Except this was the Danish national team, winning 2-0 in Jerusalem with Martin Braithwaite elegantly scoring the vital first goal after 13 minutes. Braithwaite is not the archetypal free-scoring forward but a player who must work hard for his place in the team and for his goals. He was a big talent as a youngster but found breaking into the first team in Esbjerg more difficult. Even Pedersen, a veteran in the trade, could not predict that Braithwaite one day would play alongside Messi – no one in Denmark could, to be honest. When Denmark qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Braithwaite wasn’t seen by the experts as a starter in the team.

Source: The Guardian June 02, 2021 11:01 UTC