Opening loss drives Rasmussen
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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As Denmark prepare to face Ukraine on the back of an opening defeat by Finland, upbeat winger Johanna Rasmussen told uefa.com: "Maybe it will turn out to be a good thing that we lost."
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Denmark winger Johanna Rasmussen is not downbeat as they go into their second UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ Group A game against Ukraine off the back of a 1-0 opening loss to hosts Finland. In fact, she thinks the defeat could prove a blessing in disguise.
Reverse
The 26-year-old was rampant on the left prong of Denmark's three-strong attack in the first half against Finland on Sunday, but they could not force a goal and Rasmussen's Umeå IK club-mate Maija Saari's free-kick won the game for the home nation on 49 minutes. Now Denmark take on a Ukraine team themselves looking to get off the mark after defeat by the Netherlands, and Rasmussen is optimistic.
'Not over'
"It is not over yet, not at all," she told uefa.com. "Three teams can go through from the group and, maybe, it will turn out to be a good thing that we lost. Everybody has to get together and work hard for the points. Hopefully, it will be a good thing that we lost and we'll be a lot more prepared for the next couple of games."
Familiar opponents
Ukraine are familiar opponents to Denmark, having been in their qualifying group, and Rasmussen played in both matches last year, which each finished as 1-0 home wins. "They are really hard to play against," she said. "They are really good on the counter-attack; I was really impressed by how good they are, so we'll see. Hopefully we can play the way we want to and take our chances. Then we'll be fine."
Ideal role
Rasmussen, at least, showed on Sunday that she thrives in Denmark's 4-3-3 formation and the strategy is ideal for her. "I love playing out there," she said. "It's where I can give the best of myself, so I enjoy that. If it was changed I could deal with it, but I enjoy being able to outrun people. That's what I'm best at."
Club-mate's joy
However, her side will hope to produce the goals that were lacking against Finland, when it was Rasmussen's Swedish league colleague Saari on target. "I said congratulations after the game, although I was a bit disappointed. I'll be happy for her in maybe seven or eight weeks!" Rasmussen said. "Of course I'm happy that if someone had to score, she did. She's really good at free-kicks; it wasn't out of nowhere."