Denmark 2-0 Scotland: Three Things We Learned

The World Cup qualifiers are in full flow in the current international break with nations from across the continent all making sustained pushes to try and reach next year’s showpiece event in Qatar. Two of those countries, Denmark and Scotland, battled it out in Copenhagen last night in what proved to be a fairly convincing 2-0 win for the Danes.

Both sides are coming off the back of appearances in Euro 2020 but based on this performance, it would’ve been hard to put them on the same level as one another.

Danish dominance

Denmark were on fire in this game and in all honesty, it felt a bit like they were taking their foot off of the gas after they jumped into a 2-0 lead. We knew they were going to enjoy a surge of momentum after their semi-final appearance at the Euros but this really has gone above and beyond what many anticipated. They were all over the Scots like a rash and if they can keep this same kind of energy flowing throughout the remainder of the qualifiers, they could actually be a team to watch as a potential dark horse in 2022.

Scots struggling?

It’s harsh in the eyes of some to dismiss Scotland after they lost 2-0 to a team as good as Denmark, but conceding two goals in a little over 90 seconds is just outright embarrassing in our view. It highlights a real lack of focus from this national team that, in truth, seems to be spilling over from Euro 2020. They managed to earn a point against England in the group stage but didn’t put on much of a show outside of that, and the lack of confidence they’ve been exhibiting just tells us they could be running out of gas at precisely the wrong time.

Group F fascination

Denmark are running away with Group F right now with 12 points from four games and an insane goal difference of +16. They look set to qualify automatically for the World Cup whereas second place, which edges a team into the play-offs, is well and truly up for grabs. Israel, Austria and Scotland all lie within two points of one another with six qualifying rounds to play, and it’s hard to tell who is going to really seize the moment. From our own point of view, and based on this outing, Scotland need to really change things up if they’re going to stand a chance.