Hojilund is probably going to score at the Euros as he does seem to be good at scoring in European competitions. Slovenia also have a good young scorer in Benjamin Sesko .
His international goals have come against Finland, Kazakhstan, Slovenia and San Marino? None of those sides are ranked in the FIFA top 50. Last season for Atlanta he scored 8 goals with only one being against sides not in the bottom half of the table and this season he has 0 goals in the PL so far. He really does have it all to prove still. As an aside, San Marino only lost 1-2 in that Game against Denmark which is probably their greatest ever result. Not sure if they’ve held any side in the FIFA top 20 to a 1 goal defeat before.
I don't think that Denmark ever have had a 20-yo striker scoring 7 goals and making 1 assist in 8 Euro qualifiers for the NT in the past, like Højlund has (Harry Kane made 9 goals in 9 games in these qualifiers just for comparison) , not to forget that Højlund is actually also the top goal-scorer in the Champions League right now, with a goal more than Bellingham, and Kane, with both he and kane being in the very same group, and with the same number of goals as Haaland, but with fewer minutes played. it's also quite clear that he is more individually skilled than Haaland, so I will be highly surprised if he won't be a success for United in the EPL as well, if not, he surely will for some other team at the top of the table at some point in the future. The challenge right now is playing and being a success in both the EPL and Champions League at the same time, because he will get rested and skipping games either here or there. 2023–24 UEFA Champions League - Wikipedia
The Euro's are just too watered down. You can finish 3rd and still get through just for the sake of having an extra Knock out round.
I mean I think it's a little bit hopeful comparing him so favourably to two players that are probably in the top 3 performing players in the world so far this season but if you like.
This is the kind of generous interpretation of the numbers that you don't normally see outside of the American section of the forum. If 5 in 5 in the CL can prove he'll be elite, then 0 in 9 in the league can prove he's a flop. Of course, neither prove either.
Denmark are a tough team to contextualize. They had a great few years going into the world cup 12 months ago and we're rightfully ranked in the top 10 in the world. But then they had an atrocious world cup. Hard to say one way or the other based on their group which is probably the statistically easiest qualifying group to ever exist in UEFA history (they were and are the only top 50 ranked team in the group).
Here in Denmark we understand that being young and a success in both the league, Europe and for the NT at the same time can be quite a challenge, so to me 2 out of 3 is a success if you are only 20, especially because young players need rest, both physically and mentally.
Well, Denmark in this WC was doomed in advance, because the Danish NT is very much about a "Viking" fighting spirit, and everyone around here seemed to agree that this specific WC was not worth fighting for, all considering.
Slovenia was no challenge at all to Denmark when it really mattered in these qualifiers. So they are most likely going to finish last in this group, because Serbia seem vastly better on paper, though Serbia were beaten silly in the last Euro qualifiers by Denmark.
Højlund is going to be the next top striker for Denmark, no matter how big a success he become for United. Actually, the lack of a top quality striker has been the major weakness for Denmark for quite some years now, with Martin Braithwaite being a standing joke at Barcelona before moving on. The Danish NT is a strange entity, with Philip Billing who has just scored against United not really being considered good enough, while a 20-yo Højlund is now being considered to be one of the absolute key players by the NT coach. I also remember how Lord Bendtner became kind of a standing joke all over the World, though playing 108 games and scoring 24 goals for Arsenal between the age of 17 and 26, mainly playing as a winger and not as the striker he was for Denmark, where he was a huge success. He was all in with the infamous jokes and banter, and he actually became a real Lord in Scotland, when a tabloid purchased him some land and the title.
🚨 Terrible news for Real Madrid: David Alaba has torn his ACL, his season is over.It’s third ACL injury this season for Real Madrid after Courtois and Militão. pic.twitter.com/mcjrp9lxvi— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 17, 2023 Big blow for Austria in the Euros.
We need to pray Bellingham makes it through this season; rate of ACL injuries at Madrid is scary. Gutting for Alaba.
We can only hope for no injuries But arguably do well without Bellingham as Maddison and Foden are both capable replacements, (There ade bigger gaps between Kane and Rice and their replacements).
Not an easy group but England's favored for a reason. Serbia's heavily struggled to get out of groups historically despite their talent and Denmark isn't the same team from a few years ago, but can't take them lightly. Slovenia should be a win. Overall it's a rather fortunate group because if England plays a typical game for all three matches they should get at least 7 points and top it.
🚨🇧🇪 Courtois announces he won’t be part of Belgium squad at the Euros.“Due to the injury, there will be no Euro for me anyway. I have to recover the full one hundred percent first and then you better not stick a date on it”. pic.twitter.com/mcZVIGwiUB— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 19, 2023
If I understand correctly, for AFCON, on Matchdays, only 23 players can be selected. They 4 players not selected go to the Pressbox to watch.
🚨🔵🔴 Alejandro Balde’s season is over as injury has affected his tendon.Balde will undergo surgery in Finland with Dr. Lampainen in the coming days, Barcelona confirm. pic.twitter.com/6b3YCsiK9J— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 27, 2024
🚨🇩🇪 BREAKING: Toni Kroos returns to German National Team and he will be part of the team in March.“I’m convinced this squad can do special things at the Euros”, Toni says.Real Madrid, optimistic about this as positive signal to extend Kroos’ contract also beyond this season. pic.twitter.com/BgjoCP9U6l— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 22, 2024