Step one

I took the afternoon off work in Mexico to watch Denmark take its first step towards the World Cup. After a nervous first half, the Danish dominance was rewarded in the second half nevertheless, and with goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Gustav Isaksen with two goals, and an Olympic goal by Christian Eriksen that was credited to his namesake Nørgaard, Denmark won a comfortable victory. It looked good; the Danes dominated, pressured and had possession. There is reason to be optimistic about the final against Czechia, who had to come back from 0-2 and penalty kicks to defeat Ireland.  

That said, it will be a completely different match with big strong Czechs who play hard and have an advantage in the air against unseasoned Danish defense. But Denmark are the better side, so if the manager sets the right team and they can keep their head cool, Denmark has a fairly good shot at coming here to Mexico.

Kom nu.

RIP Sepp

 Sepp Piontek was a thoroughly likeable person. Behind the tough guy and the serious angry look there was always a hint of burlesque humour. He was the perfect boss: demanding and disciplined, but also a kind and friendly spirit. In that sense he was the perfect match for a Danish national team in the 1980s, full of arrogant young superstars who needed both a disciplined manager, as well as one open to their youth indiscretions.

In that regard Piontek turned a second-rate footballing nation into a footballing superpower in the 1980s, taking Denmark to the 1984 Euro semifinals and their first World Cup, in 1986 (incidentally here in Mexico), where the Danish Dynamite awed the world with a fantastic offensive style that Denmark has never managed to replicate. 

Despite the fact that Denmark won the 1992 Euros (under Piontek's assistant; Richard Møller Nielsen) and made it to the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals, I think that every Dane who witnessed the Danish Dynamite of the 1980s would agree that Piontek's team is the best football team that Denmark has ever had; they never won anything, but they made us dream, and that in the end is what football is all about!

RIP Sepp Piontek. 

2025 Football memories

It has been a bit of a poor year in terms of football as we await next year's big but probably overblown World Cup. Time-difference did not help as I worked too much and was more often than not too tired to watch football.

That said, some footballing memories worth mentioning:

• Cruz Azul-Monterrey: I went to watch my favourite Mexican team, Cruz Azul, a few times, including this match, the debut of Sergio Ramos for Monterrey (he played one season in the side from Nuevo Leon) and the match ended 1-1
• Argentina-Brazil: Watched the match in a local bar in Mexico, and it was a mixture of delight and surprise as the World Champions of Argentina completely dominated their arch-rivals as I had seldomly seen. Argentina won 4-1 and this match qualified them to the World Cup and ensured that Brazil's coach lost his job to be replaced by the great Carlo Ancelotti.
• Independiente Medellin-Once Caldas: I happened to be in Medellin when one of the local sides played a league match against Once Caldas. Not a memorable match but a fantastic atmosphere in the beautiful Colombian city.
•  Crystal Palace-Manchester City: Probably the best result for a neutral in 2025, with Crystal Palace taking their first title ever by winning the FA Cup against mighty Manchester City!
•  Cruz Azul-Vancouver Whitecaps: Cruz Azul took the Concacaf Champions Cup at home by trashing the Canadian side Whitecaps 5-0. Despite the title it was generally not a great year for Cruz Azul against MLS sides, specially as the got trashed by Seattle Sounders 0-7 in the Leagues Cup...
• PSG-Inter Milan: Watched the CL final in a bar in Mexico with some very happy Frenchmen present, with all reason as PSG finally took the coveted title, and in awesome style, playing a fanastic match where the 5-0 victory was none too little. Great for the Manager Luis Enrique.
• PSG-Chelsea: The first club World Cup final was between PSG and Chelsea, and PSG were surely favourites, but were torn apart 3-0 by a highly motivated Chelsea, and sadly PSG, including Luis Enrique, were incredibly sore losers, making it an ugly final instead of the spectacle it should have been from what was surprisingly a great tournament.
• Morocco- Argentina: The two sides faced one another in the u-21 World Cup final, and the African side were by far the better team, and we will look forward to see some of these great youngsters in 2026.
• Denmark-Belarus: with a victory at home, Denmark could have qualified to the 2026 World Cup. But instead poor attitude left them with a 2-2, and in the next match Denmark lost to Scotland, ending second in a group they should have won. As many Denmark fans I was hugely disappointed, and now I doubt that they can take the play-off spot, even if the do, they will play Mexico in the city where I am currently residing...
• Cruz Azul-Chivas: Went to watch this match at the Olympic University Stadium in Mexico, where the home side won 3-2, but only after suffering and the veteran Chivas' striker Javier Hernandez awfully missing a penalty that could have put them in the final.

