Anton Gaaei, a defender for the Danish Under-21 national team, has revealed that an added motivation awaits him as he prepares to go head-to-head with several of his Ajax teammates in Sunday’s U21 Euros showdown against the Netherlands.
The Dutch side features Ajax players Youri Regeer, Kenneth Taylor, and Jorel Hato, all of whom were part of the starting XI during their opening match, which concluded in a 2-2 draw with Finland.
However, Gaaei is eager to take on his familiar faces from Amsterdam.
“We’ll do everything we can to secure the win. It’s especially important to me as I want to triumph over my good mates, those I train with every day. I’m genuinely looking forward to it. Of course, there are bragging rights at stake, but primarily it’s about racking up as many points as we can in the group and seeing where that leads us,” Gaaei told bold.dk.
“We’re determined, but we know it will be incredibly challenging,” he added.
December’s tournament draw revealed to Gaaei that he would be facing his Ajax colleagues, which sparked some friendly banter.
“We quickly started ribbing each other. A bit of teasing has already happened. They’ve claimed that they’ll win easily against us. I believe it was Youri Bass who said it, although he’s unfortunately sidelined with an injury now. It was all in good fun, but now we’ll see how it plays out tomorrow,” Gaaei shared, noting his back-and-forth text exchanges with Kenneth Taylor leading up to the match.
The Netherlands is feeling the heat after their disappointing start to the U21 Euros, having settled for a 2-2 draw against Finland in their opener. They will undoubtedly be under additional pressure to secure a solid performance against Denmark in order to keep their tournament aspirations alive.
In contrast, Denmark emerged victorious in their first match, edging out Ukraine with a 3-2 scoreline.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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