NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (Reuters) - Continual comparisons with his father are proving exasperating for Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel at the World Cup where he had a playful dig at reporters after first taking to social media to hint at his frustration.
The 31-year-old, whose father, Peter, helped Denmark win the European Championship in 1992 and is regarded among the goalkeeping greats, posted a picture of himself on Instagram, looking stern and somewhat annoyed, with a caption that read: “Your face when you get asked about your dad for the fourth time in a row at a World Cup press conference.” (https://www.instagram.com/p/BkdB8ZUAwmh/?hl=en&taken-by=kasperschmeichel)
Asked about the post on Saturday, the day before Denmark meet Croatia in the knockout stages in Russia, the younger Schmeichel said of the repeated questions about his famous father: “It’s not annoying … it’s just I expect more from you guys.
"Obviously, it’s inevitable coming to the World Cup, those media who haven’t spoken to me will ask, but the Danish lads know what the response will be.”
Schmeichel has taken a while to emerge from the shadow of his father and establish himself as Denmark’s first choice, but he also drew praise from captain Simon Kjaer at Saturday’s pre-match news conference.
“He’s been doing well, but I don’t want to praise him too much,” joked Kjaer.
“No, he’s very important to the team, both on and off the pitch. He’s a top goalkeeper. He’s proving it now and we are happy about that.
It is the first World Cup for Schmeichel, whose father also played in just one tournament -- in 1998, as a 34-year-old, when the Danes reached the quarter-finals.
Father Peter is also at the World Cup, where he hosts his own show on Russian news channel RT, providing analysis on the matches.
(Editing by Neville Dalton)
