Bright and Carter need to keep former Chelsea team-mate Harder quiet
Chelsea defenders Millie Bright and Jess Carter will have to keep ‘eccentric’ former team-mate Pernille Harder quiet when England face Denmark at the World Cup
- Millie Bright and Jess Carter will be tasked with stopping Pernille Harder
- All three players were team-mates when they were together at Chelsea
- Emma Hayes says Harder is one of the most eccentric players she’s coached
For Chelsea defenders Millie Bright and Jess Carter, it will be a familiar face looking to break their defensive resolve on Friday.
If England are to get past Denmark in their second World Cup game, then stopping star player Pernille Harder is key.
Remarkably, this is the 30-year-old’s first World Cup — with Denmark having failed to qualify since 2007. Part of the reason they missed out on the tournament in 2019 is the forfeiture of one of their qualifiers in protest at poor pay and working conditions.
Their actions eventually forced a collective bargaining agreement, which saw a £232,000 rise in investment, but there was the feeling of a missed opportunity given Denmark had reached the final of Euro 2017. Naturally, Harder and her team-mates are determined to make up for lost time.
Harder will play as the centre forward, though she may drop into the No 10 role where she was utilised by Chelsea. Harder decided to leave the Blues with her partner and Sweden defender Magdalena Eriksson at the end of last season — with the pair joining Bayern Munich.
Millie Bright and Jess Carter will have to keep their former team-mate Pernille Harder quiet
Bright (L) and Carter (C) are familiar with Pernille’s game from their time together at Chelsea
Emma Hayes, who signed Harder for Chelsea, says she is eccentric with a thirst for winning
It may be Harder’s new team-mate, Georgia Stanway, who is tasked with keeping her quiet if she does drop deeper. But more intriguing is whether Harder looks to target her old Chelsea team-mates Bright and Carter.
Bright is still working her way back to full fitness, while Carter is relatively inexperienced at international level, with just 19 caps. Harder will know all about their weaknesses but, like Bright, the forward has recently returned from a long injury lay-off.
Harder had surgery after tearing a hamstring at the end of last year and did not return until the end of April. But by the end of the season, she looked back to her best.
Emma Hayes signed Harder for Chelsea in 2020 for a then-record fee of £250,000. In her three years with the club, the forward won seven trophies and made the Champions League final in 2021.
‘She is one of the most eccentric characters I’ve ever coached,’ Hayes said after Harder had exited Chelsea. ‘I’ll miss her attention to detail, her thirst for winning.’
It will be Harder at the heart of everything Denmark try to do on Friday, but they have other WSL players who can hurt England. Arsenal midfielder Kathrine Kuhl is a regular starter, as are Everton trio Nicoline Sorensen, Rikke Sevecke and Katrine Veje.
Kuhl will likely play on the left of a midfield three while Sorensen links up with Harder in attack. Sevecke and Veje are expected to start at right and left back.
It is 14 years since a 16-year-old Harder scored a hat-trick on her Denmark debut. Now with 70 goals in 142 games, she is finally playing on the biggest stage. England must ensure they do not allow her to shine.
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