COPENHAGEN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Denmark secured three points in a 1-0 win against Switzerland at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen Saturday night.
Two evenly-matched teams battled relentlessly, pushed on inside a packed stadium by two sets of enthusiastic fans willing their team to take the upper-hand and score.
Both had the talent to win the match, but it would be the Danes' depth of persistence and experience at this level that finally broke the deadlock.
A wonderfully crafted pass provided by Danish playmaker Christian Erikson broke the back of the Swiss defense in the 84th minute to land on the feet of a running Yussuf Poulsen, who pressed for the opposition goal while being pursued by three Swiss defenders.
The exposed Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer could only splay his body out but the Danish attacker thumped the ball past Sommer's outstretched arms and into the back of the net.
The visitors will be disappointed with the result as they had the best of the chances during the game and even after the goal, but Kasper Schmeichel kept a clean sheet with a superb saves in what he believed to be "one of [his] best performances for Denmark."
"We didn't deserve to lose. We came up against a good Schmeichel, but it was up to us not to concede a goal. We conceded again late on, and now we have to work on that to put it right," Switzerland midfielder Denis Zakaria said.
The victory now means Denmark has 12 points and sits in second place in Group D. Ireland also has 12 points but are group leaders by virtue of goal difference.
