Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard: ‘It feels like England got a penalty that wasn’t there’

07-Aug-2021 10:00:04 | Guardian

Coveted Sampdoria midfielder on that Euro 2020 semi-final’s ‘sour’ taste, comparisons to Michael Laudrup and his football upbringing

If success has gone to Mikkel Damsgaard’s head, he’s hiding it well. Despite an explosive major tournament debut with Denmark, he exudes calm and poise. The holidays were nothing glitzy – “I was just home in Denmark the whole time with my family and friends” – and he came back to Genoa for pre-season training a few days early before getting unobtrusively straight back into the old routine.

Yet outside the just-turned-21-year-old’s orbit, the fervour is something else. The excitement around “Damsinho” before Euro 2020 after a promising debut season in Serie A with Sampdoria boiled over when his delightfully curled opener gave the home side the lead in the pivotal third group game against Russia.