Ex-Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner hits out at Republic of Ireland tactics and says they cannot play the same in Dublin
The former Arsenal striker said all Ireland did was 'just kick the ball away and hope to hit a player'
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Your support makes all the difference.Denmark’s Nicklas Bendtner says he expects his side’s World Cup play-off second leg in Dublin on Tuesday to be more open than Saturday’s dismal 0-0 in Copenhagen, as he warned Ireland they have to do more than “just kick the ball away and hope to hit a player” and “defend with their lives” if they hope to make it to Russia.
The former Arsenal striker was still respectful of how Martin O’Neill’s side “performed their strategy” and played with such resilience, he accepted it had been something of a let-down for home fans after what had been excitable build-up, that even involved fireworks.
Asked whether this was a typical Premier League game, Bendtner said: “No, not really. I would say that Ireland didn’t really surprise us. We thought they stayed deep and defend as they’ve had great success with that.
“Maybe we thought they would come out of the blocks and try to attack in more numbers rather than just kick the ball away and hope to hit a player. But they defended with their lives as we’ve seen. We had three good chances. Maybe we could have done better with some of them but they defended really well. They are strong so we have to match that on the away pitch and we have to take our chance and hopefully get a goal.”
Bendtner also put a bit of pressure on Ireland, by speaking about how the away-goal rule now gives the Danes a slight advantage, since any score draw will send them through to Russia 2018.
“I think it will be a different match, yeah. They know that they can’t play a match where they have to stay so deep. They know they have to come out and try to score. They can’t play a game of that importance for zero-zero. It’s not possible. So I think it’s going to be a little bit more open. I think they will come a little bit more out which will also allow us to get more space. So in a way I think it will be a more interesting match to watch than this one.
“The goal for us was to win the match, 100 per cent. We also had the best chances and, as I said, with a little bit more luck we could have scored one. But we have maybe a slight advantage given the fact that if both teams score a goal we are going to be the ones through. And that’s why I say the game is going to be a bit different.
“We’re going down there to try to win the match. What’s going to happen I can’t say but we’re prepared to play 120 minutes if that’s what it takes.”
The build-up to the first leg had seen a lot of Danish confidence, only to be followed by booing after a poor 0-0 draw, although Bendtner played that down.
“No, I think given it was a disappointing match, it wasn’t really an exciting match, and the whole of Denmark wanted us to win. We didn’t. But I don’t think they booed, I didn’t hear that. They are always supportive, you know, they want us to go through. We haven’t been in a World Cup or European [Championships] for a long time. I think the excitement, the hype – you saw the fireworks and everything – and the game came a little bit flat. It wasn’t a f***ing… [makes hand gesture of apology] it wasn’t an exciting match.”
Asked whether that was down to Ireland’s tactics, Bendtner said “I think you can answer that yourself” before partly putting it down to the poor state of the Parken pitch.
“We can play better. I think the pitch was disappointing. It made it difficult for both teams. Our normal passing game where you can play one or two touch couldn’t really come off because the pitch was so difficult so that changed the match a lot. And a lot of the stuff we’ve been talking about couldn’t quite happen because of it. But I’ve heard the pitch in Ireland is excellent so I suppose we can play better.”
Bendtner himself did receive an ovation when he came on in the second half, reflecting his popularity and fine form for Rosenborg.
“Yeah, it’s an amazing feeling to play in front of this crowd is unbelievable. Last game it happened and this game again so I’m very happy I have the support of my country.”
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