Wishing everybody a happy new year 2026, for all fans and their teams, to enjoy football no matter who wins and who loses, even for my Cruz Azul-supporting cat:

Scandinavian delight and dismay

With 48 teams in next year's World Cup it should be assumed that some Scandinavian team will qualify, and indeed, the first qualified team has been Norway, who will return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Norway has been awesome in a qualification group that included Italy, and have sealed their qualification with a 1-4 away victory to the Italians. Norway has built up a strong side with a lot of young players, and I already predict that they will be one of the teams to watch out for in the World Cup. 

Italy in the meantime is going to the play-offs and is in risk of losing its 3rd World Cup in a row. In this context Gennaro Gattuso's complaint sounds hollow: "It's not fair that six teams qualify in South America and the seventh plays a playoff, while here the groups are so tight", because they way Italy has played, getting beaten twice by Norway and struggling to defeat Israel, they would surely not have pulled a result in La Paz, 7th team in South America....

Good luck to the Italians in the play-offs, but it is only up to themselves to qualify.

For another Scandinavian side Denmark it was also up to themselves to qualify in all but theory by defeating Belarus at home. Denmark had already won 0-6 away, and it was perhaps arrogance or exaggerated optimism that meant that Brian Riemer decided to play without some of the best Danish players. 

But you do not qualify if you do not take every game seriously. Denmark was ahead 1-0 at halftime but went down 1-2 in the second half, and barely managed to get 2-2. The biggest concern for Denmark appears to be mental. Even though the Danes dominate and are favourites they are clearly shaken when the opposition appears to play against them, including Mr. Riemer, who seemed in dismay when Belarus scored the second goal. 

Now the Danes will face a nerve-wrecking final in Scotland. Scotland needs to win to qualify directly, but they will be at home with massive support, while the Danish team is better on paper, but lacks the mentality to fight.

The Danish manager of Sweden, Jon Dahl Tomasson, may be a candidate for Denmark manager if Riemer fails to qualify, despite his massive flop in Sweden. One would have expected Sweden to be competitive in a group with Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia, but after five matches Sweden are at the bottom with only one point. That said, strangely (and here Gattuso's criticism of South America rings even more hollow), Sweden could still qualify through their Nations League performance, that will give them a chance in the UEFA play-offs.

Sweden lost to Kosovo and Slovenia while Bolivia defeated Brazil. 

Who deserves a World Cup play-off?

Euro qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup

This weekend In have watched a couple of European World Cup qualifiers. Denmark and Scotland tied 0-0 in a match where Denmark had the ball all the time but there was as much passion and wish to score as in a funeral. Scotland defended, Denmark had the ball, and nothing happened... They are in a qualifying group with Greece and Belarus; one of these teams will qualify straight to the 2026 World Cup, and although I support Denmark, I have my doubts whether any of these sides are good enough to be in a World Cup; they will just defend and not try to win a match.

Alongside Argentina, Spain are surely the best team in the world right now, and they gave a class act in Turkey, winning 0-6 and hardly sweating. The Spaniards were impressive, with Pedri in particular directing the orchestra with two goals, but also Arsenal's Mikel Merino scoring three goals, one better than the other. Spain is in a group with Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria, and after tonight's trashing they are surely on the way to a World Cup where they will be among the favourites. 

Nations League Quarterfinals

 If UEFA had wanted a good publicity for the Nations League, they could probably not have fixed the matches to be so perfect as they were yesterday in the second leg of the quarterfinals: full of goals, drama and excitement.

