Despite admitting there is not much that can be done to stop the France striker Kylian Mbappe, Kasper Hjulmand, the coach of Denmark, says his side will show the Frenchman no respect.
Mbappe's first goal helped Les Bleus defeat Australia 4-1 on Tuesday in their World Cup Group D opener, while Olivier Giroud and he both demonstrated exceptional qualities.
Hjulmand's team eked out a 0-0 draw with Tunisia, yet it might be more difficult to maintain another clean sheet against the defending champions.
Hjulmand's response when asked if the prospect of trying to keep Mbappe quiet made him nervous “I don't think it's good to be terrified. Plans exist to stop him. We had a strong strategy and a nice framework at Parken [in September]. No matter what strategies you employ against elite players, you cannot keep them down. He had two or more chances.
"We've done a lot of studies to try and limit his impact since we don't want him to display his talent."
With captain Simon Kjaer a teammate of Giroud at Milan, Hjulmand is hoping for some firsthand information to help curb France's threat.
He said: "I'm hoping it's beneficial. Giroud is a player that excels at what he does. It's encouraging to see so many strikers in the latter parts of their careers demonstrating how to move in the box, how to position themselves dangerously, and how to finish in the box." Giroud is far more dangerous today than he was before. Simon is extremely familiar with him, and we have been discussing the minor details".
Denmark beat Didier Deschamps' team twice in the Nations League earlier this year, but Hjulmand is aware that facing them in a World Cup is a different situation.
We've tested them a few times, but this is a different event", he remarked.
"However, we are aware that if we play well, there is a chance of success. We need to significantly improve our level of play starting with the first game if we really want it".
Six hours after the second Group D encounter between Australia and Tunisia ends, Denmark and France take off, and Hjulmand admitted that the result of that game might have an impact on his plan of action.
"Really, I'm only talking about the previous 25 minutes. Although we are focused on winning the game, the other game will affect how we play."