Denmark vs Ireland: 5 talking points

#3 Restricting Christian Eriksen's influence on the game

Irish defenders surround Eriksen as they did for much of the game

Everyone knew who the best player was in this tie and a large part of how the game would pan out depended on how Ireland coped with Eriksen and to their credit the Irish were able to restrict the Danish playmaker to long shots from distance.

Eriksen has been in great form for Tottenham Hotspur this season and in his last eight internationals he had scored eight goals so it always looked like he was going to be Denmark's key man but the Irish midfield worked tirelessly to keep him at bay and in turn that made the Danes a bit more predictable and easier to deal with as they often resorted to longer passes.

Eriksen's influence over this tie isn't over yet though and with Ireland presumably playing a bit more offensively in the return game on Tuesday night, Eriksen will be an even bigger threat as theoretically he should have more room to operate in and Ireland will once again have to come up with a special plan to keep the Tottenham Hotspur star at bay if they are to progress.