• Portugal defeated Denmark, perhaps not so surprising overall, but certainly in a dramatic fashion after losing 0-1 in Copenhagen. Ronaldo missed a penalty early in the match, but Joachim Andersen equalised via an own goal, before my namesake Rasmus Kristensen equalised for Denmark. In the second half Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored, before Christian Eriksen again equalised for the Danes, and in was only a late strike by Francisco Trincao that brought the match into extra time, and Portugal finally winning 5-2. But credit to the Danes!
• Germany appeared to have it all after winning 1-2 in Italy, and winning 3-0 at half time on goals by Kimmich, Musiala and Kleindienst. But in the second half Italy was reborn, and managed to equalise to 3-3 on two goals by Moise Kean and a late penalty equaliser by Giacomo Raspadori. It was all too exciting for the Germans who are nevertheless through
• Croatia had won 2-0 in the first leg against France, and held in the first half. But in the second half the French equalised the tie on goals by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and PSG's Ousmane Dembele. It was sufficient to take the match to extra time and penalty kicks, where the French stood tall and won 5-4, as expected, but to great disappointment by the always great Croatians.
• Spain versus Netherlands was probably one of the most expected matches after the first leg between the two rivals ended 2-2 in Amsterdam. The Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain an early lead on a penalty kick. It held until the second half when Memphis Depay equalised on another penalty, but Mikel Oyarzabal again brought Spain ahead, before Ian Maatsen equalised again, and the match ended 2-2. In extra time the young superstar Lamine Yamal scored a splendid goal to bring Spain ahead 3-2, but again the Dutch equalised to 3-3 by Xavi Simons on a penalty. There had thus been plenty of penalties as the match went into penalty kicks. Despite the fact that the young Lamine Yamal missed for Spain, the Spaniards still managed to pull a 5-4 victory.

So yes, these were very exciting matches for a tournament that most people do not care much about.

At least it is better than boring friendlies.

Internationals

Thursday and Friday there have been a lot of internationals. In Europe the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals kicks off with the first legs, and Denmark defeated Portugal 1-0 on a goal by the young Manchester United player Rasmus Højlund. More surprising perhaps than the victory was that Denmark outplayed the classy Portuguese who are managed by Roberto Martinez, who for six years managed the best Belgian side ever, but never gave them any titles. The Portuguese were bad against Denmark, who may now eye a surprise semifinal?

In other matches Germany defeated Italy, Croatia defeated France and Spain and the Netherlands tied 2-2.

Nearer to home the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals took place. Mexico defeated Canada 0-2 to make it to yet another final, but the real surprise came in the USA-Panama match, where a last minute strike by the Coquimbo Unido striker Cecilio Waterman, gave the Panamanians the victory. The result may nevertheless not be surprising since the Panamanians have the screws on the arrogant North Americans: the have defeated USA in four of the last five matches, among them the 2023 Gold Cup.

Panama will face Mexico in the final on Sunday.

In South America the World Cup qualifiers are heading into the last phase. Brazil and Colombia played, and Brazil got a last second 2-1 victory on a strike by Vinicius Jr. and are third in the qualifiers behind Argentina and Ecuador. That said, Colombia is also likely to qualify as six out of ten teams qualify directly.

In the meantime the Argentine World Champions are all but certain to qualify after having defeated Uruguay 0-1 in Montevideo, on a fantastic long-range strike by the young Lyon player Thiago Almada. Argentina just have to not lose their next match (against Brazil), and will be assured qualification.

The Right to Play

Women have historically not had it easy in the male-dominated world of football, and only in the 1970s did most countries lift bans on women's football. I just listened to a very interesting podcast from Danish Radio, "Retten til Fodbold" ("The Right to Football") that through two Danish stories told about the challenges and discrimination faced by women in football.

The first story is an interview with Lone Hansen, a Danish player on the 1970 Danish National team that won the first women's World Cup in 1970, and facing the discrimination from the Danish Football Association (DBU) decided to become one of the first professional female players in Italy, in 1971, when she went to play for Fiorentina, where she stayed for four years, but never received any recognition in Denmark, where DBU only allowed women football after pressure from UEFA in 1972 (and even despite the fact that Denmark had won the Unofficial Women's World Cup in 1971).

The second story is more recent, and is that of the Afghan-born Danish player Nadia Nadim. Born in Afghanistan she experienced the Taliban takeover and her family had to flee to Denmark, where she was able to play football, and was spotted early on by scouts and was invited for the Danish National team despite all the discrimination she faced as a woman, but also as a refugee. Nadia Nadim went on to become a superstar and has been capped 104 times for Denmark!

Even today women face discrimination in football despite huge advances, and it is clear that this even happens in Denmark, and the amazing story of these two strong women is a welcome reminder, besides it being amazing stories.

