and he's a huge talent.
30:18
He he is like 19 1/2 and yeah, got his debut on the national
30:23
team when he was 19 playing still in the Danish league,
30:26
which is not very common at all. And yeah, then became one of
30:30
Copenhagen's biggest ever sales and he looks really, really
30:33
good. I think when we're talking about
30:35
the future on on the midfield, he is one of the guys that we
30:38
will end up building the team around.
30:40
Of course he's he's not a offensive minded midfielder.
30:43
He's more controlling midfielder, central midfielder,
30:46
but he looks like really looks like the real deal.
30:50
And then I think defensively, yeah, of course you already
30:54
mentioned, you know, all the guys who are playing in the
30:56
Premier League and and and as Christmas in Barcelona.
30:59
But we spoke a little bit about Strasbourg earlier and and Lucas
31:02
Krugsba, who joined them this summer from FC N Shoreland, 19
31:06
year old central defender just turned 19 in in June.
31:10
He has a really, really bright future as well.
31:13
One of those ball playing midfield central defenders that
31:16
can push forward, that can be creative.
31:19
And it's also just a really physically strong guy for his
31:22
age and and really good defender that is tough to get by.
31:26
So I think the, the future is, is, is really bright and, and we
31:30
have finally done that generation shift.
31:33
Of course there's a couple of the old guys still with Vista Go
31:36
and, and Ericsson will return eventually, Smigel, York,
31:41
Anderson and so on. But there's a lot of of
31:44
interesting new players and, and they seem to have good
31:46
mentality. They're playing for the clubs
31:48
and yeah, they, they are really pushing for, for this team to,
31:53
to, to be rejuvenated a bit and get more youthly optimism and,
31:58
and dedication into the team passion.
32:01
You can see it means a lot for them to, to play on the national
32:04
team. And, and, and I think also the
32:05
fans are excited about this and can see that, hey, it's not,
32:09
it's not the same old Danish team anymore.
32:11
I mean, also Dog, who of course from Man United, only 20 years
32:14
old. So yeah, you have that spirit
32:17
you can only get when you have a lot of these young guys who are
32:20
just eager to prove themselves and show what they can do and
32:22
everything. I was going to mention Rasmus,
32:26
Rasmus Hoyland, I can't denounce his name properly, so I do
32:29
apologise. He's he's moved to Napoli
32:32
tonight as far as I can see. Yeah, he's moved tonight.
32:35
And I've got a confirmation for you there as somebody who's been
32:38
watching a lot of Napoli games, because obviously we've got
32:41
Scott Mctominy and Billy Gilmore there.
32:42
Do you think that's a good link up something that could work for
32:45
Napoli going forward? Hoyland and like Tommy together,
32:50
they did obviously have a little bit of time in Man United, but
32:53
and Antonio country team. Would that be something that
32:56
could be beneficial for Napoli going forward?
33:00
I think it's I think it's a great move, but to be fair, I
33:02
also think that any club that is not Man United would have been a
33:05
good move for him. But the But I think Napoli is a
33:09
really good move. Obviously it's a city that just
33:11
lives for the football. And also in Denmark, we have
33:14
seen how MC Terminate has just taken a one.
33:17
And I mean, I think he was nominated for belong there or
33:20
even. So hopefully, hopefully Holland
33:23
can do some of the same. I think it has really been
33:26
difficult for him to play at United.
33:28
And they haven't developed him as they should and they haven't
33:30
treated him as they should. They haven't.
33:35
They haven't played him in a way that enhances his talent and
33:39
skills. So I think this new wave of
33:43
fresh air and especially Napoli that yeah, I think you can see
33:47
on Max Harmony how much he enjoys living there.
33:49
I think it is really good for him.
33:51
And obviously Hoyland has already played and lived in
33:54
Italy, so that whole integration to a new team should be easier
33:58
for him. And yeah, I'm, I'm excited also
34:01
with, of course, with Lukaku being injured, that means that
34:04
the road to to playing time is not as as long as as it could
34:08
have been elsewhere. And yeah, he's still very, very
34:10
young guy. He just needs some playing time
34:12
and he needs a coach who trusts him and an environment that
34:15
isn't dragging him down, pulling him down and tearing him apart
34:19
after every single match. I mean, he's young, he's wrong.
