Denmark U21 2–3 France U21 Player Ratings: Djaoui Cisse Rated 8/10 as France Storm Into Euro U21 Semis With Comeback Win Over Denmark

Denmark U21 Football team clashed against the France U21 Football team for the Quarter Final of the Under 21 Euros at the Tatran Arena, where France emerged victorious.

Denmark got the ball rolling into action, and from the very first whistle, both teams had their equal share of opportunities. Although the game was dominated in the midfield, each side attempted to attack and find the opener, which would change the course of the game. The first real chance of the match came from Les Bleuets as Lepenant won the ball from the sloppy Denmark defense and provided a pass to Mathys Tel, who hit the ball straight to the keeper. Later, Denmark took some shots from the services of Nartey. But again, none of them could produce the results. As the game progressed, the French defence made a terrible error, which gifted the ball to Bischoff, who easily converted it. Just ahead of the break, France found the back of the net after Lukeba provided a pass to Cisse, who took the ball, made a run, and found the equalizer by taking a low shot.

In the second half, a total of three goals were scored. The first one came off Serenson, who gave the lead for Denmark very early in the second half. Just as the clock was getting nearer to the 90-minute mark, the Danish players became a bit too comfortable, and the gaffer made some absurd substitutions. This was countered and punished by France, who scored two goals in quick succession from the services of Tel and Merlin to turn around the match in the most unexpected way, and at full time the score was 2-3 in favor of the Frenchmen.

Here are the Denmark U21 vs France U21 Player Ratings:

Denmark U21 Player Ratings vs France U21

Goalkeeper

Andreas Jungdal - 5.5/10

Held his hands to shot taken by the French centre forward in the 9th minute if the game. Had good reflexes and was able to block multiple attempts made by Les Bleutes. In the dying minutes of the first half, the player was involved in a 1v1 situation with Cisse who ultimately brought France back to level terms through a low shot which went between the keeper's legs.

Defenders

Anton Gaaei - 6/10

Was probably the only player who was relatively seen a bit struggling in the backline. Gaaei was finding it hard to stop the attacks made by Cisse in the left. Though he wasn't able to completely stop the opponent, he managed to slow down the attack, which gave time for his teammates to provide support and stop the French midfielder from attacking.

Thomas Kristensen - 6/10

Was unable to shadow Cisse and this led to the player scoring just ahead of the break. Later as the game progressed, Kristensen provided support to Gaaei and together had a great role in keeping Cisse silent.

Oliver Provstgaard - 6/10

When the opponents took a shot towards the goal in the first half, the slightest of touch from the player diverted the ball out of play. However in the dying minutes of the game, the defence collectively failed as a unit and had to resort to losing.

Victor Bak Jensen - 6/10

Was a bit shaky in the early minutes of the game as an error in the left flank invited trouble for his team. In the second half, the player took a long throw-in which went straight to his teammate surpassing the opponents, laying the foundation of the second Danish goal.

Midfielders

Oscar Fraulo - 6/10

Had just an average day. Did not create much impact in the game. Had a weak passing accuracy, and his duel conversion rate was also less than what his team would expect. The relatively weaker performance of the player was overshadowed by the solid performance of his fellow teammates.

Noah Nartey - 6/10

Made a thunderous strike from a distance after a split second of thinking. Unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar. Mounted up pressure upon the opponents for the entire minutes played and had a great role throughout the match.

Oliver Sorensen - 7/10

Was lurking in the attacking third during the set-pieces from the first half. This finally bore fruit in the second half as the player was able to score the second goal for his team. Controlled the flick from Bischoff and properly connected the ball towards the bottom corner to provide his team the upper edge.

Forwards

Isak Steiner Jensen - 6.5/10

The key performer for Viborg has found it difficult to replicate the same success in national colors so far. Was seen making some runs through the wings and providing some good crosses. Applied a good amount of pressure down the flanks.

William Osula - 6/10

Was involved in a few duels with Lukeba, where the latter prevailed in multiple instances. Was seen struggling to make his presence felt as all his attempts were completely succumbed to the opponent's backline.