Ferenc Puskas and I

Since I am moving I have been packing, going through a lot of old documents, and came across a small football memory that involved none other than the legendary Ferenc Puskas, one of the best football players of all time; all-time topscorer of Europe and captain of the legendary Hungarian national team of the 1950s, that broke many records: the first team ever to defeat England at Wembley, they didn’t lose a game for three years, until the 1954 World Cup final in Switzerland, where they nevertheless ended up as the most scoring team per match of all time (ironically, they had defeated Germany 8-3 in the first round, but lost the legendary final 3-2 after being up 2-0!). 

Hungarian football has not been the same since 1956 (even though they have participated in many tournaments, but without much distinction) when the legendary team fell apart after the Hungarian uprising against the USSR. Many of the players were dispersed all over Europe – many went to Spain, for instance Sandor Koscic (the topscorer of the 1954 World Cup), but also Ferenc Puskas, who went to become a player of one of the most legendary teams of all time: Real Madrid. This was the real “galactico” Real Madrid, with some of the best players of all time: Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kopa, Francisco Gento, José Santamaría… Still, Puskas stood out: four pichichis and winning five European Championships. 

In 1993 I went to watch Hungary play against Denmark in a friendly match in Parken in Copenhagen. Denmark won 3-1 (and Michael Laudrup scored after his recent return to the national team), but that was not the special thing about the match. I was with some friends from the boarding school in Birkerød, which I attended back then. Some ten meters behind me I saw a large fat man with sleazy combed back hair, and immediately I recognized him: this was Ferenc Puskas, and I told one of my friends who knew who I was referring to: this was one of the most legendary players of all time (Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Puskas)! We wanted an autograph from this legend, and approached the old large man. “Puskas!”, and waved at him. He waved back, casually and signalling that he was not going to sign any autograph, but I thought I sensed a certain pride that he had been recognized by two Danish teenagers. We kept waving,: “Autograph, Puskas!”, but he ignored us, until I then said in Spanish: “Vamos, para un hincha del Madrid!” (I am not proud that I pretended to be a fan of Real Madrid…), which at least made him turn towards me: “Yo estoy aquí como Húngaro!”, he said and I didn’t get an autograph. 

Seems Mr. Puskas, like me, had different identities for different contexts: One day Hungarian, other days Spanish, other days Madrid. 

Mr. Puskas passed away in 2006, was given a state funeral in Hungary, and well, I could remember my little encounter with a legend.

Hjulmand out

Kasper Hjulmand, who has been manager of the Danish national team for the last three tournaments is a nice guy and a popular manager for Denmark who in 2021 made Danish fans happier for the national team that we had been for many years. That said, it was time for him to leave, and indeed since the disastrous 2022 World Cup he overstayed his job.

While one can argue that over his stay he has achieved good results in terms of qualifying Denmark to two Euros and a World Cup, the problem is less in terms of result and more in terms of style and commitment. There are plenty of excuses about the disaster in Qatar, but in truth there can be few excuses for what was the loss to Australia that eliminated Denmark. Following that, Denmark was shaky in qualification: leads were thrown away and a team with strong players from big clubs appeared to get nervous when subjected to pressure. They were unable to keep their heads cool.

Following a close qualification, expectation were not big in Denmark to these Euros, just a careful optimism (totally different from Qatar), and Danes appeared happy to have made it to the last-16 only to be eliminated by Germany. But in my view there were many troubles; I firmly believe that Denmark could have been much better if they had not played a cowardly defensive style in their first matches against Slovenia and Serbia, when instead they seemed satisfied against sides that were not better than Denmark. In small moments one saw the Denmark that could exist, as against England, but there was too much respect from the Danes about "the big teams". 

Denmark under Hjulmand has followed the trend of many teams: defend and be afraid to win. That only makes football less popular; the teams that are remembered are those who play good football and do not necessarily win, and in Denmark we have many examples of this: 1986, 1998, and even 2021.

I wish Mr. Hjulmand the best, but it is time for new blood and back to better football.

Danish exit and VAR

First of all we have to admit that this was not the same great Danish team that we saw in 2021. Seen over the four matches they played good possession occasionally, but lacked change of pace to counterattack as well as playing too defensively against sides which they were dominating (Slovenia and Serbia). And worst of all, they appeared to lack the fighting spirit that had been so great in 2021.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Denmark lost 2-0 to the German hosts in the last-16; seen over the entire match Germany were probably better, missing many chances against a great Kasper Schmeichel, but at the same time Denmark played a good match where they, with a bit of luck, could have hurt they Germans.

