Denmark arrive in South Africa with a form book tucked under their arms which makes for impressive reading. Top of their qualifying group ahead of Portugal and Sweden, the Danes will need to follow through in one of the toughest groups at this summer’s finals.
Head coach Martin Olsen brings an experienced and well balanced Danish squad to South Africa, and we believe they can bowl over Japan with relative ease. However, the stumbling block comes in the form of group opponents Holland and Cameroon.
Back in the day when Michael Laudrup banged in the goals and Peter Schmeichel guarded the net, Denmark were once kings of Europe. In case it had slipped your mind, the Danes stormed through Euro ‘92 in Sweden, beating the hosts in the semi-final and Germany in the final in Gothenburg. Funnily enough, they did it without Laudrup, who quit the national team during qualifying, but younger brother Brian Laudrup played a part in the greatest day of Danish international football.
The make-up of the current squad is not unflattering. Christian Poulsen, Daniel Agger, Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Sørensen and Daniel Jensen provide a blend of talent and durability.
Denmark’s opener against Holland on 14 June could be a cracker and if Olsen’s attack-minded outfit can get a result it’s anyone’s guess as to which two nations will go through to the second round.
Star Player: Daniel Agger
Agger is a cut above the rest in the Denmark defensive unit. The Liverpool central defender knows how to play ball and a lucrative contract with a top Premier League side (well, top seven Premier League side – Ed.) tells exactly how good he really is.
A wicked left foot, Agger is known to venture forward every once in a while to let fly, and no-one – let alone him – is quite sure whether it will end up in the top corner of the net or the stand.
Manager: Morten Olsen
Olsen is in the job for a decade now and is loved by supporters for his attacking tactical game. He’s not afraid to throw men forward but this could prove costly against stern opposition.
Olsen failed to bring his native country to Germany ’06 but somehow managed to hold on to the manager seat. A superb run in the qualifiers this time around has brought widespread optimism amongst supporters, especially as the Danes prevented neighbours Sweden from reaching the finals.
Prediction: Group stage exit
It’s very difficult to see the Danish players come up trumps against a superior Holland side in the first match of Group E.
Cameroon’s style of play will disrupt the Denmark system and a win against Japan is the only stroke of fortune we can see for the Danes.
Odds: 125/1
Irishness rating: 7/10
Pale-skinned and living in the shadow of a powerful neighbour, they could almost be us. Denmark is the home of Carlsberg and we love a pint of that stuff here, while the Jack Charlton-Johnny Giles-Mick McCarthy ad is another strong link between us and them.
If they were a car they’d be…
A Volvo – sturdy but never very exciting.
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