34:22
He needs to be able to make a few mistakes here and there, but
34:25
he's also very, very talented and and yeah, I think this will
34:28
be a good move for him. Why do you think?
34:31
Manchester Sorry, James, I'll just come in there.
34:34
Why do you think it's not one time in Manchester United for
34:36
him? I think, I think if, if we are,
34:40
if I'm honest, a part of it was that it was too big a step for
34:42
him because I mean, he really only had six months of playing
34:47
regularly for Azalanza before he moved.
34:49
We, we have to remember how much of A comedic rice he was on.
34:54
I mean, he played the I think a year he played in Austria after
34:57
Copenhagen, thought he wasn't good enough so they sold him to
35:00
Austria. So then he played a year in
35:02
Atlanta and suddenly he was at Man United for what was it
35:05
60,000,000 lbs or something they bought him for?
35:08
So I think everything just went too fast for him and, and, and
35:11
the challenge was too big. But I also think he did pretty
35:15
well in his first season. I think he had ten goals in the
35:17
league. And I mean he scored in the
35:19
Champions League the year after. But yeah, it seemed like it was
35:25
too chaotic a situation and too fast, but also coming into a
35:30
team that was just, it was not working and they were throwing
35:34
players in and out and, yeah, firing head coaches and
35:37
everything. It was, yeah, it was not.
35:39
I, I get you don't say no to Man United and that big paycheck.
35:42
But I think if he was, if he was looking back, he would probably
35:48
have picked any other club that them because that was too
35:50
dysfunctional for for a young guy who who was still very raw
35:54
at the time and and needed trust and patience and yeah, a little
35:58
bit of calmness, I think. And obviously none of none of
36:01
those things is what you get at Man United at the time.
36:04
No, I mean, as a as a Scotland fan, I think I could say I'm
36:08
pleased. I mean, it's good for the move
36:11
to Denapolis come about. But knowing that we had Denmark
36:14
and our group and your main striker was sort of misfiring
36:17
the Man United, that was something that maybe was a bit
36:20
more of a positive for us. So if Napoli is going to do a
36:22
job on him as to what they've done to make comedy in terms of
36:25
turning his form around, obviously my Tommy has been
36:28
someone that the Scotland fans have long appreciated.
36:30
But like you said at Man United, it can be a bit of a hard job
36:34
there when things aren't going your way, which have not been
36:37
there for a while. But yeah, I mean, in terms of
36:40
the Denmark score as a whole, obviously touched on one of the
36:43
youngsters you've got. It was a Victor Throat at Porto.
36:47
Now looking at the balance of the squads, I just jot it down
36:50
some stats. It was going 25 players in the
36:53
squad, 17 of them have over 10 caps.
36:56
Meanwhile in the Danish squad, only 12 of their 23 have over 10
37:01
caps. And then the average age in
37:03
Scotland's closest to 27, meanwhile in the Danish squad is
37:06
25. And I know these are just
37:08
numbers, but and like you said, there's some benefits you get to
37:13
having younger guys in your squad.
37:15
Guys would be less experienced, come with that sort of flair and
37:18
sort of lack of fear for making mistakes.
37:22
I think Ben Doakes on all Scotland fans would point to
37:24
straight away with that. He's only got 6 caps but he's
37:27
he's really one of our best players and one of the first
37:29
names they want to see on the team sheet.
37:31
Now do you feel like this not sitting there in transition, but
37:36
like do you feel it is slightly less experienced than before?
37:40
And you know, is that a good thing for you right now?
37:43
Yeah, I think you are. You are pretty spot on.
37:46
It is a very, very inexperienced team we have here.
37:49
As I said, that there's a lot of young guys.
37:51
I also think once the qualification is over and we
37:55
look back at all this, all the six matches we played and
37:59
hopefully with with the mark at the World Cup, I think we would
38:03
also see that there are a lot more familiar names because I
38:07
mean, normally, for example, Katianargo from Arsenal would be
38:10
in the squad, Matthew Jensen from Brentford would be in the
38:12
squad. We have Jonas win and just
38:15
Paulson up front who would also most likely be in the squad.
38:19
So. Just rattled off with three of
38:21
the names there that I've got an injury list of guys, especially
38:25
Nora Garden Paulson. Names are recognized.
