Denmark's women face Serbian heat and sparse crowd in different challenge

The Danish women's national soccer team must adapt to a starkly different environment when they face Serbia on Tuesday. After enjoying strong crowd support in their recent victory over Sweden, the team now confronts a challenging away game characterized by high temperatures and a less vibrant atmosphere.

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We will be playing in quite high heat. I think it's forecast to be 30 degrees. And it's at a small stadium, so it will be a completely different atmosphere than the very nice one we had in Odense.

Coach Jakob Michelsen highlighted the significant shift in conditions. "We will be playing in quite high heat. I think it's forecast to be 30 degrees. And it's at a small stadium, so it will be a completely different atmosphere than the very nice one we had in Odense," he stated. The contrast is stark; Denmark's win against Sweden was fueled by nearly 6,000 spectators, creating a predominantly red and white sea of support. In Belgrade, the match will be held at the Serbian Football Association's training facility, with seating for approximately 3,000, and is not expected to be full.

Michelsen anticipates a mentally demanding task for his players. "It will be something completely different from Odense. There will not be very many spectators," he predicted. Despite Serbia's inability to qualify for the tournament, Michelsen expects a determined opponent. He noted that Serbia has proven to be a competitive team over the past year and a half, with their only significant slip-up being a home loss to Italy.

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It will be something completely different from Odense. There will not be very many spectators.

"One of the reasons we can decide it ourselves is that Serbia took points from Sweden precisely in Belgrade. So we know well that it will be difficult," Michelsen added. Danish midfielder Olivia Holdt believes Denmark's fast-paced offense will be key. "They have some pretty good ball players, especially centrally, and then they have some big, strong defenders who can also play football," she said of the Serbian team. "We have a reasonably fast attack, regardless of who plays. We will be able to use that against any national team. All opponents will have a hard time with our speed."

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One of the reasons we can decide it ourselves is that Serbia took points from Sweden precisely in Belgrade. So we know well that it will be difficult.

The match in Belgrade kicks off at 7:00 PM. Simultaneously, Italy will play Sweden in Gothenburg. If Italy does not win that match, Denmark will secure their World Cup spot regardless of their result against Serbia.

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They have some pretty good ball players, especially centrally, and then they have some big, strong defenders who can also play football.