Denmark plunged into huge defensive crisis ahead of crucial World Cup play-offs

[p]Danish fans and media were left deeply frustrated and practically ready to tear their hair out after the national side squandered the chance of qualifying directly for next year's FIFA World Cup with very disappointing performances against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belarus/lhXEH2VT/"]Belarus[/a] and Scotland at the end of last year and a further nightmare might await in the play-offs. [/p][p][b]After humiliating Greece on away turf and looking solid throughout the campaign, Brian Riemer's outfit looked firmly in control of their own destiny, but somehow lost all their composure against Belarus and were barely able to scrape a 2-2 draw in a game where they just needed to win to secure their ticket for the finals in June. [/b][/p][p]That left them needing a point against Scotland in Glasgow to guarantee qualification for the tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The Danes also looked on course for securing the ticket for the finals when two stunning stoppage-time goals from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tierney-kieran/Qm0l3aod/"]Kieran Tierney[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mclean-kenny/xb91WoNd/"]Kenny McLean[/a] left Riemer's men heartbroken as they were dumped into the play-offs.[/p][embed guid="64d09a49-4cc9-42cd-bed6-0720f3c335dd" url="https://x.com/CraigCelt/status/2034051919480520723" social-type="twitter" /][p]Should they fail to win qualifying play-offs, the summer will turn into a horror scenario because the Danes will have to spend the summer on the couch watching Scandinavian rivals [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a] and, potentially, also Sweden participate in the finals, while the Danes were just two minutes away from reaching a an all-important draw against Scotland in Glasgow. [/p][p][b]And judging from the 25-man squad which Brian Riemer announced on Tuesday for the crucial World Cup qualifying play-offs, there could be more trouble ahead for Riemer's heavily criticised team.[/b][/p][p]No less than eight players ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hermansen-mads/fq8hQjAg/"]Mads Hermansen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jungdal-andreas/rg2GWgeM/"]Andreas Jungdal[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/provstgaard-oliver/ALZ9WQUK/"]Oliver Provstgaard[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jensen-victor/net4AXAD/"]Victor Bak[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nartey-nikolas/ja18uZOO/"]Nikolas Nartey[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nartey-noah/ENIcNoqj/"]Noah Nartey[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hogh-kasper/2F4SDVzP/"]Kasper Hogh[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osula-will/jT765A5D/"]William Osula[/a]) could get their debut for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/denmark/0KUdxQVi/"]Denmark[/a] as Riemer's outfit is in imminent danger of being short of the international experience, which often has proven crucial in fixtures with this kind of pressure on the players. [/p][image alt="Lazio's Oliver Provstgaard could be handed a unlikely chance to shine for the Danes" id="17889546-6604-4735-bdfb-0cf66acc2e49" credit-line="Credit: SOPA Images / Sipa USA / Profimedia" guid="45b7d544-1d3e-4be8-a0ec-83320ce8628e" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schmeichel-kasper/WM5fllIl/"]Kasper Schmeichel[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jorgensen-filip/OSueaqvP/"]Filip Jorgensen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/christensen-andreas/ShxiZhJI/"]Andreas Christensen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kristensen-rasmus/Ii8pjsY2/"]Rasmus Nissen Kristensen[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dorgu-patrick/Sf4eaXAH/"]Patrick Dorgu[/a] are all ruled out with injuries, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andersen-joachim/AmMLTTJU/"]Joachim Andersen[/a] is serving a suspension against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/north-macedonia/GrTQ3oHB/"]North Macedonia[/a]. In addition, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maehle-joakim/QscOyy8Q/"]Joakim Maehle[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vestergaard-jannik/2mkPasKP/"]Jannik Vestergaard[/a] have recently undergone surgery, which would make their potential participation in the fixtures very questionable. [/p][p]Schmeichel, who has lost his first-team spot at Celtic after a string of poor performances, is nursing a shoulder injury he sustained in the Nations League quarter-final against Portugal last year. Chelsea-keeper Filip Jorgensen sustained a groin injury in the first leg of the Champions League clash against PSG.[/p][p]Andreas Christensen tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December last year, while Patrick Dorgu was cruelly struck down with a severe hamstring injury at the beginning of the year, and Rasmus Nissen Kristensen suffered a serious left ankle injury requiring surgery in February.[/p][embed guid="d3f7d1a3-ab36-4fe1-a7ec-f2db8b230d76" url="https://x.com/XtraLeicester/status/1838888568527184301" social-type="twitter" /][p]In addition, Joakim Maehle and Jannik Vestergaard have only just recently returned from lengthy injury layoffs and are presumably far from their best form. Last but not least, Brentford playmaker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/damsgaard-mikkel/WIxH5hxa/"]Mikkel Damsgaard[/a] picked up a knock in the second half before being substituted in the 2-2 draw against Wolves on Monday.[/p][p]Despite the bleak prospects, Brian Riemer remains positive about the Danish chances in the play-offs.[b] "We have plenty of great players at our disposal, so the fact that we are missing some defensive players in particular during this time is not an excuse if things don't work out for us"[/b], said Riemer at the press conference on Tuesday.[/p][p]"Among some of those players, we have Oliver Provstgaard, who performs regularly for a gigantic Italian club, Lazio. They won over AC Milan, who are number two in the Serie A, 1-0 at the weekend and kept a clean sheet, and he has also played more or less continuously for a long period."[/p][image alt="Fulham's Joachim Andersen is suspended for the match against North Macedonia" id="f5f7cf9d-2986-4b88-9512-538c2a1b8c84" credit-line="Credit: Manjit Narotra/ProSports / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia" guid="2bbbbb84-f28a-41ae-b5c9-20f83349ae54" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p][b]"We have players like Joachim Andersen, who is suspended against North Macedonia but will be available if we make it to the play-off final, and we must also remember Verona's Victor Nelsson, who has been in these scenarios many times before and plays every single week in Serie A. And I could go on",[/b] says Brian Riemer to dr.dk and adds that he has been told by Wolfsburg that Joakim Maehle has reached full fitness and could play two times 90 minutes in a short amount of time. [/p][p]Denmark will host North Macedonia at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/denmark-0KUdxQVi/north-macedonia-GrTQ3oHB/?mid=IigYMdQH"]Thursday, 26 March at 20:45 CET[/a]. Should they win, they will travel to either Czechia or the Republic of Ireland in the final, the winners of which will qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals.[/p][p]Denmark has qualified for the World Cup on six previous occasions, including the 2018 and 2022 finals. Their best performance was an appearance in the quarter-finals in France in 1998 when they lost to Brazil.[/p]