38:28
I've known, you know, they've been about for a good few years,
38:30
have done well and they're not involved.
38:32
So yeah. Exactly.
38:34
But but I think they will be eventually once the once we get
38:38
going here. I mean, we had a lot of players
38:40
who who have struggled a little bit with injuries.
38:42
Some of them have been switching teams and the yeah, but but I
38:46
think once the obviously Christian Erickson as well, once
38:49
the qualification is over, there will be more of these usual
38:52
suspects who's been involved with the team and have gotten a
38:55
few more games. I mean, also Alexander Barr on
38:58
the on the right back has been playing quite well for Benfica,
39:01
but is is out injured at the moment.
39:04
So he's another guy who will who will be involved in in one way
39:08
or another at least. Just looking ahead to Friday's
39:13
game, what would you see as your main, main strengths and
39:17
weaknesses as a as a team, as a standard of living?
39:19
So if you were to pay out the standard of living that you
39:21
think you're going to pay, do you, what would be your main
39:24
strength, Denmark's main strength?
39:25
Would it be something like say, PCs?
39:27
Would it be counter attacks? And, and again, what would you
39:31
think the main weaknesses be for a Denmark team going to play a
39:34
team like Scotland? I think that the the weakness, I
39:38
think we all already just said it basically, but that is
39:40
definitely the lack of experience and the the amount of
39:44
players who are not fully integrated into the team.
39:47
We we are probably missing a few of those relations.
39:50
You can only get between the players by having them play
39:53
together for a very long time. So, so there's definitely
39:57
there's definitely some risk there.
39:59
And that's also why a lot of fans are calling for Smigel to
40:02
be to be replaced in in goal with Miss Hamilton from West
40:07
Ham. But I think.
40:09
Especially now when we have so many new players, it is an
40:11
advantage that we have him and he's been part of the national
40:14
team for forever and he knows he sets the standards, he's loud,
40:19
he is commanding, he he, he, he can be a leader on the team.
40:24
But the yeah, definitely inexperience is, is a big risk.
40:29
When we look at the at the strength I was, I think
40:32
generally the technical level on the team is really, really high.
40:35
Of course, Denmark are sort of after playing three with the
40:40
three centre backs for a long time we we are have been playing
40:43
a lot in a 433 or 4231, whatever we call it since switching head
40:50
coach. And I think this this gives us
40:52
more control over the matches now when we have these extra
40:55
midfielders and can play a little bit more offensive mind.
40:59
And of course, we still have very, very attacking full backs,
41:03
but we also have more control on the middle of the pitch.
41:06
And, and I think the the technical level generally on the
41:10
team from from Andreas Castenson in the central defense up to our
41:15
strikers means that we can get the opponents to run a lot, to
41:18
chase the ball a lot and hopefully also get to take a a
41:22
few breaks here and there with the ball and then pick our time
41:27
to to play fast and direct to create the chances.
41:31
So, but overall, yeah, it's it is a really good team and of
41:36
course the core remains intact. We still have Smike and we still
41:39
have Andres questions in your commanders and we still have
41:42
hobby and dumps go on the midfield.
41:45
So it's not like we are building a completely new team either.
41:49
I mean, there's, you have the backbone and, and the, the guys
41:52
who've been on the team for a very long time and who knows the
41:55
standards and who knows what it takes to to qualify and and
41:59
compete at the very highest level.
42:01
So I'm no earlier in the conversation you you know, it's
42:04
about the departure of your last manager sort of been a case of
42:09
run his time. Brian Reamer been the new
42:12
manager that came in as Brian. I'm not pronouncing that right
42:15
and Scott when we say Brian, but I'm aware.
42:19
Yeah, yeah. He obviously came in last
42:22
October. Realistically it's almost a year
42:25
ago, but he's only had the November, the March and the June
42:29
camps with the team. So this is 4th me up with the
42:32
team. Are you starting to, do you feel
42:36
like you've seen an improvement under him?
42:37
Has it been a big change or is it still a work in progress in
42:40
your opinion? I think it was a big
42:43
improvement. I was, I'm not only me, but I
42:46
think everybody was getting a bit tired of of human.
