Denmark boss Hjulmand bemoans lack of quality after World Cup exit

DOHA, Nov. 30 — Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand said his players were unable to control their emotions in a 1-0 defeat to Australia that saw them crash out of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Denmark had 60 percent of possession and 14 shots compared to eight for the Socceroos.
But Graham Arnold’s men were watertight in defense and stunned the European side in the 60th minute when Mathew Leckie scored a superb counterattack goal.
“We didn’t play with the required tempo and rhythm,” Hjulmand told a news conference at the Al Janoub Stadium in Doha.
“We started well today but we got too emotional and lacked quality. One thing we shouldn’t do when we play Australia is to let our emotions take over and get involved in little fights. We had to play with quality and be in good positions. We weren’t at our best.”
After an impressive qualifying campaign, Denmark were tipped by some pundits to be a dark horse in Qatar. But they struggled from the outset, looking lackluster in a goalless draw with Tunisia and then suffering a 2-1 defeat to France before the loss to Australia.
When asked how his team would move forward from here, Hjulmand said: “It’s important just to wait a bit so that I can think rationally, I can’t do that right now. The emotions are so big, the frustrations are too big. We did not reach our level, there’s no doubt about that.” (Xinhua)