But the match was ruined by bad refereeing underpinned by VAR.

I am not against VAR; I am against bad refereeing. And VAR is just becoming an excuse for bad refereeing. VAR is being used completely wrong, and this is not the first match it has happened. Denmark had a goal cancelled due to off-side. It was one centimeter, barely visible, unless you analyse it in depth. But off-side it was; the problem is when so much time is used to find something that was not immediately obvious.

Then we have the penalty, and here for me the problem is not VAR, but that VAR becomes the excuse for cowardly refereeing. The handball had no influence on the situation and there was no intention from the player. Romelu Lukaku had a goal cancelled for a similar situation in Belgium's match against Slovakia, and both of these situations are complete overinterpretations of what a handball actually is in football.

So it is a pity that the match was ruined by bad refereeing. After Kai Havertz scored on the penalty kick the Danes had to push forward which left space in the back; Jamal Musiala and his speed took advantage of the space to make it 2-0 and effectively close the match as the Danes never appeared to really be able to threaten the Germans after the penalty. 

The match had nevertheless been exciting until the bad referee decision. 

Denmark out, they deserved it, but it is a pity it happened the way it happened.

Germany-Denmark

Denmark made it through on second place after England. It was not elegant and awfully lucky for a side that seems afraid to attack (Denmark used to be so good at counter-attacking!!!! What happened!!!???) and starts to defend against teams that are frankly not very good. Because all due respect to Serbia, but when you have to win a match and you play like that, you do not deserve to go through.

So I do not understand why the Danes did not go after the victory, but defended a 0-0 that got them through on second spot, ahead of Slovenia (who are also through after 0-0 with England), because they are a higher ranked team.

Now Denmark will face the German hosts. Switzerland, a far better team than Denmark, showed that the Germans are not invincible, but at the same time that you have to play your best. Denmark will this have to play their best, but most of all, and this is what worries me, they have to believe that they can win instead of defending the entire match.

Of course, it is arrogant Germany, nobody the Danes would rather defeat, but we have to face that it will be nearly a miracle if they do.

Playing with the speed of old turtles

After a great Euro 2021, Denmark disappointed enormously in the 2022 World Cup. Back then there were several excuses from the political pressure to the weather. Even though they struggled to qualify for the 2024 Euros, there have nevertheless been expectations building in Denmark that the team managed by Kasper Hjulmand would get a good start at the Euro and surprise again with a combination of experienced players and some youthful talents.

Today we saw that Denmark is mostly talk and that Hjulmand has no capacity to motivate his team when things get difficult.

Denmark started well. Christian Eriksen brought them ahead 1-0 on a splendid strike and Denmark had possession and pressure. But they played so slow!!!! The pace was of a turtle, and they lacked imagination to get through a Slovene side that had nothing to offer.

Second half the Slovenians moved forward, as would be expected, and they Danes fell apart in nerves over the pressure of a side that they should be superior too. This is when a manager needs to motivate and push his team forward, but Hjulmand just sat on his bench looking like a surprised schoolteacher. Denmark got more and more nervous, lost possession, made mistakes, and the defense of three otherwise experienced players were giving chances to Slovenia that Andraz Sporar missed and missed to Denmark's luck.

But you cannot rely on luck. You need energy, and Denmark lacked it. After a splendid strike from Benjamin Sesko hit the post, the Slovenes were lucky when a shot by Erik Lanza changed direction and meant an equalizer for the Slovenes. 

The Danes remained surprised, nervous and disappointed the rest of the match. 1-1 was a bad result for both sides, but Slovenia must be happier as expectations were not that big.

In the meantime, Denmark had big expectations, and it now seems unlikely that they can get anything from playing England and Serbia in the next two matches. 

Wet dynamite

We are entering a period of vacation, and there is not much quality football after the Champions League final. National teams have been playing qualifiers and friendlies, where Spain's victory in the European Nations League after penalty kicks against Croatia is perhaps the most interesting thing that has happened (personally, I missed the match, having even forgotten it was being played).

Last night I watched one of the qualifiers, that between Slovenia and Denmark. Denmark has been struggling since their poor show at the World Cup, and in what should have been an "easy" group of qualification for the Euros 2024 in Germany, Denmark is just on third spot, most famously having lost 3-2 to Kazakhstan in April, after being 0-2 up.

