Mads Hermansen could yet end what is looking like an increasingly successful first season for West Ham United with a trip to the World Cup.
Hermansen will surely have eyes on playing for Denmark at the 2026 World Cup but that dream looked almost impossible to imagine during his days on the bench at West Ham United.
However, Hermansen has recently become a key player for West Ham, keeping all of the four clean sheets the team have mustered this season.
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Indeed, the 25-year-old may well have come into form just at the right time. The World Cup is on the horizon, and the Danes are in the play-offs.
Hermansen doesn’t have a cap for his country at senior level but a space may have opened up after Celtic’s Kasper Schmeichel pulled out of the Denmark squad for their upcoming play-offs against North Macedonia and Czechia or the Republic of Ireland.
Schmeichel pulls out of Denmark squad in boost for Hermansen
Speaking to Danish outlet TV Sport 2, Schmeichel said: “Today I called Brian [Riemer, the Denmark manager] and said that I can’t play the upcoming World Cup matches here in March.
“It really hurts me, because throughout my career I have done everything to play for the Danish national team. It’s just the biggest thing for me. I’m with the boys all the way, and I know they will give everything to qualify us for the World Cup.
“A year ago I broke my shoulder against Portugal, but stayed on the field and played on because we didn’t have any more substitutions.
“It has caused a lot of after-effects, which have been hard to live with – and play with. But the last few months things have taken a bad turn with my shoulder, and it has really caused problems for me. Then when we played the Europa League against Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago, I landed on the wrong shoulder for their first goal and smashed something again.”
That could make life much easier for Hermansen as he looks to impress for his country ahead of their play-offs.
With no Schmeichel, it could be a straight shootout between Hermansen and Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen for a starting berth between the sticks.
Jorgensen does have a cap for Denmark at senior level but has not played as much regular first team football as Hermansen at club level in recent months.
The Blues did start him against PSG in the Champions League earlier this week but the Dane made a high profile mistake for which he has been criticised.
Hermansen has had a difficult season but it could yet end on a high. Premier League safety at club level and the chance to play at the showpiece event later this summer would be quite the redemption arc.
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