SYDNEY – England have always been adamant that they had no reason to be apprehensive about this World Cup, but that logic faces its toughest test yet against a familiar foe in Denmark’s Pernille Harder.
The Lionesses‘ Chelsea defenders Millie Bright and Jess Carter know few players better. Harder recently joined Bayern Munich after three years and seven trophies including three titles in the WSL and after a six-month lay-off with a hamstring injury, Denmark’s brightest hope has recovered in time for this summer’s tournament.
Sarina Wiegman insisted that the Lionesses would be remiss to “prepare just for one player”, especially in a squad featuring Arsenal wonderkid Kathrine Kuhl, Everton full-back Katrine Veje, and the promising US-based Josefine Hasbo.
Harder plays as an slightly unconventional No 9 for Denmark, higher up the pitch than where she typically features at club level – but the England squad have seen enough to know how serious a threat she poses regardless of position.
“She’s constantly on the move and picking up spaces,” Keira Walsh says.
“As a holding midfielder you don’t always want to go in but she’s always making you question whether you should hold. She’s a top player, very composed in and around the box and she’s the type of player you want to be playing against. She’s someone we want to see how we come against because the further in the tournament you go the more players like that you face.”
Walsh herself knows what it is like to be targeted after the 1-0 win over Haiti and at Euro 2022, Harder encountered similar problems. Teams neutralised the 30-year-old by cutting off her supply from the rest of the midfield.
Still, the prospect of facing her remains a daunting one. It will chiefly be the task of Bright, the England skipper, who was visibly lacking sharpness against Haiti in her first competitive match since knee surgery and has been working on her touch with long diagonals in training.
Walsh will play her part defensively too, drawing on her experience at Barcelona. Asked if she has encountered any midfielders as good as Harder, she replied: “Yeah Aitana Bonmati every day in Spain! Alexia [Putellas], Patri, those sorts of players, and then Dzsenifer Marozsan for Germany was one of the best players I’ve played against in terms of how intelligent she was and her technique.”
“She [Harder] is probably slightly different in that she makes more runs off the shoulders and in behind whereas the Spanish players are a lot more to feet and getting on the ball.”
Denmark and England were not able to watch each other’s first games live because they played on the first day, with the Danes having had to travel a far greater distance in between. England beat Haiti in Brisbane, whereas Denmark had to traverse a six-hour journey from Perth after their win against China, though manager Lars Sondergaard insisted that was “not a concern”.
Sondergaard usually operates with a 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 and like Wiegman, he has a fully fit squad to choose from for Friday’s game. There will be no question, though, who will be taking centre-stage.
Lucy Bronze believes Harder’s main strengths are “dribbling with the ball, especially in attack”.
“She’s a hard-worker as well but probably why she’s playing higher up is because she has quality on the ball that not many others possess,” the England vice-captain added.
“In the past few years, she’s been one of the best players in the world, not just at Chelsea but at Wolfsburg and Denmark, who did well in the Euros in 2017 [where they finished as runners-up].”
The fact England players know her so well is an advantage, but likewise Harder has come up against Bright enough times in training to give her a mental edge of her own. As she reflected on those past encounters, Harder couldn’t help but laugh: “I have felt Millie in training.
“She is going 110 per cent into the duels, she’s a great player, she’s tough. It will be difficult but I’ll do everything I can to make it difficult for her… it will be special to play against England.”
Defender Alex Greenwood pointed out that Bright and Carter had “trained with her day in and day out over the last however many years” and “I’m sure they know how to stop her and will share that information with us”.
Greenwood added: “The runs into the box she makes and how tight she is on the ball, for a player that’s quite slight her hold-up play is brilliant. She has a great strike on her. She’s a top player and that’s why she’s won the amount of trophies she has. What she has achieved in the game is outstanding.”
In spite of it all, Denmark are unquestionably underdogs, which Sondergaard was keen to stress. He described England as a “superpower” and said it would be a “mortal sin” for his players not to try and enjoy the game. This is Denmark’s first World Cup since 2007 and it is therefore a tremendous experience for every player in the squad – not just Harder.
“I’d like to say this is not a matter of Pernille, it’s a matter of the team,” Sondergaard said.
“It’s not a matter of where Pernille is best, it’s a matter of where Pernille is best for the team. Where she plays, it can vary depending on the opponent. Pernille is very good in most positions that she’s put in and she works very, very hard no matter where.”
The Lionesses can testify to that. Once she was a colleague, or for some of them a rival – there is a danger she could become their worst nightmare.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/kYZufxR
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