The ball is lofted into Bendtner, who can't keep it, before Stryger Larsen curls a nice effort over the bar form the edge of the area, and that looks like being it.
90' +3
C. Hourihane enters the game and replaces J. Hendrick.
Hendrick comes off for Hourihane for the last minute of the game. Ireland just trying to see it out now.
90' +1
CHANCE! They're flowing thick and fast now. Stryger Larsen fires one at goal, and the deflections could have taken it anywhere, but it's goes just wide for a corner. Bendtner gets a half-chance from the corner, but his shot is straight at a defender.
90'
CHANCE! And it's O'Dowda who gets his head on it! Facing away from goal, his backward header is flicked goalwards, but Schmeichel hangs on!
CHANCE! Poulsen directs a header at goal from six yards out, but Randolph makes a fantastic reflex save to deny him!
89'
O'Dowda drives through the heart of midfield before being bundled over by Kvist, and Ireland have a chance to pump the ball into the box in the last minute of normal time.
88'
G. Whelan enters the game and replaces H. Arter.
And the change is made, with Whelan coming on for the Bournemouth man in midfield for the last few minutes.
87'
Arter has stayed down with cramp, and looks set to be replaced in the closing stages.
86'
Brady glides past a couple of players and tries his luck from 25 yards, but it's well over the bar. Ireland are certainly looking more dangerous now, though.
84'
Long has provided a good out-ball for Ireland since coming on, and has had more joy than Murphy. His shot from outside the box deflects off a couple of Danish defenders, but a goal-kick is given and he is furious!
82'
Both sides seem to be taking a few more risks in these closing stages, but neither side has thrown the proverbial kitchen sink forward just yet. Denmark are still on top, but Eriksen has been very quiet in this second half, and they don't quite look as threatening without his influence on the game.
Minute
Description
81'
Bjelland leads with his elbow into Long, and gives away a free-kick. Brady delivers, but it's a little short and Clark can only direct his header well wide.
80'
Eventually, after some pushing and shoving and words from the referee, the corner is taken, but headed away, and Denmark's counter-attack is stopped in its tracks.
78'
A long throw from Ward earns Ireland a corner, and a great chance to grab a late goal.
76'
Bendtner receives the ball in midfield, but his touch is heavy and Ireland come away with the ball. The big striker tracks his man all the way, but accidentally stands on his leg after the defender had gone to ground while playing his pass.
74'
S. Long enters the game and replaces D. Murphy.
O'Neill rolls the dice himself, injecting some fresh legs up front in the form of Shane Long, who replaces Murphy. Can either team's substitutes find a winner here?
72'
N. Bendtner enters the game and replaces P. Sisto.
It had to happen, didn't it? 'Lord' Bendtner enters the field in the hope of nicking a dramatic winner for his country, and replaces the speedy Sisto, who really should have put his side in front in the first half.
CHANCE! Ankersen makes a great run down the right and is found well, but his cross back into the middle is just behind his teammates and Ireland clear! Very close for the Danes, but still not quite.
71'
Ireland attack again, but the lofted ball towards Murphy in the box isn't right, and the trajectory takes it away from him and Schmeichel gathers easily.
69'
CHANCE! Substitute Poulsen receives the ball on the edge of the box and tries to sweep it into the far corner, but he drags it just wide.
67'
Dicey moments for Denmark as Ireland make a rare foray into their box, but they just about scramble clear with the attack looking dangerous!
64'
Y. Poulsen enters the game and replaces A. Cornelius.
Hareide wastes no time in ringing the changes, and it's an interesting move. He trades the power and physicality of Cornelius for the pace and guile of Poulsen. A different approach, but with very little space for Poulsen to attack, he'll need to show more guile and craft if he is going to affect the game in a meaningful way.
63'
Christie bravely blocks a Stryger Larsen half-volley on the edge of the box, but he goes to ground after taking the powerful shot full in the face. He looks mostly stunned, and should be alright to continue.
62'
Denmark are peppering the Ireland box with shots and crosses from all angles, but the visitors are standing firm and have almost everyone back defending!
59'
Eriksen appeals for handball as his cross strikes an Ireland defender and goes behind for a corner, but it's no more a penalty than the one conceded by Northern Ireland against Switzerland. That is to say, not a penalty at all.
57'
Sisto's ball over the top is overhit, and Christie heads confidently back to Randolph to ease the danger. The right-back has been a solid performer for his side in the absence of the immensely talented Seamus Coleman.
