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Denmark and Ireland played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their 2018 World Cup Qualifying Playoff in Copenhagen on Saturday evening.
Hosts, Denmark, were the better side throughout the game and dominated possession but they were unable to break down a stubborn Irish side who will now return to Dublin for the second leg knowing that a win in front of their home fans will be enough to secure qualification to the World Cup for the first time since 2002.
Denmark had the majority of the games best chances but a mixture of good goalkeeping and poor finishing saw the Irish keep an important clean sheet despite never really looking like getting the away goal.
The teams will now take the next few days to assess the game before preparing to do it all again on Tuesday night where one of the sides will secure passage to next summers Finals in Russia.
However, before we get to the game on Tuesday night here are the key takeaways from the first leg:
#5 Danes fail to make home advantage count
Denmark were unable take advantage of playing the first leg in front of their home fans at Parken Stadium, Copenhagen. In these two-legged playoffs, it's important to try to get something to hold onto when you play at home first but the Danes were unable to get a goal against Ireland.
Denmark had the lions share of possession and also had the better chances but it wasn't enough as Ireland were able to keep a clean sheet. Denmark had at least three really good chances to open the scoring but on two occasions Ireland's goalkeeper, Darren Randolph was on hand to make saves and the other missed the target.
The first Danish chance was a double one. Randolph made a decent save from a Jens Stryger Larsen shot but he could only parry it to Andreas Cornelius who seemed sure to score but Randolph got back up in time and across his goal to deny the Dane.
Later on in the first half, Denmark had another double chance when Randolph was unable to hold onto a Christian Eriksen shot but Pione Sisto's placed shot was unable to find the bottom corner and the Irish survived again.
In the dying minutes, it was Yussuf Poulsen's turn to have a chance but his header was turned over the bar by the Irish goalkeeper to ensure they kept a clean sheet and now go to Dublin as favourites to progress.
#4 Martin O'Neill the happier manager
Ultimately both managers will have mixed feelings on how the game went with positives and negatives on both sides but the Irish gaffer probably has more reason to be happy considering his side were second best for most of the game but still achieved a positive result.
O'Neill would have liked an away goal but in truth, Irish chances were few and far between so they can't be too unhappy that they didn't score. That said, Denmark didn't score either which is obviously a massive plus for O'Neill and his men.
Denmark's coach, Age Hareide will be annoyed that his team didn't take their opportunities and he will believe they probably should have a lead to take with them to Dublin for the second leg. However, he will also be happy that his side didn't allow Ireland to get an away goal and he now carries the advantage of knowing that a score draw would be enough to send Denmark to next summers Finals in Russia.
Overall, O'Neill probably has an edge in the mental battle between the two men as he set his team up to not lose the away leg and that objective was met and he will now set about a plan to finish the job on Tuesday night.
#3 Restricting Christian Eriksen's influence on 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.
#2 Shane Duffy is now Ireland's most important player
Shane Duffy has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last two years and with every passing game, the big Derry man is just getting better and better.
Duffy's career looked to be on a downward trajectory when he left Everton for Blackburn Rovers in 2014 but he broke into the Irish side at Euro 2016 before moving to Brighton and he now finds himself as a key player for Ireland and he has been one of the best defenders in the Premier League this season with some top performances for Brighton.
Once again he was superb and his head was like a magnet to the ball winning 12 aerial duals and completing 10 clearances as Denmark put pressure on the Irish defence. Duffy stood tall as he always does and alongside, skipper for the evening, Ciaran Clark they reduced the Danes to only a few chances.
Duffy could even have grabbed a goal himself when he won a header in the opposition penalty area but in the end, it went straight at Kasper Schmeichel in the Danish goal and he made an easy save.
#1 The tie remains perfectly in the balance
On paper most will consider Ireland to be favourites to progress now due to the fact that they managed to get a draw in the away tie and now just need to win their home game to secure a place in Russia next summer but football is rarely so straightforward.
The fact Ireland were unable to get an away goal gives Denmark a bit of an advantage as they now know that a score draw would be enough for them to progress and in fact, if they avoid defeat in Dublin the worst outcome for them would be the lottery of a penalty shootout.
Ireland have quite a good record in Dublin and rarely lose, although Serbia did beat them in this campaign. But when it comes to the big games against the stronger nations, they draw a lot more than they win so this tie is essentially still a 50-50 shootout ahead of Tuesday's second leg.
The Danes have the better technical players so if the game opens up they may be able to hurt the Irish but having said that they will have to show strong resolve to get the better of the Irish in front of a full house at the Aviva.
