News
Transfers

Rasmus Hojlund: Denmark’s spark in Euro 2024 qualifying hoping to light up the finals

Rasmus Hojlund: Denmark’s spark in Euro 2024 qualifying hoping to light up the finals

Share

After another season that proved largely disappointing for Manchester United new singing Rasmus Højlund at least helped to give supporters a glimpse of a potentially brighter future at Old Trafford.

By Nathan Evans

Brought to the club from Italian side Atalanta for a hefty fee – reportedly to have been around €70 million – last summer, the young Danish forward found the back of the net 10 times across 25 starts in the Premier League, and 30 league outings in total, a reasonable return given his numerous injury setbacks, United’s overall poor standard for large parts of the campaign, and the fact that it was his first season in English football.

A particularly strong run of form between January and February saw him strike six goals in five league games before he finished the campaign by getting on the scoresheet against both Newcastle United and then Brighton on the final day.

Now his attentions will quickly turn to helping his national side Denmark at this summer’s Euros in Germany and with seven goals across his 14 international caps to date, he looks highly likely to be the player picked to lead line from the off when the Danes kicks off against Slovenia this Sunday.

To put it simply, there are fewer strikers aged 21 or younger who hold as much potential and promise as Højlund in world football. The left-footed forward is blessed with a poacher’s mindset and as such, he remains a threat throughout matches as Premier League fans have seen during a number of his Manchester United performances this season. 

Enjoying that seemingly perfect balance of pace, strength, and agility, the 21-year-old is fantastic at making intelligent runs beyond the defensive line in order to get into goalscoring spaces. 

Granted, that perhaps hasn’t been seen enough with the Red Devils this season, mostly as a result of the way in which Erik Ten Hag’s United outfit have operated from a tactical standpoint, but it’s something that is almost certainly likely to catch the eye of viewers when he turns out for Denmark during this summer’s European Championships. 

That’s largely due to the way that manager Kasper Hjulmand has set his national side up during the latter parts of qualifying for the tournament and during Denmark’s four friendly fixtures in 2024, three of which they’ve won and the other which ended in stalemate. 

Most football fans will probably be expecting to see the Danes set up in a 4-3-3 system in Germany, which has usually been the case over the past few years under Hjulmand’s guidance, but instead, two of their last four qualifying matches and three of their four friendlies so far this year have seen the Nordic nation adopt a three at the back system which most recently came in the form of a 3-4-2-1 formation against Norway in a morale-boasting 3-1 victory last week.

In that match, Højlund played as the lone striker and despite not getting on the scoresheet, he proved to be a nuisance for the Norwegian backline during his 63-minute cameo thanks to his movement in particular. He not only showcased that previously mentioned ability to make runs beyond the last man, but he additionally highlighted his intelligence by dropping into the pocket in front of the defence at the correct times so that the two attacking midfielders could gain more space behind the defensive line. 

That helped Denmark to victory in that outing, but Hjulmand will be hoping that his young striker can also rediscover his own shooting boots just in time for Euro 2024. 

There’s plenty of omens to suggest that he’ll manage to do just that, especially as during the qualification cycle Højlund finished as Denmark’s top scorer, netting seven goals in total, including a stunning hat-trick against Finland last March.

To underline just how impressive his finishing was across his eight qualifying appearances, only Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku held a better conversion rate (48%) amongst all players to record 20+ shots than the Danish star who impressively converted 30% of his own shot total. 

His range of finishing in that time additionally emphasised his potency in front of goal with his seven strikes coming via his left foot on four occasions, right foot on two, and with the last coming as headers. All seven were netted from inside the penalty area too, further highlighting his ability to get into the right place at the right time inside the box – something United scouts were particularly impressed by before his move to Old Trafford. 

On top of that, Højlund additionally led the standings for his team in terms of shots (23), shots on target (13) and overall xG (5.2), though it’s not just with his finishing and his movement where he’s proved that he can influence games at the highest level, Højlund has very much improved his overall link up play in the last year. That all stems from a brilliant first touch, of which few young players possess better, and it’s that control that gives the 21-year-old the time to seize upon opportunities when found in the spaces between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines. 

The forward equally helps his team to defend from the front as evidenced by the fact that on nine occasions during Euro 2024 qualifying, he won possession back in the final third of the pitch, something that can be attributed to his effective pressing intelligence. In fact, of all forwards to feature in 8+ matches during the cycle overall, only nine had a better per 90 rate than his 1.36 in that regard, whilst only six won more duels per 90 than Højlund (5.61). 

Ultimately, his string of standout performances in qualifying not only helped Denmark to succeed from an obvious perspective in terms of his goalscoring, but his overall work rate aided his side in gaining crucial control in the final third of the pitch thanks to his ability to link the play and hold the ball up effectively. 

