Denmark Hits Stride in Rout of North Macedonia to Edge Closer to World Cup

Denmark utterly controlled the opening period, leaving North Macedonia with scant opportunities to threaten their net. Goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski endured far more pressure than Mads Hermansen, who deputised for the sidelined Kasper Schmeichel in the Danish lineup.

Joakim Mæhle carved out the match's initial clear opening, yet Dimitrievski executed a solid block after he breached the area.

Hermansen responded with a superior intervention, denying Darko Churlinov's menacing set-piece effort, which served as a brief caution.

Alexander Bah grazed the upright shortly after, followed by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg forcing another stop from Dimitrievski, though Denmark remained goalless at the interval.

The home side soon broke the deadlock early in the second half, marking their fifth leading scoreline across seven domestic fixtures, courtesy of Mikkel Damsgaard converting a loose ball into the far corner.

Damsgaard subsequently set up Gustav Isaksen, who settled the delivery prior to rifling it against the upright and in, propelling Denmark forward.

Isaksen then notched a swift second for himself via another rebound within the penalty area, clinching the points inside an hour.

Rasmus Højlund sought to bolster his status as Denmark's leading qualifier marksman, but he blasted astray during the closing phases.

Denmark extended their advantage to four regardless, linking two seasoned ex-Brentford colleagues, as Christian Eriksen picked out Christian Nørgaard via a corner, enabling the current Arsenal player to thunder a header home.

Consequently, North Macedonia's aspirations for a debut World Cup appearance fade away, the Lions thoroughly subdued on this occasion.