Thursday Sep 29 2005 07:49
Claus Jensen insists there will be no hooligan problems when Denmark take on Scandinavian rivals Sweden for a place in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.
The match has been billed as a fierce derby, but Charlton midfielder Jensen says it will be a celebration of football rather than a terrace battle.
The two countries are huge rivals but Jensen has dismissed fears it could lead to trouble.
He said: "It won't be a vicious atmosphere. We may be rivals but I think the Danish and the Swedes actually kind of like each other! We don't have a problem.
"It's more a bit of extra fun that we play them. We are both Scandinavian teams and we can understand each other's language and we know a lot of the players.
"It will be a full house, I'm sure of that. It will be a great atmosphere and it will be friendly between the fans. I'm sure there won't be any trouble. It will just be a great occasion and it's one we are looking forward to.
"The biggest problem for us is that Sweden are a very good side. But so are we and I think it will be a special match. We're not worried about it being a derby - we beat Norway in our qualifying group to get here, so we're used to it."
There is a quiet confidence in the Danish camp that they can go a long way in the tournament and if results go the right way then both they and Sweden could reach the last eight tonight.
Jensen added: "Our aim has to be to get out of the group, that's the most important thing. And after that it's like a cup run and it's down to very small things.
"Hopefully when we get through anything can happen. It would be a great accomplishment for any team to reach the quarter-finals here I think. But we are definitely capable."
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