As such, Denmark supporters will be praying that Rasmus Højlund can produce regularly at a similar standard again for his nation this summer and prove to be the spark that they need for a successful campaign in Germany. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Rasmus Hojlund: Denmark’s spark in Euro 2024 qualifying hoping to light up the finals

After another season that proved largely disappointing for Manchester United new singing Rasmus Højlund at least helped to give supporters a glimpse of a potentially brighter future at Old Trafford.

By Nathan Evans

Brought to the club from Italian side Atalanta for a hefty fee – reportedly to have been around €70 million – last summer, the young Danish forward found the back of the net 10 times across 25 starts in the Premier League, and 30 league outings in total, a reasonable return given his numerous injury setbacks, United’s overall poor standard for large parts of the campaign, and the fact that it was his first season in English football.

A particularly strong run of form between January and February saw him strike six goals in five league games before he finished the campaign by getting on the scoresheet against both Newcastle United and then Brighton on the final day.

Now his attentions will quickly turn to helping his national side Denmark at this summer’s Euros in Germany and with seven goals across his 14 international caps to date, he looks highly likely to be the player picked to lead line from the off when the Danes kicks off against Slovenia this Sunday.

To put it simply, there are fewer strikers aged 21 or younger who hold as much potential and promise as Højlund in world football. The left-footed forward is blessed with a poacher’s mindset and as such, he remains a threat throughout matches as Premier League fans have seen during a number of his Manchester United performances this season. 

Enjoying that seemingly perfect balance of pace, strength, and agility, the 21-year-old is fantastic at making intelligent runs beyond the defensive line in order to get into goalscoring spaces. 

Granted, that perhaps hasn’t been seen enough with the Red Devils this season, mostly as a result of the way in which Erik Ten Hag’s United outfit have operated from a tactical standpoint, but it’s something that is almost certainly likely to catch the eye of viewers when he turns out for Denmark during this summer’s European Championships. 

That’s largely due to the way that manager Kasper Hjulmand has set his national side up during the latter parts of qualifying for the tournament and during Denmark’s four friendly fixtures in 2024, three of which they’ve won and the other which ended in stalemate. 

Most football fans will probably be expecting to see the Danes set up in a 4-3-3 system in Germany, which has usually been the case over the past few years under Hjulmand’s guidance, but instead, two of their last four qualifying matches and three of their four friendlies so far this year have seen the Nordic nation adopt a three at the back system which most recently came in the form of a 3-4-2-1 formation against Norway in a morale-boasting 3-1 victory last week.

In that match, Højlund played as the lone striker and despite not getting on the scoresheet, he proved to be a nuisance for the Norwegian backline during his 63-minute cameo thanks to his movement in particular. He not only showcased that previously mentioned ability to make runs beyond the last man, but he additionally highlighted his intelligence by dropping into the pocket in front of the defence at the correct times so that the two attacking midfielders could gain more space behind the defensive line. 

That helped Denmark to victory in that outing, but Hjulmand will be hoping that his young striker can also rediscover his own shooting boots just in time for Euro 2024. 

There’s plenty of omens to suggest that he’ll manage to do just that, especially as during the qualification cycle Højlund finished as Denmark’s top scorer, netting seven goals in total, including a stunning hat-trick against Finland last March.

To underline just how impressive his finishing was across his eight qualifying appearances, only Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku held a better conversion rate (48%) amongst all players to record 20+ shots than the Danish star who impressively converted 30% of his own shot total. 

His range of finishing in that time additionally emphasised his potency in front of goal with his seven strikes coming via his left foot on four occasions, right foot on two, and with the last coming as headers. All seven were netted from inside the penalty area too, further highlighting his ability to get into the right place at the right time inside the box – something United scouts were particularly impressed by before his move to Old Trafford. 

On top of that, Højlund additionally led the standings for his team in terms of shots (23), shots on target (13) and overall xG (5.2), though it’s not just with his finishing and his movement where he’s proved that he can influence games at the highest level, Højlund has very much improved his overall link up play in the last year. That all stems from a brilliant first touch, of which few young players possess better, and it’s that control that gives the 21-year-old the time to seize upon opportunities when found in the spaces between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines. 

The forward equally helps his team to defend from the front as evidenced by the fact that on nine occasions during Euro 2024 qualifying, he won possession back in the final third of the pitch, something that can be attributed to his effective pressing intelligence. In fact, of all forwards to feature in 8+ matches during the cycle overall, only nine had a better per 90 rate than his 1.36 in that regard, whilst only six won more duels per 90 than Højlund (5.61). 

Ultimately, his string of standout performances in qualifying not only helped Denmark to succeed from an obvious perspective in terms of his goalscoring, but his overall work rate aided his side in gaining crucial control in the final third of the pitch thanks to his ability to link the play and hold the ball up effectively. 

As such, Denmark supporters will be praying that Rasmus Højlund can produce regularly at a similar standard again for his nation this summer and prove to be the spark that they need for a successful campaign in Germany. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.