Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. (Photo : Getty Images)
Group E competitions of the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying tournament will be opened with a clash between world no. 44 Denmark and world no. 102 Armenia at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen this Sunday, Sep. 4.
The two teams are coming off contrasting games ahead of their World Cup qualifiers meeting against each other even though both squads were not able to qualify and compete in the UEFA European Championship last June.
Denmark crushed Bulgaria, 4-0, to take third place in the four-nation Kirin Cup held at the Suita City Football Stadium in Japan on June 7, the Japan Times reported.
Striker Morten Rasmussen, who was not called-up in the qualifiers, opened the scoring at the 39th minute for head coach Åge Hareide's side, but it was the hat trick of Tottenham Hotspur winger Christian Eriksen at the 72nd, 74th, and 82nd minutes that propelled his team to a four-goal haul in the contest.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who starts for reigning English Premier League champions Leicester City, was also impressive during the match, pulling off a clean sheet against the Bulgarians.
De Rød-Hvide then walloped Lichtenstein, 5-0, in a friendly match on Thursday at the CASA Arena Horsens to keep their momentum going ahead of Sunday's match.
Meanwhile, Armenia was destroyed by the Czech Republic, 0-3, in their warmup friendly match at the Adidas Arena in Harrachov, Czech Republic also on Thursday even with new Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan gracing the game, as per Yahoo Sports.
Head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan had no answer for the Czech's offense as the trio of winger Ladislav Krejci, striker Vaclav Kadlec, and midfielder Jan Kopic scored a goal each at the fourth, 34th, and 86th minutes to shutout the Collective team in their home stadium.
Mkhitaryan will still be available for Armenia in this match against Denmark, but his squad is the underdog against the Danish side even with the Red Devils talisman around.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Denmark.
Denmark starting lineup (5-2-1-2 formation): Schmeichel; Ankersen, Kjær, Christensen, Vestergaard, Durmisi; Kvist, Hojbjerg; Eriksen; Fischer, Jorgensen
Armenia starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Beglaryan; Mkoyan, Yedigaryan, Hambardzumyan, Voskanyan, Andonian; Özbiliz, Mkhitaryan, Pizzelli, Malakyan; Sakrisov