Just last week Denmark managed to defeat Northern Ireland 1-0 in an otherwise poor showing, so their qualifier last night against Slovenia in Ljublana was an opportunity to set things straight. Denmark had the ball most, but looked insecure in defense, where otherwise experienced player like Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjær, and even Kasper Schmeichel, made mistakes that could have cost goals. In the meantime, they did not create many chances in the first half, and while Rasmus Højlund managed to equalize Slovenia's lead by Andraz Sporar, Denmark were not looking secure.

There was clear improvement in the second half, but it appeared more because Slovenia pulled back, but Denmark did not manage to score a winner, and 1-1 was overall an acceptable result.

Despite this, Denmark looks fragile. Too many mistakes and some of the youngsters not taking the lead (except perhaps Rasmus Højlund, who despite needing to grow, has come on strong with six goals in four matches) makes qualification far from guaranteed in a group currently led by Finland and Kazakhstan.

Dumb Danes

I did not watch Denmark's debacle against Australia as I was working. It was surely for the best as Denmark played like shit and were surely arrogant (before the match I heard Danish commentators referring to the Australians as "a second division side"). Matthew Leckie scored a great goal where he made fun of Denmark's apparently star-defenders.

The painting was on the wall in the first two matches already; Denmark played without taking a risk and without passion. Maybe it was because of the whole armband controversy; they decided never to confront FIFA and Simon Kjaer, who was afraid of getting a yellow card for taking a stand, did not even play the last two matches.

After the great Euro 2021, when the Danish team managed to create passion, expectations were high (Mine as well), and this is surely the biggest disappointment any Danish national team has given me. A poor performance and a complete lack of cojones.

Go home.

The M-Saviours

Today I woke up to watch two matches I had been very excited about to watch in this World Cup: Denmark-France and Argentina-Mexico. Both are in each of their ways almost modern classic, as the sides have played often in both World Cups and European championships (in the case of Denmark-France).

Denmark-France was as expected  match where France would dominate the puny and defensive Danes. While the absences of Kanté and Pogba were barely felt for France, Denmark missing Delaney and Kjær were a huge weakness for a side that came out to tie. In the end going for a tie should be punished, and it was by no other than the great Kylian Mbappé, who scored both French goals when squeezing in between the Danish defense in tight spaces, even after Andreas Christensen's equalizer.

France has weaknesses: the dependency on Kylian Mbapppé's speed and their lack of concentration in defense (Denmark should never have had the quality to threaten them), but with two victories in two matches they should be considered favourites, even though they are yet to face any quality opposition.

Denmark in the meantime has to defeat Australia. This is in no way a given (they tied in 2018), but nobody would cry for this Danish side to be eliminated.

Argentina were up against the wall after losing their opening match to Saudi Arabia, and were to face a Mexican side that has looked very weak lately, but are managed by Tata Martino who has in depth knowledge of Argentina (he has managed Paraguay, Argentina and Barcelona). He put a strong disciplined defense, and although Mexico had a couple of approaches in the first half it appeared clear that they were going for the tie. After 0-0 in the first half Argentina pressed more, but at one point it appeared that nothing would open Martino's lock. In the end it was none other than Lionel Messi who with a quick and precise shot from outside the area gave them a well-deserved lead, and the young Benfica player Enzo Fernandez who came on to make it 2-0 with a great strike, and give Argentina a victory that Mexico never had any reply to when it came to attack.

Playing like this Mexico should struggle to defeat Saudi Arabia (who played great against Poland despite losing 0-2, and are still playing to make the last-16). In the meantime Argentina showed that they are still in the tournament, and their next match against Poland will be a heart attack. Poland are not brilliant but certainly have an attack than can threaten Argentina's shaky defense, and one of the tournament's best goalkeepers in Wojciech Szczesny.

Don't miss it.

This World Cup is already disappointing

Surprises are bound to happen in the World Cup, and one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history (and personally for me and many Argentines a disappointment) was Argentina losing 1-2 to Saudi Arabia in the first match of the group stages. Argentina, who has not lost since 2019, lost now, and the prospects for winning the World Cup look dim for the Argentines. Although many could recall that in 2010 Spain lost their opening match to Switzerland, and went on to win the whole thing, Argentina clearly does not have the quality to pull back from the abyss of elimination. A Messi who only plays well when things go his way, and behaves like a little spoiled child when they don't is barely the type of quality player that Argentina or anyone would need. 

