While Christian Eriksen was the man everyone was worried about in the build-up to Saturday night's clash in Copenhagen, whenever Denmark's other threats were inquired about the extremely Irish sounding name of Thomas Delaney was the one offered most commonly in reply.
The Werder Bremen midfielder has had an outstanding campaign for the Danes thus far, and while he was not overly impressive during the 0-0 draw at the Parken Stadium, it would have been difficult for him to get into the game considering the plan from early on was to by-pass the midfield with long diagonal passes to the wings.
Delaney found it tough to make an impact, and speaking to Danish media after the game [via Tipsbladet] he came up with an incredible quote for what it feels like to play against Ireland.
We can live with the result today. We can play to a 1-1 draw against Ireland, and then we are on [to the World Cup]. So that's OK, but it was a hard fight. Actually, it was as we expected and feared. We tried and tried, but it was a bit like opening a can of baked beans with your bare hands. It takes time.
Profound.
We've heard a lot of strange things from opposition players after being stifled by our desire to defend and nick something, but that has to be right up there with the most creative.
Whether or not it is a common saying in Denmark is unclear, although the fact that it made the headline for Tipsbladet suggests it's not something you hear all the time.
Hopefully, Delaney and his pals forget the can-opener once again when they travel to Dublin for Tuesday's game.
