Danish pundit Jannick Liburd has urged the national team to leave Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel out of their upcoming World Cup play-off matches…
The experienced Hoops shot-stopper has faced scrutiny over his form this season following a number of poor performances for the Scottish champions in recent months.
Despite the criticism, Schmeichel remains Denmark’s first-choice keeper and is expected to feature in next month’s decisive ties against North Macedonia. However, questions are growing in Denmark about whether he should continue as the automatic starter, with his long-term international role increasingly under discussion.
Jannick Liburd – a former Sonderjyske forward who now represents the US Virgin Islands and works as a television analyst – believes head coach Brian Riemer must consider making a bold decision.
Liburd said: “I can already see the headlines, but yes – I think it’s time for Kasper Schmeichel to be dropped from the Danish team.”
“It’s a very vulnerable position to change. And Kasper Schmeichel has been a legend and a driving force on this national team for many years and has been at a level that can be described as world class. But it’s time to change and it may have been for a while.”
“Mads Hermansen is playing now and has become the first choice goalkeeper at West Ham. And unfortunately, what we see from Kasper Schmeichel is not good enough anymore.”
“I have enormous respect for him, but when I look at the goals Celtic are conceding this season, I’m not comfortable as a national team supporter.”
This evening Kasper Schmeichel looks likely to start against VfB Stuttgart in the second leg of the Europa League play-off a week after costing Celtic at least two goals in the 4-1 defeat at Celtic Park by the Bundesliga side. Calls for Martin O’Neill to rest as many first team starters as possible ahead of the crucial Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox on Sunday lunchtime against theRangers have fallen on deaf ears.
The interim Celtic manager yesterday confirmed that he will send out a full strength side as he looks to win the game, if not the tie which kicks off at 5.45pm Celtic Park Time. Asked about the scale of the challenge his side faces this evening, the veteran Celtic boss was reasonably optimistic while acknowledging the enormous challenge his side faces trying to turn last week’s defeat around.
“That would be really big, I must admit. I’ve seen the game back twice now, once very quickly after the match was over and sometimes you think your eyes deceive you,” O’Neill said at his pre-match media conference in Stuttgart. “They are a very, very fine side, but to me it was never 4-1, the stats tell you that the game was much closer.
“We gave away some very poor goals from our viewpoint and were still well in the game at half-time. The last goal was poor, you were there at 3-1 and we missed a couple of decent chances ourselves.
“So, if we could rectify that, and that’s easier said than done, but if we can take our chances, and we will get some chances tomorrow, and try and defy them, then we will try and make it interesting.”