42:49
In the end there was a lot of talk and not really any backing
42:52
it up on the pitch. So it was definitely needed that
42:55
we got a new coach in. And yeah, there were not a lot
42:59
of candidates. They were pretty insisted on
43:02
they they wanted a Danish coach. There were not a lot of options
43:04
out there. But they're luckily Witmer was
43:07
fired back in in Anderlecht in Belgium and became the coach
43:11
very soon after. And yeah, he's done good so far.
43:15
But, but I think also, yeah, I know I spoke about Nations
43:18
League being meaningful here, but at the same time, it's not
43:21
the qualification and it's not, it's not the World Cup either.
43:24
So he has been playing a little bit for house money now.
43:28
It's it's like it's serious now. There's this is like the first
43:33
exam and and yeah, as we said, there's not many matches.
43:36
So we need to get off to a good start and it'll be interesting.
43:40
I think he's done well in the in the first matches here.
43:43
He he has gotten some excitement back in the country.
43:47
He has gotten the support be Portugal.
43:51
He has found his starting line up and the formation, the way he
43:55
wants to play. You can see that we have a good
43:57
foundation. But but yeah, he he's still a
44:00
relatively unknown guy. I mean, he had he had a year and
44:03
a half as head coach for under Lake, but that's it.
44:05
Other than that, he's been an assistant at Brentford and
44:08
Copenhagen. He's been a youth coach.
44:10
So he is a pretty unknown guy in Denmark actually.
44:14
I mean, did this this match disappointment as as head coach
44:17
here in Denmark was the first time we really got to know him
44:22
because he went from Copenhagen's under 19 to
44:25
assistant for Thomas Frank and Brentford and then down to
44:27
Underlake to become head coach there.
44:29
So yeah, we don't really have that much of a relationship
44:32
unless you are Copenhagen very hardcore fan that has watched
44:35
him youth football. We don't really know who he is.
44:39
We haven't gotten to know him. We haven't gotten to see his
44:41
teams, to see his identity, anything like that because of
44:45
course nobody watches Belgium football here.
44:47
So yeah, we are really also as a country just getting to know
44:52
him. So far I've been very good and
44:55
he's come off nicely. He's come off as likable and
44:58
said and done all the right things.
45:00
But yeah, he is still, he is still a, a new guy and, and new
45:06
in this position even though it's been a year, which is it's
45:09
a bit crazy to say, but but that is how it how it feels.
45:12
Do you think he's doing a good job altogether then?
45:16
Because if he's been for a year and he's done relatively OK in
45:19
the nation League and he's done no, you can done a good job in
45:22
the in the in the March game as well will be a defeat.
45:25
Do you think he's done a relatively good job in a short
45:27
space of time? Yes, I, I don't think he could
45:29
have done anything else than than what he has done.
45:31
I, I mean, I don't think we could have asked more from him.
45:35
He has done he, he has rejuvenated the team.
45:37
He has integrated only young players people want to see.
45:41
He's been playing more entertaining football.
45:42
He's beat Portugal. So yeah, he, he, he has
45:46
definitely done a good job. He's off to a good start.
45:48
And yeah, he just needs to to build on this foundation that he
45:51
spent a year laying now. And if he if he if he qualifies
45:56
for the World Cup, then yeah, he will.
45:58
He will definitely have had made a good name for himself.
46:04
So I mean, obviously looking looking forward to Friday now.
46:10
Big game. I think for it's actually funny
46:12
given the last World Cup campaign also started with you
46:16
guys hosting us in Copenhagen. I think that was obviously that
46:19
was September as well. So pretty much what was that,
46:22
2021? So four years on from that game,
46:25
a lot's changed since then. For me, I feel like Scotland has
46:29
become a better team. A lot of the guys I've heard
46:32
people mention that sort of maybe a few of the guys are
46:35
going over the hill now. But for me there's the guys like
46:38
John McGann, Ryan Christy, a few others that and Scott and Tom
46:42
and obviously as well, really hitting their peaks right now,
46:45
you know, playing some really good football domestically,
46:48
Scott and Tom and everyone knows what he's doing at that play.
46:50
You maybe know less about Ryan Christy.
46:51
I'm not sure how much you look into Bournemouth, but guys like
46:54
him and Megan, I've been playing really well for their clubs.
