Some representatives from Denmark and Czech Republic spoke to the press today ahead of tomorrow’s quarter-final in Baku. Coach Kasper Hjulmand underlined the loss of Christian Eriksen: “He is still the heart of the team, we will play for him tomorrow. You can not perform well if you are afraid. I want my players to be mentally free and courageous and give their best.”
Simon Kjaer stated: “The outpour of support we received on and outside the pitch was unimaginable; it went beyond every dream. It will be tough to find myself in a similar situation again during the course of my career. However, that does not mean that we are no longer hungry. You will see that tomorrow, we will have the same attitude as usual.”
Jakub Jankto addressed the game from the Czech camp: “We must be 100 percent focused for the whole 90 minutes and play our usual game. Little details could make the difference. We could advance if we continued to play at a high level. It will be a different match compared to the Netherlands game when we sat back and countered. They had some strikers that did not participate in the defensive phase right away. This will not be the case tomorrow; Denmark will have more discipline.”
Vladimir Darida added: “I am ready to play, but whether I will start will be up to the coach. Denmark may not be on the same level as Netherlands, France, or Italy, but we are fully aware of their quality. I think they are in 10th position in the ranking. We do not see ourselves as the favorites, but we want to go through.”