He is no Maradona. Expect Argentina to be out as they go up against better opposition in the form of Poland and Mexico, who tied 0-0.

Another, albeit lesser, disappointment was Denmark. Not as much because they managed 0-0 against a highly underestimated but strong Tunisian side (anyone who did not know about their quality has never watched football), but more because the Danes have lacked spine in confronting a FIFA who has not allowed them to play with training shirts that say "Human Rights for All" (how in the world is that a political message!?), and subsequently were also told to play without the "One-Love" armbands or face consequences. The latter was also a warning to other teams, who all succumbed to FIFA's threats.

In my view Denmark lacks spine. The Danish Football Association (DBU) claims to be a member of FIFA to push for change, but does not stand up to FIFA when they are doing something clearly wrong. How far does this reach? Will they even shy away from criticizing open corruption!!!??? I would be more proud of a Danish National Team that stood up for something and lost, than a spineless winning side; and they may not even be a winning side how they were playing against Tunisia.

Be fucking Men, and take a stand while you play your football with pride and to the best of your abilities, even if your opponents are not just 11 players, but also the referees backed by a powerful greedy organization!

I would be proud if Denmark would take the first step to withdrawing from FIFA and take other countries with them.

Euro 2022

The last couple of months have been busy with work and personal things. I have had an extraordinary vacation in Denmark watching the Tour de France (with the Danish Jonas Vingegaard currently in the yellow jersey, but doubting he will win), and have watched little football.

Of the little I have watched, it has been the women's Euro 2022 taking place in England. In Denmark there was much excitement about a tournament in which they came runners-up in 2017. But for Denmark it was a huge disappointment, and I must admit that if a national team is to excite me, these women totally failed. In the opening match against Germany Denmark were lucky only to lose 0-4 to a magnificent German side. And notwithstanding that the Germans were magnificent, the Danes lacked spirit and fight, besides committing basic mistakes in defense. Although Denmark had a  chance to qualify to the second round by defeating Spain in their last match, they also lacked fighting spirit and ambition as they defended in a match they had to win (and deservedly lost 0-1).

While Denmark should be disappointed, this is nothing compared to Norway, who were considered favourites for the title, but were eliminated in the first round, and in particular their 0-8 defeat to England will ring out as one resounding humiliation for years to come. In the meantime England, the home side, look like the team to beat: 14-0 and three victories. But certainly Germany, Sweden and perhaps even France or the Netherlands are looking very strong in what looks like an exciting knock-out round:

• England-Spain
• Sweden-Belgium
• Germany-Austria
• France-Netherlands
  

The return of Eriksen

 I was happy to see that Christian Eriksen has announced his wish to return to football, and that he wants to go to Qatar with Denmark. Following his shocking collapse against Finland in June, things have been quiet around Eriksen, but this week he gave his first interview since the collapse. Besides thanking people for their support and telling about the situation, he announced that he wished to return to football. He will be playing with a pacemaker, which to many may seem impossible (I frankly thought that he would never be able to play), but in fact it appears that it is perfectly possible, and already other sport people do it, most notably the Dutch footballer Daley Blind. However, he will not be able to play in Inter, as the Italian League does not allow it.

So many things will be interesting about Eriksen's return. First of all, what club will take their chances with him: he is a top-quality player, but certainly some clubs will wonder whether he will return to play at the same level after such a shock and long break, besides the numerous health checks that they will probably ask for. Eriksen said he wished to return to the Danish national team, something that we all view with great sympathy. At the same time, if he is not playing at the top level by the time the team is selected the national team manager Kasper Hjulmand could well face a dilemma on whether to select him or not.

All these things said, it is only marvelous to hear that Eriksen is doing well and that he intends to return, and make sure that we all, myself included, will be cheering for Eriksen to have many more years of success on and off the football pitch!