46:57
How do you view this Scotland team?
46:59
And I mean, obviously for us it's a tough fixture coming into
47:03
the first game, going away to the top seeds of the group,
47:05
playing away from home couldn't really ask for much tougher.
47:09
What's your perception on this? You know that the team is going
47:12
to visit and you on Friday night.
47:14
As I said, I think for me this team is is a lot more scary than
47:19
the Greek team. Of course, there's a lot of
47:21
players that we are not super familiar with, but there's also
47:25
a lot of players here that that have big names.
47:27
I mean, you mentioned Mcchamlin and Begin Billy Gilmore on the
47:30
midfield. Also, I think Ben Doug looked
47:33
quite interesting the few matches I've seen him.
47:36
If you remember, remember Scott McKenna from when he was at
47:39
Copenhagen. Karen Tierney have been good.
47:43
Of course, Robertson and and and Hickey, anything Brentford
47:48
related. People in Denmark love not so
47:50
much anymore. And now Frank has left.
47:52
But before that. So yeah, there's a lot of
47:54
familiar guys. And also just looking down the
47:57
team, it's it's a lot of big clubs and, and a lot of
48:00
recognizable clubs and, and, and players.
48:02
So I think this looks like a team that that one of the teams
48:06
that I didn't want to, to draw from that, from that pot.
48:10
So that's a bit annoying. But at the same time, I, as I
48:12
said, I always love these matches against Scottish
48:14
opponents because it's so much fun with with the travelling
48:17
fans and the atmosphere and everything.
48:18
It it, it, it really just feels like, like football.
48:22
And so I think this one will be this will be a good match as
48:26
well. And and yeah, should be a lot of
48:28
fun for everybody. I was going to say what would
48:31
the obviously Scotland fans got along, I think with anybody.
48:34
I think we're quite, you know, where we're set to received
48:37
everywhere, you know, look at the scenes in Germany or last
48:39
year alone. How much he's looking forward to
48:41
hosting Battalion Army. I think we've got about 1500 I
48:44
think in the away end, but I'm guessing there'll be more.
48:47
There's always more of a Battalion Army.
48:49
Yeah, I mean it. My work is actually quite close
48:53
to to Paran Stadium, so whenever I leave on a match day and and I
48:58
will see a lot of away fans. So I remember, I think it was
49:00
last year when was Hibernians who played against Copenhagen in
49:04
the. Yeah, Hearts.
49:06
Were playing it was hard. Yeah, exactly.
49:08
And I was I was seeing all of these fans and speaking with
49:12
some of them wishing them good luck for the match and
49:15
everything. So yeah, that was that was so
49:17
much fun. And and now for for this match
49:20
as well would be as I imagine it's almost sold out.
49:24
So Scottish fans generally have really, really good reputation
49:28
among everybody because they also know that there's not
49:31
really any problems with them. There's just a lot of happy fans
49:33
coming, spreading, really good atmosphere, being super funny,
49:38
entertaining. And yeah, it's a lot of fun to
49:41
to host that. And, and I'm sure I will, I will
49:43
meet a lot of Scottish fans as well when I'm, when I'm going
49:46
from, from work on Friday to before the match.
49:51
Yeah, I mean, I think the numbers will be there for sure.
49:54
It's I think 1700 tickets we were given in the allocation,
49:58
like Aaron says. But I think I know plenty of
50:00
other fans who didn't manage to get a ticket in that allocation
50:04
and have still managed to secure a ticket for elsewhere in the
50:07
stadium. So I think if you're looking
50:09
around the ground on Friday night, they'll definitely be
50:11
soil, tyres dotted everywhere. But yeah, massive game.
50:16
I think it's a very exciting time.
50:17
Obviously starting a campaign. I'm, I'm actually travelling to
50:19
Copenhagen myself, so I'm really looking forward to it.
50:22
It's a beautiful city. One thing I'll mention is the
50:25
price of pints is outrageous. So that's, that's the only
50:28
negative I could really highlight about a trip to a trip
50:31
to Denmark. But I think this has been a
50:34
really worthwhile session. I'm glad we got you on Tokyo.
50:38
It's been a very enlightening conversation.
50:41
I hope everyone that listens thinking the same.
