Denmark Vs Republic of Ireland and a Circle of Footballing Hell

The game of football is very popular in the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. People love to watch soccer on television while placing bets on top scratch cards in online casinos. The Republic of Ireland football team is currently on the 36th position in the FIFA ranking and it was ranked 8th in August 2002. The Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU) and is on the 14th position in the FIFA ranking. Both these teams are competing against each other to secure a position in Euro 2020.

Destined to Meet Each Other Time After Time

You must have probably watched Groundhog Day, a hit movie of 1993 directed by Harold Ramis. Bill Murray played the role of Phil Connors, a cynical, egotistical and a misanthropic weatherman. Phil travels to the town of Punxsutawney for an assignment. He is later shocked when he wakes up in the morning and realizes that he is reliving the same day again and again. The same is the condition of footballers of Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. These young men are destined to meet each other time after time in a never-ending series of football matches. After one emphatic Danish victory and four draws, this will be their sixth encounter in two years.

Although Ireland's Shane Duffy and Darren Randolph should be appreciated for being the only two players from the Republic of Ireland to have played every single minute of each match, one can't ignore that it is Christian Erikson who deserves sympathy. He was the best in the game until a relentlessly awful fixture dragged him down to its level.

Consecutive Loss of Ireland

While the Republic of Ireland has brought most of the familiarity, Denmark has provided the disdain. "It was a lot defending on Ireland's side and we were trying to attack their whole team in their own half," said Eriksen in a post-match analysis following one exhausting draw in Copenhagen, during which Duffy's team failed to score for their fourth consecutive match. "They played like this in every encounter. In our second encounter in Ireland, they wanted to attack but they knew what happened when they went forward. So, they were too scared to leave their own half." Denmark's attempts to break down the Ireland rearguard was like opening a tin of baked beans with one's bare hands.

In the World Cup qualifier won 5-1 by Denmark in Dublin, Ireland foolishly gave Eriksen the time and space to put in a virtuoso performance. It was the match in which Ireland was foolish enough to take the game to their opponents. Martin O'Neill and Mick McCarthy have hatched a plan to obstruct and prevent Eriksen's every attempt at the encore by destroying his Rosetta Stone tapes, keyboard and ice pick. After Denmark's Dublin win in 2017, there have been no signs of either team attempting to improve their gameplay. Both Denmark and Ireland became resigned to their respective places in the unlikely circle of football hell.