54'
Ireland's tactics cause something of a dilemma for Denmark. As the game wears on without a goal, do they risk trying to win the away leg, or push forward for a home advantage - but at greater risk of conceding an away goal? If the Danes don't score soon, we may well find out.
51'
The pattern of the second half is much the same as the first. Denmark have all of the ball going forward, and are trying to break down Ireland's compact banks of four. I reckon O'Neill would be more than happy to take a 0-0 back to Dublin and try to finish the job there.
48'
CHANCE! Delaney tries to head one at goal, but he's always stretching for it and can only guide it wide under pressure.
46'
And we're back underway at the start of the second half!
43'
CHANCE! Ireland's first clear-cut opportunity! Christie shows a tremendous burst of pace to beat his man, but his attempt to chip Schmeichel from close-range is poor, and the keeper beats it away. It falls to Hendrick, though, and his lofted ball back into the middle has to be headed behind for an Ireland corner! Now that's more like it from the visitors!
41'
Eriksen skips away from McClean and Arter with some neat footwork, and looks to thread a ball through, but can't create anything. He was allowed into a dangerous position far too easily though, and Ireland really need to show more strength when defending against him.
39'
McClean makes a mess of his cross from the left, but somehow keeps it from going out for a goal kick and finds Hendrick on the edge of the box at the second attempt. His shot is charged down though, and Denmark get the ball away. That certainly wasn't pretty from the West Brom man, but it nearly created something!
37'
Ankersen's sliced cross has a few Irish hearts in mouths as it looks to be swerving towards the top corner, but it flies over the bar and out for a goal kick.
35'
The Danes have had six attempts at goal to Ireland's nil so far. But the score is still 0-0 and the visitors will be very pleased if they can see that scoreline out until half-time.
32'
CHANCE! Schmeichel drives a clearance straight down the middle, and it's a poor clearance from Clark, giving Eriksen the chance to smash one at the goalkeeper from outside the box. Randolph saves, but can only parry and although it evades Jorgensen, it falls kindly for Sisto who fires it across goal and inches wide of the bottom corner! Denmark really should be a goal up by now.
31'
This has been a physical contest as much as a tactical one so far. Both sides have height on the pitch and it's proving to be an entertaining, physical battle between the two.
28'
Kjaer plays a fantastic, raking pass out from the back, and it's worked into the middle before Jorgensen, this time, has a speculative effort from range that bounces harmlessly wide. Randolph was never worried.
26'
Ireland win a free-kick on the right, but the delivery isn't great either and it's cleared away. Neither side seem to have found their range from set-pieces yet.
24'
Denmark win a corner, but it's a shocking delivery from Eriksen, as it hits the first man outside the box, and the follow-up cross isn't much better. Wasted opportunity, that.
22'
After a wonderful switch finds Ankersen on the right side of the box, it's worked into the middle before Eriksen fires a speculative effort from distance. He keeps it down, but it's straight at Randolph and it's a comfortable save in the end.
19'
A miscommunication at the back sees Randolph rush to the edge of his area to collect a loose ball, only for it to roll outside the box and be hacked clear! Sisto is urged to shoot by the Danish fans, who see the Irish stopper off his line, but possession is recycled instead and eventually the ball is lost. Perhaps shooting wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all!
17'
Whenever Ireland get the ball back, they don't seem to be able to keep it for very long, and have ceded two-thirds of possession to their hosts so far.
14'
Ireland's formation is closer to 4-4-1-1 than 4-2-3-1. The two, compact banks of four are very evident, with Hendrick playing just off of Murphy.
11'
CHANCE! Two great saves from Randolph keep the Irish level! Stryger Larsen surges forward from left-back and finds himself in a great shooting position on the left! But Randolph parries his powerful strike away, only for it to fall to Cornelius, who strikes it at goal, but the Irish stopper is there again to cling on and relieve the danger! Great chances, but that was some excellent goalkeeping.
9'
Denmark build some pressure, but again it's relieved cheaply as Ankersen can't keep the ball in play on the right touchline.
6'
A neat flick doesn't quite come off as Denmark's strikers miscommunicate, and Randolph gladly picks up the pieces.
4'
Cornelius shakes his head as he is penalised for a foul on Clark. That will relieve some of the pressure and allow Ireland back out.
3'
Denmark have forced the Irish right back into their own half, with both Danish centre-backs operating in and around the halfway line.
1'
And we're off in Copenhagen!
The line-ups have been announced, and we'll start with the home side.
