Early bath likely for not so great Danes

By Adam Appleton


In 1992 they came off the beach ten days before the tournament having failed to qualify to replace an errant Yugoslavia team.

Twenty years later, they are still the most unlikely, unfancied and unbelievable European champions ever.

They saw off the likes of England, France, Holland and Germany along the way to glory to win 2-0 in the final with goals from Vilfort and Jensen in front of a packed Ullevi stadium, Gothenburg.

What made it all the more surprising was that they did it without star players Michael Laudrup and Jan Molby.

Oh how they could do with such talents in their 2012 squad.

They have been given a hellish draw, the tournament’s group of death versus Holland, Germany and Portugal.

Whilst it is unlikely that they will win any of these games, let alone get out of the group, it is still interesting to look into their squad.

Defence must be the first priority for them, which is why Daniel Agger looks set to be their most important player.

The Liverpool defender had a superb season and has truly become a senior player for both of his red teams.

He will have to marshal the defence with Simon Kjaer, who is also a high quality player.

Meanwhile, their up-and-coming star is undoubtedly Christian Eriksen.

The Ajax man will be the creative force in their midfield, playing just behind the strikers.

He will be hoping that main forward Nicklas Bendtner can play as well as he talks, because you feel as though there will not be many goal-scoring opportunities, but one worries he is more image than substance.

Utilising their experienced players will also be vital, Christian Poulsen will be anchoring the midfield, the perfect foil for Christian Eriksen, while 115-cap Dennis Rommedahl will be roaming the wings just as he always has done.

He may been heavily experienced, but Rommedahl has not lost much of his pace over the years and can still give any wing-back trouble.

They could not ask for a more knowledgeable, learned manager in Morten Olsen.

And they will need every inch of that knowledge, as collectively they are very inexperienced, with only 618 caps to their names, 206 of which belong to Poulsen and Rommedahl.

But this will not faze Olsen, who has been in charge of the national side for 12 years now, having made 102 appearances for them in his playing days; a true patriot.

Through the nineties he worked for Brondby, Koln and Ajax before accepting the national job in 2000.

He will face a tough task to get any points from this tournament.