NEUCHATEL/BERN, Switzerland :After conceding three goals in the opening 11 minutes of a 6-1 defeat the last time his side met Sweden a month ago, Denmark coach Andree Jeglertz said he knows exactly what they need to do when the teams meet at the Women’s Euro in Geneva on Friday.
“We need to get a better start, that’s for sure,” he told Reuters with a smile during an interview at the Danish team hotel.
The 6-1 drubbing the Danes suffered in Stockholm was a shock, but the Swedish-born Denmark coach said that he would not be making wholesale changes to how his side play in response to that defeat.
“We have been working together for two years, so we have built a foundation that I don’t want to throw away, but we just need to put a little bit more attention on some details in our way of defending and attacking that will give us a better result, hopefully,” he said.
Ensconced in a hotel that is perched on the northern shore of Lake Neuchatel, the Danes have been preparing meticulously for a foe they know well. Jeglertz said though they have Germany and Poland to come in Group C, they won’t be looking beyond the Swedes until that game is done and dusted.
“I think it’s still only one game at a time. If we started thinking that, if we get a bad start, a bad result, a bad feeling after (one game), it’s much tougher,” the 53-year-old explained.
“So a key thing is to get a good start, getting a feeling that we are into the game and that we are competing on a good level and getting that result of those points from the first game. That gives us better possibilities to qualify for the next round.”
Having spent a six-year spell in charge of Finland, Jeglertz has seen big changes in the women’s game in recent years and is very much looking forward to seeing the players showcasing the best of themselves during the Euros.
“The tempo is higher, the quality of each player is better, everything is growing, not just only the player, also the referees, everything around is also taking the next step,” he said.
