Kazakhstan vs Denmark prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-25 13:00.
As the second-lowest ranked nation of Group H (115th), Kazakhstan came into this Euro 2024 qualification period with an outside chance of reaching their first European Championships as an independent state. There were high hopes following their UEFA Nations League promotion last year, but they were shot down by a stellar second-half display by Slovenia on Thursday in their tenth consecutive Euro or World Cup qualifier without a victory (D3, L7).
Their next task is to avoid stretching that drought out even further against an opponent that manager Magomed Adiev described as “the favourites of the group”. That is going to require a dramatic turnaround in a lopsided H2H history with Group H leaders Denmark, who have won their four meetings with Kazakhstan – all as part of World Cup qualifying – by an aggregate score of 12-3. The home nation has also gone seven consecutive games without a clean sheet (W2, D1, L4), a far from confidence-boosting run ahead of this tough assignment.
After their first-ever winless World Cup finals appearance, Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand is aiming to rejuvenate his squad by guiding them to a fourth major tournament in his time at the helm. That target suffered a slight set-back when defender Andreas Christensen – described by Hjulmand as one of the best centre-backs in the world – left Thursday’s game with an injury prior to the Danes conceding a second-half equaliser to Finland’s Oliver Antman.
However, some brilliant work from Rasmus Højlund in the final 15 minutes earned the side their fifth win (3-1) from their last seven matches in UEFA competitions (L2). But in addition to their sluggish and below-par World Cup outing, Denmark have also recently struggled in hostile territory, losing three of their last five games in an opposition’s back-yard, albeit all to opponents well above Kazakhstan in the FIFA rankings.
Players to watch: Maksim Samorodov is enjoying career-best form, adding his first international goal to three consecutive goalscoring appearances for Kazakhstan’s Premier League leaders Aktobe. After his match-winning hat-trick, Højlund is aiming to score in three consecutive games for club or country.
Hot stat: All but one of Kazakhstan’s last 15 home games produced fewer than 3.5 total goals.