Kasper Hjulmand takes his Danish outfit to another major tournament  hoping to follow up on the impressive run at last years Euros where they reached the semi-finals. 

Hjulmand's side were one of the best sides to watch during a run they labelled themselves as dark horses in a competition full of shocks, they were eventually knocked out by England in extra time at the semi-final stage.

Hjulamnd has been in charge since 2020, and has only tasted defeat nine times as manager, leading his side to victory 23 times and drawing twice, he currently holds a 67.65 win percentage while at the helm.

Qualification Path

Denmark eased their way into as they finished top of Group F losing only once as they scored 30 goals and conceded only three times, their only defeat in qualifying came on the final match day to group runners up Scotland, who would miss out in the play offs. This was still not enough to knock the Danes off top spot as they would still finish four points clear of the Scots. They find themselves in Group D alongside defending champions France, as well as Australia and Tunisia, so another group stage qualification is very likely for the outfit.

Historical Performances

This will be the country's sixth time featuring in the tournament, their best performance coming in the 1998 finals, where they would reach the quarter finals, only to be eliminated by that years runners up Brazil 3-2. However their biggest moment came in the 1992 European Championships where they won the tournament overcoming Germany 2-0 in the final of a tournament they originally never qualified for.

Despite their low appearance record at the tournament, they have only failed once to make it out of the group stages reaching the last 16 twice and once reaching the last 8 in their first appearance in 1986. They appeared in the 2018 World Cup reaching the last 16 before being eliminated 3-2 on penalties by Croatia. In 2010, they faced disappointment as victory over Cameroon was not enough after defeats to Japan and Netherlands saw them finish third in their group, they would not qualify for the following tournament in 2014.

Their most memorable came also in their 1986 debut as they took on two time World Cup winners and South American champions Uruguay, the Dynamite shocked the world as they ran rampant with a 6-1 victory on the day. Michael Laudrup famously lauded his team as "Europe's answer to Brazil" following the match as well as many drawing comparisons with the famous Dutch sides of the 1970's.

What made their 1986 run even more memorable was their inclusion in the first ever "group of death", they dominated their group which included West Germany, Uruguay and Scotland, winning all three games, scoring nine goals and conceding only once.

Player to Watch

Christian Eriksen has been lighting up the Premier League upon his return to action, the 30 year old joined Manchester United in the summer on a free transfer following a spell with Brentford in the second half of last season. It truly has been a remarkable spell for the star when there were questions on his status in the game this time last year, following his collapse during the game between Denmark and Finland, suffering a cardiac arrest on the field, it was a moment where the footballing world stood still. This will be Eriksen's third appearance at these tournaments and given his age, it could be assumed to be his last. He will be looking to add to his record at these tournaments currently only having a goal and an assist to his name at the finals. Eriksen has been a regular in the national set up earning himself 117 caps and scoring on 39 occasions for the Red and Whites.

 
 

 

Expected Lineup

It could be expected there to be very little change to the starting XI we saw in the semi final against England.

Schmeichel, Christensen, Kjaer, Vestergaard, Larsen, Hojbjerg, Delaney, Maehle, Braithwaite, Dolberg, Damsgaard

The one difference we may see here is Eriksen slotting into the midfield, however given Hojbjerg's form for Eriksen's former club Tottenham, it is difficult to see this decision being made.

The national team set up is currently at a clean bill of health so there should be no need for any drastic changes to the team they take to Qatar.

Biggest talking point

Denmark will be a big focus point this tournament following their performances last year and a lot may be expected from them, the team seemed imbued with a desire to fight and make Eriksen proud as well as the usual national pride we see from teams competing at this level. During their semi final with England, they fought to the very end and took them to extra time, it was only a Harry Kane penalty that saw the Three Lions through to the final.

Many, including themselves, will be expecting the dark horse status to be continued and see how far they can propel through this tournament, should they upset the odds and win Group D, they can potentially set up a rematch of the Euro semi finals with England in the quarter finals, if they were to pass the round of 16 which could potentially be Poland. However, finishing runners up will set up a very difficult tournament path, which could see them meet the likes of Argentina and Brazil before meeting the Three Lions in the final.

Kasper Schmeichel celebrated his 36th birthday recently and is another name who may most likely be playing their final tournament this time around, the goalkeeper will be looking to go out on a high if this is the case, becoming a main stay in the team following in his fathers footsteps. While many will be singing the name of captain Simon Kjaer after his heroic quick reactions in the Eriksen situation last year. 

Predictions

With a somewhat easy group, aside from the French, the Danish Dynamite should find no difficulties in making it out of the group stages, whether they finish runners up or winners will most likely depend on their result when they meet France on match day 2. Many will doubt them in this fixture, however they have shown they can upset the odds in the past especially against France, where they beat them back in September 2-0 in the Nations League Group A and they are more than capable of replicating victory over the world champions. 

Victory over Australia and Tunisia is a must if they are to progress, having only met Tunisia once in history, they were victorious on that occasion, Denmark met Australia at the previous tournament in 2018 where the two sides played out a 1-1 draw, on the other three occasions, they have come out on top twice as well as losing once in 2010.

Prediction: Group runners up.

Eliminated in the quarter finals.

 

 

 

 

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