Nicholas claims Ireland did job on Tottenham’s Eriksen

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Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen was part of the Denmark side that drew 0-0 with Ireland on Saturday.

Charlie Nicholas has told Sky Sports that Tottenham Hotspur magician Christian Eriksen became exasperated with his Denmark teammates as his country failed to overcome Ireland on Saturday night.

The 25-year-old cut a frustrated figure in the red of Denmark as Martin O’Neill’s Ireland pinpointed the former Ajax star as Denmark’s biggest threat, neutralising his playmaking abilities by remaining in close proximity.

Eriksen and his Denmark side go up against the Boys In Green for a second time on Tuesday night, with the winner of the second leg qualifying for a place in the 2018 World Cup next summer.

O’Neill’s side have given fans hope of qualification, with the second leg to be played in Dublin. O’Neill will be looking for his side to repeat the “fantastic job” they did on Eriksen last time out, with Nicholas predicting a 1-0 win for the Irish.

“It is never easy to predict a 0-0 draw but what we could predict was Ireland would identify Christian Eriksen as the main threat and they did a fantastic job in neutralising him,” Nicholas said.

“You could see Eriksen looking at his team-mates by the end wondering why they weren’t finding him in pockets of space, because that’s what he’s used to at Tottenham.”

Eriksen has been in excellent form for Spurs this season, scoring four times and turning provider on another four occasions during his 15 league and cup appearances.

Tottenham fans and Mauricio Pochettino will be desperate for Eriksen to shine and help Denmark qualify, with a loss likely to have a damaging effect the Tottenham number 23’s morale.