Denmark's Bordinggaard buoyant ahead of Belarus test

Denmark will have to raise the tempo if they are to revive their UEFA European Under-21 Championship ambitions against early Group A leaders Belarus on Tuesday.

That was the message from coach Keld Bordinggaard as he surveyed the hosts' prospects of getting back on track after Saturday's 1-0 loss to Switzerland. "We need to knock the ball around quicker than in the first game," said Bordinggaard. "Belarus like to drop back and defend very narrow so if we want to create chances, we need to get the ball around quicker."

Denmark were slow getting going against the Swiss although they rallied to create a string of late chances – finishing with ten shots on target to their opponents' three – which has given the coach cause for confidence. "The production of chances, the quality of the chances – I can't remember us creating so many chances in any of our preparation games," Bordinggaard told UEFA.com. "If we can hit that rate again, we will beat Belarus, I'm sure."

Belarus made the perfect start with a 2-0 victory over Iceland, but must now build on that, rather than risk a repeat of their 2004 campaign when they began by overcoming eventual champions Italy only to fail to advance from the group stage. Coach Georgi Kondratyev would not be drawn on percentages, yet admitted his squad's prospects had evidently increased. "At the start of the tournament, all the teams had the same chance. Ours is now a bit bigger," he said. "We'll fight to get to the semi-finals."

While Denmark hold home advantage, Kondratyev does not consider them a tougher proposition than Iceland. "Denmark certainly aren't stronger than Iceland," said the former Soviet Union international, who again expects to be without injured FC BATE Borisov pair Mikhail Gordeychuk (ankle ligaments) and Pavel Nekhaychik (knee). "Much will depend on luck and the team's attitude towards the game."

The hosts' outlook ahead of the match in Aarhus is equally positive. "There's disappointment, of course, because of the loss, but after that there's also a sense of a lot of possibilities," said Bordinggaard, whose belief is reinforced by the fact three of the last five championship winners lost their first game. "There's still a lot of football to be played in this tournament for us, that's our genuine feeling, and I can see the players feel that as well."