Russia (RUS) will be keen to reach the knockout stages when they lock horns with Denmark (DEN) in Copenhagen. Despite a crushing defeat in the tournament opener, they bounced back with a gritty win over Finland. Russia could also qualify with a draw, provided Belgium picks up at least a point against Finland. Denmark, too, has an outside chance of finishing as runners-up in the group. The Euro 1992 champions have to beat Russia by a two-goal margin and hope Belgium can get three points against the Finns.
Russia’s Mario Fernandes has been cleared of spinal injury after a nasty fall during the Finland game. The 30-year-old, who has picked up two assists from six appearances for Russia in 2021, could make it to the playing eleven. Meanwhile, Artem Dzyuba will be hoping to end a five-game goalless run. The tall forward, yet to score a goal in European Championships, set up Aleksey Miranchuk’s winner against Finland.
Denmark has had a difficult Euro 2020 campaign so far. They had 45 attempts on goal in two matches but managed to find the back of the net only once. But Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark head coach, would have been encouraged with what he saw from his team against Belgium. He will be hoping that Yussuf Poulsen and Martin Braithwaite can destabilize the Russian backline.
Group B Standings
| Team |
PL |
W |
D |
L |
GS |
GC |
GD |
Pts |
| Belgium |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
| Russia |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
3 |
| Finland |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Denmark |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
0 |
Head-to-Head
Played: 1
RUS won: 1
DEN won: 0
Drawn: 0
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (last match)
RUS: A Miranchuk (11.5 pts), I Diveev (9.5 pts), G Dzhikiya (9 pts), A Dzyuba (7.5 pts), R Zobnin (7.5 pts)
DEN: Y Poulsen (10.5 pts), P Hojbjerg (10 pts), T Delaney (5 pts), J Maehle (4 pts), A Christensen (3.5 pts)
Euro 2020 Stats
Top Goalscorer: RUS – A Miranchuk (1 goal); DEN – Y Poulsen (1 goal)
Most Assists: RUS – A Dzyuba (1 assist); DEN – P Hojbjerg (1 assist)
Most Passes Completed: RUS – G Dzhikiya (101 passes); DEN – P Hojbjerg (151 passes)
Most Successful Tackles: RUS – D Barinov (3 tackles); DEN – S Kjaer (2 tackles)
Shots Saved: RUS – A Shunin, M Safonov (1 save); DEN – P Schmeichel (2 saves)
Injuries/Suspensions
RUS: none
DEN: C Eriksen (unavailable)
Playing 11
RUS (possible): M Safonov; D Barinov, I Diveev, G Dzhikiya; M Fernandes, R Zobnin, M Ozdoev, V Karavaev; A Miranchuk, A Golovin; A Dzyuba
DEN (possible): P Schmeichel; J Maehle, S Kjaer, A Christensen, D Wass; M Damsgaard, P Hojbjerg, T Delaney; Y Poulsen, A Cornelius, M Braithwaite
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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