Niklas Bendtner: 'Denmark have the advantage ahead of second leg'

Denmark striker Niklas Bendtner has insisted that his side "have a slight advantage" heading into their World Cup qualifying playoff second leg against the Republic of Ireland.

The Red-Whites had the better of the chances in Copenhagen during Saturday night's opening 90-minute tussle, forcing opposition keeper Darren Randolph into a couple of big stops.

Bendtner admits that Denmark fell short of their target to take a lead to the Aviva Stadium for next week's return match, but believes that his side are in a better position as away goals could come into effect at the end of the finely-poised tie.

"The goal for us was to win the match, 100%," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "We also had the best chances and, with a little bit more luck, we could have scored one. But we maybe have a slight advantage in that, if both teams score a goal, we will be the ones who go through.

"We're going down there to try to win the match. I can't say what's going to happen, but we're prepared to play 120 minutes if that's what it takes. I think it will be a different match. They know that they can't play a match where they have to stay so deep.

"They know that they have to come out and try to score, so I think it's going to be a little bit more open. They will come more out, which allows us to get more space. It will be a more interesting match."

Ireland are unbeaten in five international meetings with Denmark, keeping clean sheets in each of the last three of those.