Denmark on the road to immortality?
The pursuit of perfectionism has made Pep Guardiola in particular socially acceptable in top international football. But because it is almost impossible to show a “perfect” football match (Gladbach at least came close in their 5-0 win against Bayern in the Cup), the Danish national team must be given a big compliment in terms of World Cup qualification.
With eight wins from eight games and an impressive goal difference of 27:0, the European Championship semi-finalists have, of course, long since punched their ticket directly to Qatar 2022. The only thing left to do in the remaining two matchdays is to transfer the so far flawless qualification into the history books – at best without conceding a goal. In the clash between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, odds of just 1.40 are offered on the Scandinavians to win the next match, which succinctly illustrates the balance of power.
But to identify a value tip between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, alternative betting markets definitely need to be considered. Here, the common questions arise: How big is the home win for the favourite? Will Danish Dynamite lay the foundations for success in the first 45 minutes? And can the underdogs possibly hold out for as long as they did in the first leg, which ended just 1-0 for coach Kasper Hjulmand’s team?
Denmark – Statistics & current form
What an eventful and at the same time successful international year 2021 the Danish national football team has had. The fact is that all top sporting performances naturally remain under the impression of the shock moment after Eriksen’s reanimation at the European Championship. It was all the more remarkable that the team took the incident involving one of its superstars as an opportunity to come even closer together and go through the roof in terms of results.
After two defeats on the first two days of the preliminary round, reaching the last 16 was already a minor sensation. The subsequent victories against Wales and the Czech Republic in combination with reaching the preliminary round made the happiness of the 1992 title holders perfect. The Hjulmand eleven narrowly failed to reach the semifinals after extra time against hosts England.
Does Denmark’s record remain unblemished?
Danish Dynamite’s strong performances were not a flash in the pan and could only be attributed to the tournament format, as was evident in the World Cup qualifiers, where the Scandinavians are now aiming for a new record with eight wins from eight matches and 27-0 goals. Group victory is already in the bag. Nevertheless, the world number 10 would also like to bag three wins in each of the remaining two matches.
If we look at the odds of the bookmakers with a German licence between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, it becomes clear that they have no doubts about the ninth qualification victory. Nevertheless, perhaps the most attractive value is to be found in a bet “against” the host nation.
Does the second guard stand a chance?
We are convinced that the Danes, like in the first leg, will have a harder time against a deep opponent than expected. Back then it was 0-0 at the break. This time we believe that the favourites will be ahead by a goal at most. Coach Hjulmand’s team has only been ahead by two or more goals in five of the 16 international matches played in the 2021 calendar year. At home, they were ahead in only three of the eight matches.
Another argument that must be made is the fact that the former Mainz head coach will certainly make one or two changes to his starting eleven. On the one hand, because with the aggressive leader Hojbjerg, for example, important players are missing. On the other hand, especially to give the young talents an opportunity to recommend themselves on the international stage for the upcoming tasks. Andreas Skov Olsen (21) and Mohamed Daramy (19) are therefore potential starting candidates.
Predicted line-up of Denmark:
Schmeichel – Andersen, Kjaer, Christensen – Maehle, Delaney, Norgaard, Wass – Daramy, Poulsen, Skov Olsen
Last matches played by Denmark:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. F
10/12 2021 – Denmark 1 – 0 Austria
10/09 2021 – Moldova 0 – 4 Denmark
09/07 2021 – Denmark 5 – 0 Israel
09/04 2021 – Faroe Islands 0 – 1 Denmark
09/01 2021 – Denmark 2 – 0 Scotland
Faroe Islands – Statistics & current form
That the Faroe Islands will not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was actually already certain before the qualifiers began. Nevertheless, we can imagine that the football jersey from the Sheep Islands will also draw a positive conclusion in Group F on balance.
On the one hand, the proud Faroese managed to relegate Moldova to last place. On the other hand, it was easy to see that the underdogs can absolutely keep up. The footballing development on the island, which lies between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic, can definitely be described as solid.
Faroe Islands with only five goals conceded in their last four qualifying games
The fact that they have conceded “only” 17 goals in eight qualifying matches so far also underlines our thesis. The only two high defeats were in Scotland and at home against Israel (both 0:4). However, the last results were all very respectable. After the aforementioned narrow defeat in the first leg against Denmark (0:1), Moldova were beaten 2-1. In addition, the underdogs did well in the October double first against Austria (0:2) and then against Scotland (0:1).
Another interesting fact is that in only two of the ten international matches played in the current calendar year has Sweden coach Hakan Ericson’s team trailed by more than a goal at half-time. In fact, the Faroese have only trailed after 45 minutes in five of their last 14 competitive matches. On Friday night between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, the forecast for a first half with a fairly even score is therefore a recommended betting option.
Predicted Faroe Islands line-up:
Gestsson – Nattestad, Vatsndal, Faero – Davidsen, Vatnhamar, Hansson, Rolantsson – Jonsson, Edmundsson, Joensen
Last matches played by Faroe Islands:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. F
10/12 2021 – Faroe Islands 0 – 1 Scotland
10/09 2021 – Faroe Islands 0 – 2 Austria
09/07 2021 – Faroe Islands 2 – 1 Moldova
09/04 2021 – Faroe Islands 0 – 1 Denmark
09/01 2021 – Faroe Islands 0 – 4 Israel
Denmark – Faroe Islands Direct comparison / H2H balance
There have been five meetings between Denmark and the Faroe Islands so far. All five ended with a Danish success. In fact, the small Nordic semi-neighbours have scored only one goal against the 1992 European champions. In only three of the five encounters did “Danish Dynamite” lead at the break, twice with more than one goal difference. In the first leg at the beginning of September, no goal was scored in the first half. In the end, the favourites won by a narrow 1-0 margin.
Denmark – Faroe Islands Tip
Media reports had Kasper Hjulmand at the top of Aston Villa’s wish list as a potential successor to Dean Smith. However, the former Mainz man decided against the lucrative offer from the Premier League and for the national team of his home country. The coach still has a lot of plans with the European Championship semi-finalists!
With the World Cup ticket already secured and planning for the 2022 tournament in Qatar already underway, the penultimate matchday will be a mere formality for the 1992 European champions. No one doubts that the Scandinavians will win at home. This is also confirmed by the betting odds between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, which imply a 94% probability of victory for the home side.
Traditionally, it is therefore difficult to identify a suitable bet that offers value but still takes into account the different levels of quality of both teams. From experience, a bet on a relatively even first half in terms of results is a good bet. So far, the Faroese have conceded more goals in the second half than in the first 45 minutes and have trailed by two or more goals at the break in only two of ten international matches in 2021.
We therefore opt for a bet between Denmark and the Faroe Islands that the favourites will be ahead by a maximum of one goal at the break. At Unibet we get a 1.71 for this, which we play with a stake of six units. Alternatively, a bet on more goals in the second half is conceivable.
