Kazakhstan 3-2 Denmark: European minnows stage remarkable comeback

Kazakhstan 3-2 Denmark: European minnows – ranked 115th in the world – stage remarkable comeback from two goals down to win in Astana… after the ‘new Haaland’ Rasmus Hojlund’s first-half brace had put the Euro 2020 semi-finalists in control

  • Denmark took control of Sunday’s fixture with Rasmus Hojlund’s first-half duo
  • But lowly-ranked Kazakhstan turned the game in the last 20 minutes to win it
  • Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov, Askhat Tagybergen and Abat Aimbetov all scored 

Lowly-ranked minnows Kazakhstan staged a remarkable comeback from two goals down against Denmark to win an incredible Euro 2024 qualifier in Astana.

The visitors, who made it to the semi-finals of the previous European Championships, had taken control of the match with a first-half brace from Rasmus Hojlund.

Hojlund has been hailed as ‘the new Erling Haaland’ for his top-notch scoring ability, and his goals in the 21st and 35th minutes put the team ranked 18th in front.

But with 20 minutes left on the clock, Kazakhstan, ranked 115th in the world by FIFA, began to turn the tide of the match. This started with Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov’s penalty in the 73rd minute.

The goal looked like it could be just a consolation, until Askhat Tagybergen popped up with the equaliser in the 86th minute, three minutes before substitute Abat Aimbetov scored a header that proved to be the match-winner.

Abat Aimbetov scored the winning header in the 89th minute – and was later sent off as well

Denmark’s Rasmus Hojlund’s scored a first-half brace to add to his hat-trick from Thursday

Aimbetov only came off the bench in the 78th minute, with the score 2-1 in favour of the Danes, but he was involved in an eventual finish. He was booked for taking his shirt off when celebrating his goal, and then sent-off six minutes into stoppage time as the hosts clung on to the victory.

Kazakhstan started their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 loss at home to Slovenia on Thursday, and it looked like it was certain to be two defeats on the bounce until the late dramatics at the Astana Arena.

Denmark started their qualifiers with a 3-1 home win against Finland three days ago, when Hojlund scored a hat-trick. However, despite reaching five goals in two games, Hojlund’s visitors came away from Kazakhstan with nothing, guilty of switching off in the second-half after thinking the win was in the bag against a side ranked nearly 100 places lower than them in the FIFA list. 

The pair are in Group H, alongside Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Finland and San Marino.  

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