National team manager won't publically back Celtic star as Leicester man makes a push

11/12/2024 09:16 AM

New Denmark manager Brian Riemer has refused to publically back Celtic's Kasper Schmeichel as his number one, with Leicester City's Mads Hermansen now pushing him for a place.

Tipsbladet cover comments from Riemer today from his press conference ahead of the start of the international break.

Denmark will take on Spain and Serbia in the Nations League, Riemer's first matches in charge of the nation after being appointed last month.

His first squad announcement featured many of the faces that would have been expected, with Celtic's Schmeichel one of them.

He's been his country's first-choice goalkeeper since 2014, but it is currently uncertain whether that will be the case under Riemer.

That's because at 38-years-old he is currently very much a veteran and only Christian Eriksen has more appearances for the nation in the current squad.

The competition is firmly on his heels, though, with Leicester's Hermansen pushing up in to second place in the rankings thanks to the retirement of Frederik Rønnow.

He's been a regular for Leicester in the Premier League this season, although Schmeichel may have the edge thanks to Celtic being in the Champions League. Riemer, though, has refused to comment either way.

"Unlike some of my predecessors, I will not comment on my possible starting line-up before the match. You’ll have to see our team on Friday, I’d like to keep it to myself until then. It doesn’t matter if it’s our goalkeeper, backs or forwards," he said.

"In purely competitive terms, I would give our opponent an advantage if I told now who should start where. We have to train three times, and then the coach sets the team, and then the starting line-up comes out to the public on Friday, when we have to play.

"I choose the goalkeeper who is the best. It is very simple. I pick him based on parameters of how good he is at saving the ball, how good he is with his feet and what his leadership is like. The three elements are decisive for who is the goalkeeper for the Danish national team."

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