Top Ten Teams of 2021

In terms of football, 2021 has been a strange year with many leagues being won by unexpected teams, as well as harsh competition in the European top leagues, including national team tournaments (as well as Olympic games). So, while not easy, the following is my personal list of top 10 football teams that have made an impression of me in 2021:

10) Union Saint Gilloise: This side from the Brussels neighbourhood of Saint Gilles were promoted to the Belgian first Division after 48 years. And this season the underestimated side has taken everyone by storm, and as the year ends, the side is leading the Belgian first division ahead of Club Brugge, and are dreaming of a title that they have not taken since 1935. 

9) Brøndby: I am a Brøndby fan, so I won't hide my subjectivity here. That said, it was not only a personal delight that they took the title for the first time in 16 years, but more broadly it was positive to see another team being able to challenge the two dominant teams of Danish football, FC Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland.

8) Denmark: This was the year to again support Denmark. The Danes not only qualified for the 2022 World Cup in awesome style, but most memorably won hearts of many fans during the European Championships, where they played great football and with spirit after the near-tragedy of Christian Eriksen in the first match against Finland. Denmark made it to the semifinals, losing to England on a controversial penalty, but the Danish team proved yet again that in football, winning is not the most important thing.

7) Inter Milan: Many sides that had not won the league for a long time broke their spell. In Italy, Inter Milan had not won since 2009, and broke Juventus nine-year dominance to take their 19th Serie A title under the management of Antonio Conte (who in the new season changed to Tottenham). Under the new manager Simone Inzaghi, they are also ahead in the Serie A at the end of the year, and have also progressed to the Round of 16 of the Champions League, where they will face Liverpool.

6) Lille OSC: With the money and players that Paris St. Germain have available, it is difficult for any other team to challenge the giants for the title. Indeed the Parisians have won the title seven times in the past eight years. But the season 2020-2021 was won by Lille, managed by Christophe Galtier (who for the new season went to Nice), with a team that combined young talent and experienced players, but who most of all proved yet again that in football you don't (necessarily) win by just having a bunch of well-paid superstars.

5) Italy: Italy won a very entertaining and competitive European championship tournament (delayed one year due to COVID) in the final against England at Wembley, ruining the party that the English appeared to have planned for (and sadly many Englishmen proving sore losers). In my personal view this was the best Italy I have ever seen. It has been happening for some years now (I would say the 2012 Euros), but Italy has finally abandoned its infamous catennaccio, and have been great to watch. They have struggled in the World Cup qualifiers, but hopefully they will make it to Qatar.

4) Palmeiras: The Brazilian giants won the Copa Libertadores twice in 2021; due to the COVID delays the 2020 final was played in January, when Palmeiras defeated the fellow Paulistas of Santos 1-0. The 2021 final was played in November, and Palmeiras won again, this time 2-1 against Flamengo. Although they have not won a competitive Brazilian league since 2018, they are surely one of the best teams in South America at the moment.

3) FC Barcelona women: In a year where FC Barcelona's men have been poor, the women's side has been awesome, taking the first ever Womens' Champions League title for the Catalans in a final where they walked over Chelsea, winning 4-0. They are also totally dominant in the Spanish League, winning their third consecutive title, and while they excel as a team, they also have the best female player in the world in the form of Alexia Putellas. FC Barcelona could dominate women's football for many years to come.

2) Argentina: The organization of the Copa America was a mess. Originally it was to hosted by Colombia and Argentina, but at the last moment COVID prevented it from going ahead, and in the end it was hosted by Brazil, in a tournament that lacked the passion engendered by fans in its empty stadiums. Brazil were huge favourites to take the title, but in the final at the legendary Maracana an Argentinean side led by Lionel Messi won 1-0 and its first Copa America since 1993. It was also Lionel Messi's first title with an Argentine side that is also almost certain to qualify for Qatar with a team that could surely contend for the world title.

1) Chelsea: Chelsea did not start the 2020-2021 season well, but when they hired Thomas Tuchel to take over from Frank Lampard in January things soon changed and they went on to win the Champions League title in style, defeating Manchester City 1-0 in an all-English final. They also made it to the FA Cup final, nearly winning the double, but losing to Leicester only shows the high competitive level in English football. In the new season they continue playing well, but will have to fight hard for the title against Liverpool and Manchester City. They made it to the Round of 16 of the Champions League, only losing to Juventus to take second place in their group, and will be facing the French champions of Lille. Thomas Tuchel has done great work with the best midfielders in the world in the form of Ngolo Kante and Jorginho, but also impressive players in defense as Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, and the great Edouard Mendy in goal.