50:44
I don't know where it's quite put us on in terms of thinking.
50:48
I was, I got a wee bit of a conference back.
50:50
Obviously Scotland's form hasn't been the best over 2025 losing
50:54
to Iceland and that friendly, although it's just a friendly,
50:57
was very disappointing. And then the nature of the way
50:59
the playoff went against Greece was also very disappointing.
51:03
But yeah, I got, I got, I felt when the confidence come back
51:07
when I saw the score get released for our for our camp
51:10
last week. And a few of the big names were
51:13
returning from injury and guys like Ben Doak who make us really
51:16
exciting to watch. But I can't really tell if this
51:20
conversation is added to my anxiety or is sorry.
51:24
You know, Denmark, they are one of the best sites in Europe.
51:27
And I think we go over there knowing that no matter what.
51:31
Yeah, I think I think it's for me it's a game that we cannot
51:35
put that there's different ways of looking at it because you
51:39
think it's, you know, the Pop one team and there's no pressure
51:41
on us. So nobody's expecting us, I
51:44
think to win. But I'm confident that we can go
51:46
there and try, you know, make it hard for them and you know, we
51:50
will we will try and make it a hard timing.
51:52
We are people forget how good our competitive record actually
51:56
isn't during the qualifying campaign.
51:57
If people, you know, we only lost once in the last qualifying
52:00
campaign against Spain away, which, you know, if anybody was
52:03
looking at that thinking, you know, we are no way we could
52:07
have dropped points. I think we know we've got the,
52:09
we dropped the points at the only place that I think was
52:12
possible for us to, you know, to and expect us to drop points.
52:15
We almost, we almost got, I mean, Tommy Gabin, that goal
52:18
that got chopped off. I know I'm going crazy and
52:22
Seville that night, but yes, yeah.
52:27
I think, I think in general, our qualifying campaigns have been
52:30
quite good. I mean, looked at the last World
52:32
Cup kind of clown family lost in Copenhagen.
52:35
So that's a good sign that we only need to, if we only lose 1
52:39
game, you can then get into the the 2nd place.
52:42
So listen, I think people need to be a bit more positive in
52:45
this, in this country. I've said this about loads of
52:47
things before in private and I've said it on here before.
52:50
I think we need to be a little bit more positive as a nation
52:53
because I think we've got a great squad of players, maybe
52:56
not exceptional squad of players, but that midfield
52:59
alone, if we said it last week, how good at midfield that was.
53:03
So listen, confident we can get something.
53:06
Let's try and get a better hope back in the country again and
53:09
hopefully we can at least get a point and move on and go to a
53:14
difficult game after that against Belarus away where you
53:16
know, we know anything can happen really in a closed door
53:18
game. Yeah.
53:20
I'd also say that, I mean, if if you're thinking about the Danish
53:24
team that the Danish team we have right now is, is definitely
53:28
not at the same level that of the team that went to the Euro
53:31
semi final. I mean, it's it is not as good
53:33
A-Team anymore. So I would say it's it's not the
53:36
worst time to to face Denmark and it's probably a pretty good
53:39
thing to to start with playing against us away.
53:43
You've given us all hope. That's an absolute excellent
53:47
point to end the conversation on.
53:50
So yeah, giving us that little bit of hope before we go into
53:54
massive game on Friday. So yeah, if anyone was tuned in
53:57
to watch that, it'll be on the BBC eight quarter I'm sure.
54:01
It's good to have the back on, not behind a paywall anymore.
54:05
It's always nice going into work and here and everyone has been
54:07
able to tune in, watch the national team.
54:09
Hopefully it's a good game. I'll just say one last time,
54:12
thank you so much for coming on talk.
54:14
It's been a really good, we've almost been talking for an hour
54:16
there. It's been a great conversation
54:19
and you've there's been a lot of value in that for us.
54:21
So thanks very much. Thank you so much for having me,
54:24
it was a great pleasure and I hope anybody from Scotland who
54:27
travels to the game and, and you, James especially of course,
54:30
has a a great time in Denmark, even though our pints are
54:33
expensive. I hope you will enjoy it and
54:36
Copenhagen shows itself for from its best side.
54:39
The weather should be amazing. And yeah, I hope you have a lot
54:42
of fun. Scotland.