Johannesburg, June 13 (DPA) Daniel Agger is aware that Denmark were simply not good enough in their two final warm-up matches for the World Cup football, but said they will be ready for their opening Group E game against the Netherlands Monday.
The Danes lost 0-1 to Australia and South Africa and the Liverpool defender said they had several days since then to improve. ‘Our last two games were not really games where we needed to get a result. We tried a lot and therefore maybe we did not get the right results. But we certainly have to improve everything from those games, because they were not good enough.
‘I think the team is ready. We had the last two days to prepare the small details and that is what we did.’
Agger said he thought the Dutch would play very offensively against them. ‘I think they will attack from the start, that is the Dutch mentality. They play attacking football. That is something we have to know and then play our game from there.’
Midfielder Daniel Jensen said he was really looking forward to the game. ‘I think the Dutch suit us quite well and it will be a tight game.’
Jensen is one of several injury worries. ‘I have a problem in my left foot and maybe the first game will come too soon for me. We will have to see.’
There is also a question mark over goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and Nicklas Bendtner, but forward Jesper Gronkjaer is confident that they will overcome the absence of the Arsenal striker.
‘Obviously it is going to be a blow because he is the number one striker in Denmark. We are all hoping that he will play, but even if he does not, we will still play with 11.’
The Dutch will also be without one of their most influential players as Arjen Robben will not have recovered from a thigh injury in time for Monday’s clash in Soccer City.
Gronkjaer said he believed the Dutch will not have a problem replacing him. ‘Even if they may miss Robben, they still have good players. It is going to be a hard task for us.
‘The Dutch are certainly one of the favourites, if not the favourites. They have a good team, a young team with players playing all around Europe with big teams.
‘They play very offensive.’
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk told Dutch radio NOS on the weekend that he would not risk the influential Bayern winger Robben against the Danes.
‘There is no need to hurry things.’
Robben, whose place will be taken by Real Madrid’s Rafael van der Vaart, only arrived in South Africa Saturday after spending a few days with a personal physiotherapist. ‘It was not easy and I had a love-hate relationship with him. But I knew what I was struggling for,’ he said before his departure.
He does not believe he will have any problems with his fitness, even though he has not played since picking up his injury. ‘My fitness will not be the problem. I will need to get used to Johannesburg’s altitude.’