Clement Bischoff - 8.5/10

Bischoff's instinctive play was key for Denmark as his presence of mind was pivotal for them scoring their opener. Ratcheted up pressure in the attacking third. Was the quickest to win the ball off a misspass and took a first-time shot to find the back of the net. Made a clever flick off a throw-in which changed the direction of the ball towards Sorensen, who gave the lead once again.

Substitutes

Conard Harder - 6/10

Mathias Kvistgaarden - 6/10

William Boving - NA

Elias Jelert - NA

Tochi Chukwuani - NA

Manager

Steffen Hojer - 6/10

Was able to dominate the possession and press the opponents aggressively throughout the match. However, in the second half, the gaffer, probably as a precautionary measure, made some bad substitutions which backfired.

France U21 Player Ratings vs Denmark U21

Goalkeeper

Guillaume Restes - 6/10

The player had his ups and downs in the match. Had pretty much nothing to do to prevent the opponents scoring. However the player was calm and composed and made some good saves and blocks.

Defenders

Quentin Merlin - 8/10

The defender was a constant threat to the Danish left flank, as most of the attacks that came from the Frenchmen had his involvement, directly or indirectly. In the second half, the player took a shot from distance, providing France the much-needed equaliser.

Castello Lukeba - 7/10

Had some tussles with Osula throughout the match. However, in almost every situation, Lukeba was able to prevail in the duels involved. Was also seen contributing to the attack and provided the assist for Cisse, which brought France back to equilibrium.

Chrislain Matsima - 7/10

Initiated some attacks by strolling out of the defence with the ball towards the opposition half. Stood tall and headed away the aerial attempts made by the opposition. Provided some support to to the right back when he had too much of workload.

Ismael Dokoure - 5.5/10

Was put under a lot of trouble and pressure by the opponents. Bischoff, Serenson and Jensen were brilliant in the left flank and their combined efforts was too much for the player to handle. Struggled in the duels and did not even manage to win at least one of them.

Midfielders

Johann Lepenant - 6/10

Was solid in the midfield. Pounced on a loose ball, moved toward the byline, and gave a crisp cross to unmarked Tel, who ultimately missed. But overall, the player had just a decent performance.

Lucian Agoume - 7/10

Agoume was terrible whenever his team wanted him. He was unable to collect the pass meant for him in the defensive third. The Danish number 20 properly capitalized this misspass and took a strike, which marked their opener. However, in the second half, the player was very motivated and dominated the midfield, and was pivotal for the win.

Djaoui Cisse - 8/10

Took some fine shots from outside the box, which were destined to be goals for his team. However, some very last deviations kept him away from scoring. In the 44th minute, the player collected the ball from Lukeba, surged inside the box and took a low shot which went through the legs of the advancing keeper to mark the equaliser.

Forward

Wilson Odobert - 6/10

Even though the player was ready to pounce and score for his team, the defenders stood as a big barrier in front of the player, and they managed to resist Odobert from making his moves in the attack. Was completely silenced by Jensen.

Mathys Tel - 7.5/10

Had his chances in the match, but had some difficulty in converting those and finishing. Received a great pass from Lepenant in the centre of the box and took a shot, only to be blocked by the keeper. Found the back of the net in the second half, which, adding to his disappointment, was ruled offside. In the 85th minute, the player finally had the final laugh as he scored the winner for France.

Felix Lemarechal - 6/10

Had just an average day in the office. Was involved in around half a dozen duels and won almost half of them. Made some appearances in the defence, where he did not have much impact. Felix was unable to get into too many dangerous positions with the ball, and for this reason, the player was subbed off in the second half.

Substitutes

Thienro Barry - 6/10

Magisso - NA

Abline - NA

Sildillia - NA

Manager

Gerald Baticle - 7/10

Though he had a terrible first half, the gaffer was able to keep calm and stick to their tactics and attack their weakness to find the win and seal the tickets for the Euro U21 semi-finals.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match is Clement Bischoff