Preview: Denmark vs. Northern Ireland - prediction, team news, lineups

Denmark welcome Northern Ireland to Copenhagen's Parken Stadium on Friday night as qualification for Euro 2024 resumes.

With two games in the books, the teams are locked on three points in Group H, while Slovenia sit atop the standings with a 100% record.

Match preview

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Following a prolonged period of strong performances and impressive results, Denmark entered last year's World Cup as potential dark horses, but the Red and Whites ended up enduring a tournament to forget in Qatar.

After drawing with Tunisia and losing to France, Kasper Hjulmand's men suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Australia, meaning that Denmark finished rock bottom of Group D with a solitary point to their name.

Four months later, the Danes kicked off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 victory over Finland, courtesy of a hat-trick from 20-year-old forward Rasmus Hojlund, who could be set for a big-money move away from Atalanta BC this summer.

When Hojlund bagged a first-half brace to put his country in command against Kazakhstan in their second qualifier, it looked as though Denmark would secure back-to-back wins without any problems, but Kazakhstan scored three goals in the final 17 minutes to produce a remarkable turnaround in Astana.

Having registered a solitary draw in their previous 20 matches across all competitions – recording 12 wins and seven losses along the way – Hjulmand's men will be eager to discover some consistency during the upcoming international window.

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Northern Ireland could not have dreamed of an easier start to their Euro 2024 qualifying journey, as Michael O'Neill's men faced San Marino – who have never won a competitive match – in their opening clash of the campaign.

A brace from Bolton Wanderers forward Dion Charles saw Northern Ireland claim a comfortable 2-0 victory over San Marino, with the hosts managing just one attempt on target while seeing 28% of the ball.

However, the Green and White Army were brought back down to earth three days later, as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Finland, despite limiting the visitors to only two shots on target.

After experiencing a disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign – winning one of their six games – Northern Ireland have managed to notch just two victories in their last nine encounters across all competitions, recording two draws and five losses in the process.

In terms of the bigger picture, Northern Ireland have won only four of their previous 15 matches, with their last away victory coming in Luxembourg back in March 2022.

Team News

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Denmark's squad is stacked with Premier League regulars, including Manchester United's Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspurs' Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Crystal Palace's Joachim Andersen and Bournemouth's Philip Billing.

The Brentford trio of Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Mathias Jorgensen have also been called up by Hjulmand, alongside Barcelona's Andreas Christensen, AC Milan's Simon Kjaer and RB Leipzig's Yussuf Poulsen.

Veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is set to make his 92nd appearance for the Red and Whites, while Rasmus Hojlund is likely to lead the line, with Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind expected to join Hojlund in attack.

Northern Ireland also have a handful of Premier League players in their squad, with Burnley goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Newcastle United left-back Jamal Lewis both expected to start on Friday.

Captain Jonny Evans is in line to earn his 101st international cap, with the Leicester City defender likely to join Craig Cathcart and Ciaron Brown at centre-back in a 3-5-2 formation.

The absence of senior players such as Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Conor Washington and Corry Evans has seen O'Neill call up five teenagers, while four players – Callum Marshall, Aaron Donnelly, Lee Bonis and Sean Goss – are uncapped.

Denmark possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Bah, Kjar, Christensen, Maehle; Norgaard, Eriksen, Hojbjerg, Jensen; Wind; Hojlund

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Cathcart, Evans, Brown; Bradley, McNair, Charles, Thompson, Lewis; Charles, Whyte

We say: Denmark 2-0 Northern Ireland

There is no hiding the fact that Denmark have struggled for consistency in recent months, but Friday's clash with Northern Ireland provides the Red and Whites with the ideal opportunity to return to winning ways and lay down a marker in Group H.

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