Bendtner: I could have scored four

Nicklas Bendtner maintained his reputation for arrogance on Wednesday after scoring his maiden international hat-trick, claiming he could have notched a fourth goal.

The 27-year-old brought Denmark back from the brink in Aarhus, scoring in the 83rd and 91st minutes to give the home side a 3-2 win over the United States in a friendly.

Dumped by Arsenal last term, benched by Wolfsburg for the majority of this campaign and with just three league goals to his name over the past three seasons – it may have been understandable if Bendtner’s confidence had taken a hit.

But the towering forward showed no signs of that after his hat-trick.

“I think I held the ball up well and I had a number of chances,” Bendtner told Danmarks Radio.

“On another day maybe I could have scored one more but it didn’t go that way. I think it was excellent.”

But while Bendtner’s response might be down to arrogance, his claim was at least backed up by his coach Morten Olsen.

“Bendtner was lighter on his feet and he was sharp against the USA,” the 65-year-old said.

“It was great to see Nicklas score his first hat-trick but we generally should have scored a few more goals.”

USA opened the scoring in the 19th minute thanks to Jozy Altidore’s strike from a tight angle but the home side were level at the break following Bendtner’s 33rd-minute tap-in.

Aron Johannsson put the visitors back in front in the 66th minute but Bendter turned the game again – thrashing a loose ball home with seven minutes remaining, before controlling Christian Eriksen’s chip over the top and crunching a half-volley beyond the reach of Nick Rimando in stoppage time.

While Bendtner has only started in four of Wolfsburg’s 26 Bundesliga matches this season, Olsen is confident the Danish forward has turned a corner in his career, as he has displayed more patience as he plays understudy to in-form team-mate Bas Dost.

“We have seen that if Bendtner is not in the condition that he needs to be in then it’s not good,” Olsen said.

“Against the USA he was in better shape. His effort at training has been good. Bas Dost has scored many goals for Wolfsburg [13 in 14 league games this season] but Bendtner has shut his mouth and worked hard at training.”