Denmark XI (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Stryger Larsen, Bjelland, Kjaer, Ankersen; Eriksen, Kvist, Delaney; Sisto, Jorgensen, Cornelius
Republic of Ireland XI (4-2-3-1): Randolph; Ward, Clark, Duffy, Christie; Arter, O'Dowda; McClean, Hendrick, Brady; Murphy
Republic of Ireland substitutes: Westwood, O'Shea, McShane, Whelan, McGeady, S. Long, Hoolahan, Hourihane, Elliot, Doherty, Hogan, K. Long
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the 2018 World Cup qualifying play-off first leg between Denmark and the Republic of Ireland at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ireland will be confident despite being away from home here, having lost just one of their last five play-off qualifiers away from home (W1 D3) and are unbeaten in their last three (W1 D2).
Martin O'Neill's side won their play-off place on the last day with a 1-0 victory over Wales in a winner-takes-all game, recovering from a 1-0 loss to eventual group winners Serbia to win their last two games and secure second place.
Republic of Ireland are unbeaten in their last four internationals against Denmark (W2 D2), winning their last two - although both games were friendlies. Shane Long scored twice in the most recent of those games in August 2007, a 4-0 victory for the Irish in Arhus. In fact, both sides have an identical record in the six games they have played against each other in Denmark (W2 D2 L2).
Denmark were unbeaten in their last five qualifiers, winning four of them in a row, including a 4-0 thumping of group leaders Poland. However, a slow start that saw them lose two of their first three games proved to much of a mountain for them to climb, and they were unable to secure automatic qualification, despite their strong late form. The Danes finished qualification with 20 points - only Switzerland (27) and Italy (23) had better qualifying records of the teams in the play-offs.
Denmark have missed out on the last two major international tournaments, and will be keen to make it to their fifth World Cup. In 2002, they also made it to the Round of 16, but were brushed aside by England, who scored three first-half goals through Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, and Emile Heskey to dump the Danes out of the tournament.
The Republic of Ireland have not been at a World Cup since 2002, where they were knocked out in the Round of 16. A last-minute Robbie Keane penalty in normal time cancelled out Fernando Morientes' opener, and saw the Irish take Spain all the way before bowing out on penalties.
Christian Eriksen is undoubtedly Denmark's key man, and, with eight goals and three assists in qualifying, the playmaker directly contributed to 55% of his country's 20 goals in Group E.
Manager Age Hareide's conversion to a more direct style of football, has paid dividends, often playing with either two or even three strikers - as he is tonight - with at least one physical presence who can win aerial battles and hold up long balls. Eriksen has found particular joy in feeding off of the resulting knockdowns, significantly boosting his goal return.
Jeff Hendrick and Stephen Ward have recovered from injury to claim their places in the starting XI for Ireland tonight, but David Meyler is suspended, while James McCarthy. Jonathan Walters and Richard Keogh are all sidelined with injury. For the hosts, Simon Kjaer has also overcome injury to start, meaning Chelsea's Andreas Christensen is on the bench.
Hareide has named an almost identical starting XI to the one that beat Poland 4-0 in qualifying. He makes just one change to that team, Ankersen replacing Dalsgaard at right-back. Ireland also make just one change from the team that beat Wales 1-0, with Callum O'Dowda replacing the suspended Meyler.
There's no stoppage time awarded as the referee calls time on the first half! Denmark had two fabulous chances to open the scoring, but were denied by Randolph both times! Christie had a late chance for Ireland at the end of the half, but Schmeichel stood firm.
First, Stryger Larsen's powerful effort was palmed out by Randolph, and he was there again to hold Cornelius' follow-up. Then, he could only parry Eriksen's stinging drive, and Sisto's fizzing effort off of the rebound flew inches wide of the bottom corner! Christie showed great pace to fashion a chance for himself out of nothing, but he couldn't chip the imposing Schmeichel. Denmark have certainly had the lion's share of possession and chances, but Ireland will be happy to go into the break at 0-0!
And that is it! Ireland secure a valuable 0-0 draw away from home and now just need a win at home to take them to the World Cup! Denmark had the better chances, particularly in the first half, but Randolph was in top form to preserve his side's clean sheet, saving from Stryger Larsen, Cornelius, and Eriksen in some style. The Danes' substitutes couldn't quite inspire them to victory, although it was Poulsen, not Bendtner, who came closes with a header. It finishes 0-0 though, and both sides still have it all to play for in the second leg!
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