Wales vs Denmark. UEFA Nations League Group A4. Match report from the UEFA Nations League Group A4 match between Wales and Denmark at the Cardiff City Stadium; former Man Utd striker Rasmus Hojlund scores second-half penalty to condemn Craig Bellamy’s side to third defeat in four Wales suffered a 1-0 Nations League defeat to Denmark as Rasmus Hojlund scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot. Danny Ward’s second-half error proved crucial as the Wrexham goalkeeper gifted the ball to Gustav Isaksen in his own penalty area.
Ward, attempting to atone for his mistake, went to close down Isaksen but brought down the Denmark forward for a clear spot-kick. Hojlund stepped up to slot the 75th-minute penalty home with ease and secure a Denmark double over Wales after their 2-0 victory in Copenhagen last weekend. Wales had beaten World Cup quarter-finalists Norway on Thursday, but that victory appeared to take a lot out of Craig Bellamy’s side. Bellamy tends to make significant changes to his starting line-up, once again doing so in this international window given the short turnaround between fixtures.
But Bellamy made only one alteration to the side that started against Norway, Brennan Johnson replacing Daniel James in attack. Brentford playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard was absent for Denmark and the visitors lost skipper Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to injury inside the opening 10 minutes. Ethan Ampadu fired over from 25 yards as his search for a first Wales goal went on and Johnson volleyed wide at the far post. But Denmark sent an early shot across Welsh bows after Ben Cabango was caught in possession and the off-balance Hojlund fired tamely at Ward.
Wales shaded first-half possession – 54 per cent to 46 – but Denmark carried the greater attacking threat. Isaksen fell under Ben Davies’ challenge in the act of shooting, with some Denmark players believing the tackle was worthy of a spot-kick. Morten Hjulmand headed wide and Isaksen was wayward with two attempts in the space of 60 seconds as Denmark pressure grew. Oliver Provstgaard sent a header over and Wales were relieved to reach the interval level.
This was both teams’ fourth game in 11 days, and the extended programme appeared to be taking its toll as far as the intensity levels were concerned. Wales were nowhere near as energetic as they had been three days earlier, and they were opened up soon after the restart. Andreas Skov Olsen broke down the right to deliver a cross which the sliding Hojlund sent goalwards, but Ward produced a fine stop with his legs. Sorba Thomas was not as prominent as he had been against Norway, but his centre ricocheted off Lewis Koumas’ shoulder and ended up in the grateful hands of Mads Hermansen.
Wales were fortunate to escape when Ward did superbly to push Isaksen’s header on to a post. Johnson sent an angled attempt over before Cabango collected a second yellow card in the competition, ruling him out of Wales’ trip to Norway in November. Bellamy tried to inject some urgency with a raft of arrivals from the bench, but Wales still struggled to trouble the well-organised visitors. The optimism of home fans seeped away after Ward’s error denied Wales a first clean sheet since November.
Wales, however, move up to third place in Group A4 as Norway’s defeat in Portugal sends them to bottom spot on head-to-head results with the Dragons. Wales’ Ben Davies speaking to BBC Sport: “I didn’t feel like there was a whole lot in the game, to be honest. It’s a tough way to concede and a disappointing loss. “We’d have loved to have had more (points) but when you’re playing against very good teams, strong opposition and the situation we’re in where we’re missing some key players, that’s football.
“We gave it our all and I’m very proud of the group. “You can’t fault the effort that’s in this group, so we’re going to go into the next two games with nothing to lose.” Play Super 6 for a chance to win £250k! Enter for free.
