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Not much of note happened in the first half save for Andreas Cornelius picking up a head injury and lying on the ground for a full minute before play was stopped for a free kick. The hosts were making some incredibly poor decisions whenever they had the chance to counterattack, which considering how often Denmark contrived to lose the ball in midfield, was frequently.
Fortunately, the game kicked up a notch after the break. Copenhagen ace Cornelius showed the Danes' change of intent by firing just wide of Petr Cech's far post from range, but the 20-year-old was given a far better opportunity in the 57th minute. Nicolai Jorgensen's backheel allowed Cornelius to power into space an unleash a rocket into the top corner to make it 1-0.
The goal opened up the match, and Denmark continued to press forward, determined to extend their lead. They'd find the net again ten minutes after the opener, when Christian Eriksen's corner found Simon Kjaer at the near post. The big defender pulled off a spectacular header that left Cech helpless and ripped into the side netting. Eriksen very nearly added to that seconds later when his deflected shot bounced inches wide.
Although the Czechs needed to score -- Tomas Rosicky was added to the mix in an attempt to add some sort of creativity to their midfield -- they failed to make the most of their chances. They came close in the 77th minute when Matej Vydra fired goalward only to see his effort cleared off the line by Kjaer. And then Niki Zimling wrapped things up with a phenomenal long-range effort.
The 3-0 win, their first ever on Czech soil, sees Denmark overtake their hosts and rise into third place. The World Cup dream's back on.
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