USA-Denmark Live: Danes Beat Team USA On Nicklas Bendtner’s Hat Trick

by

Mar 25, 2015

Final, 3-2 Denmark: The game is over. Denmark beats the United States in Aarhus.

Bendtner’s first international hat trick consigned the United States to defeat. It look like Team USA might steal a win, but Bendtner scored twice in the last 10 minutes to overturn the visitors’ advantage and earn a deserved win.

That’s all for now and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.

Postgame analysis of USA-Denmark >>

90th minute +2, 3-2 Denmark: Brooks heads Bradley’s cross wide with an open goal at his mercy.

90th minute +1, 3-2 Denmark: Bendtner completes his hat trick, and the hosts now have the lead in the dying minutes.

Eriksen set up Bendtner with a long, diagonal pass. Bendtner ran onto it and half-volleyed his shot past the diving Rimando.

[tweet https://twitter.com/FanSidedGIF/status/580838914262466560 align=’center’]

89th minute, 2-2: Alvarado is cautioned for a professional foul on Eriksen.

83rd minute, 2-2: Bendtner ties the game again.

The United States failed to clear a cross from danger adequately. The loose ball fell to Bendtner, who cooly slotted it past Rimando.

[tweet https://twitter.com/mikedyce/status/580836777742700544 align=’center’%5D

80th minute, 2-1 United States: Ventura Alvarado replaces Orozco on Team USA’s back line. Alvarado is making his international debut.

79th minute, 2-1 United States: Brooks slices a clearance over Rimando’s goal.

73rd minute, 2-1 United States: Team USA has improved with and without the ball following Johansson’s goal. It is playing the game higher up the field and has gained a greater share of possession than it had in the first 65 minutes.

67th minute, 2-1 United States: Rubin replaces the goal scorer Johansson and Yedlin comes on for Zardes, as Team USA makes a pair of substitutions.

66th minute, 2-1 United States: Johansson restores Team USA’s lead with a fine goal.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ussoccer/status/580832208996323328 align=’center’%5D

Bradley passed diagonally to Altidore, who controlled the ball and laid it off. Johansson then poked it past Andersen.

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61st minute, 1-1: Shea creates danger at both ends.

Shea first forced Rimando to make a scrambling save in the United States’ third of the field. A minute later, he beat his marker on the left and sent an enticing cross into Denmark’s penalty area, but no teammate reached the far post in time to direct it on goal.

57th minute, 1-1: Vibe half-volleys a shot wide of Rimando’s goal. Eriksen created the chance with a pinpoint pass over the top of the United States defense.

55th minute, 1-1: Team USA still is waiting to find some fluidity in its play. Denmark has maintained its advantages in possession and territory in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and Team USA is inviting potential destruction with giveaways in the midfield and errors at the back.

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48th minute, 1-1: Rimando saves a shot but allows the ball to bobble underneath his arm toward the goal. Orozco rushes in and clears it out.

47th minute, 1-1: Bendtner breaks forward after the United States concedes possession in the midfield and hits a half-volley wide of the goal.

46th minute, 1-1: The second half is underway.

The United States made two substitutions during the interval. Morales replaced Bedoya in central midfield. Shea replaces Johnson on the left side of midfield.

Halftime, 1-1: That’s the end of the first half. It’s all square at NRGi Park.

The United States is fortunate to be tied at halftime. Altidore earned a full reward from the only half-chance Team USA created in the first half. Denmark dominated almost from the start, forcing Team USA to react to their every move. Team USA spent much of the half defending but remained shaky at the back throughout. The Americans offered little going forward, yet find themselves tied with host Denmark.

The United States struggled to maintain possession on the bumpy field. Wingers Zardes and Johnson made little impact, and fullbacks Chandler and Garza had alarmingly few chances to join play. Johansson was anonymous in the first half of his long-awaited return to the national team.

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45th minute, 1-1: Denmark comes close once again, playing a cross through the United States goal-mouth. No forward is there to poke it into the goal.

39th minute, 1-1: Denmark is in firm control of the game, dominating both possession and territory. The United States must figure out how to gain control of the ball and use it well in the second half. It hasn’t done so in the first.

38th minute, 1-1: Brooks heads a corner kick wide of Denmark’s goal.

36th minute, 1-1: Garza is cautioned for a studs-up tackle on the ever-dangerous Vibe.

33rd minute, 1-1: Denmark has reasserted control of the game and earns its reward, as Bendtner ties it up.

Wass crossed from deep on the right side. Garza and Chandler should have intervened before Vibe cleverly back-heeled to Bendtner, who tapped the ball home from inside the United States’ goal-mouth.

[tweet https://twitter.com/Ben_Jata/status/580819637446815744 align=’center’]

Bendtner is the butt of many jokes for his club career, but he’s no slouch internationally.

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27th minute, 1-0 United States: Altidore’s game has given the United States fresh attacking impetus. Team USA is pressing play into Denmark’s half and earned two consecutive corner kicks, which don’t result in scoring chances.

25th minute, 1-0 United States: Kvist is cautioned for a hard foul on Altidore.

19th minute, 1-0 United States: Altidore scores against the run of play, and the United States has the lead.

Chandler sent a long cross into Denmark’s penalty area. Altidore held off two defenders to reach the bouncing ball and smashed it past Andersen at the near post. Altidore’s shot appeared to deflect off of Kjaer.

Altidore is on a hot streak in international play.

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJack/status/580815938095857664 align=’center’]

Altidore now has scored 27 goals in 79 games for the United States.

18th minute, 0-0: Eriksen blasts a shot from a tight angle over the goal.

The United States gifted Denmark a scoring chance with a giveaway and defensive mix-up in its own third.

16th minute, 0-0: Denmark creates more danger on the left. Krohn-Dehli crosses to the far post, but Bendtner is a half-step slow to arrive. He would have poked it home had he reached the ball sooner.

11th minute, 0-0: The United States has a nervous moment at the back, as Rimando mis-punches Eriksen’s cross. Luckily, the ball fell to Zardes, who was standing nearby and cleared it out of danger.

Seventh minute, 0-0: Denmark is first to establish a rhythm to its play, but the deep-lying United States defense prevents the hosts from crafting a scoring chance out of its early spell of possession.

Fourth minute, 0-0: The game has started slowly with neither team seizing the initiative early on.

Kickoff: USA-Denmark is underway.

2:45 p.m.: Here are the lineups:

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[tweet https://twitter.com/DanishFooty/status/580806339481440256 align=’center’]

2:30 p.m. ET: The U.S. men’s national soccer team takes the next step in its ongoing development Wednesday when it visits Denmark in an exhibition game at NRGi Park in Aarhus.

United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has selected a youth-heavy squad to face the Danes. Klinsmann hopes the intensity and scrutiny in northern Europe will help his team grow as this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup nears.

Team USA hasn’t fared well since the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJack/status/580799187949916160 align=’center’]

The form of many players dipped toward the end of 2014, but they slowly are recovering due to competition and playing regular games. Team USA can expect to reap the benefits in the coming weeks and months, but Wednesday might be too early for Klinsmann’s group to deliver a vintage performance.

The United States has struggled in the past against Denmark.

[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJack/status/580797654759841793 align=’center’]

Team USA will look to reverse that trend Wednesday.

USA-Denmark kicks off at 3 p.m. ET. Join us here for all the action from NRGi Park.

Clint Dempsey out vs. Denmark with hamstring injury >>

Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images

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