 |
| Population: |
5,300,000 |
| Area: |
43,094 km² |
| Capital: |
Copenhagen |
| Language: |
Danish |
|
THE
ROAD TO KOREA/JAPAN
|
| Denmark topped UEFA group 3 undefeated after winning a tight race with
the Czech Republic. |
|
Click
here for details
|
|
ONE
TO WATCH
|
|
| Ebbe Sand knocked in goals
frequently in the qualification rounds and does so as well in the Bundesliga
for Schalke 04. He is physically strong and will be a hard man to stop for
all teams facing Denmark. |
|
WCA
VERDICT: Through to KO stage
|
| Denmark are determined to wipe out the
memories of their poor showing at Euro 2000. Morten Olsen has developed this
group of players into a highly competitive team who qualified from a tough
group. They are more than capable of putting Uruguay and Senegal behind them
and we believe they will do so. |
|
POST-LAUDRUP GENERATION READY TO SHOW TEETH
by Paul Marcuccitti
Had I written this piece in the lead up to Euro 2000, I might have started
by saying that Denmark has a habit of turning up to the finals of major
football tournaments and performing better than most observers expect them
to. Unfortunately for the Danes, they were simply blown away, in an
admittedly tough group, in that tournament.
Nevertheless, the 1992 European Champions and 1998 World Cup
quarter-finalists have picked themselves up after that disappointment and
they qualified for Korea/Japan impressively by winning the
trickier-than-it-looked UEFA Group 3. Drawn with the Czech Republic,
Bulgaria, Iceland, Northern Ireland and Malta, the Danes achieved six wins
and four draws from their 10 matches. Crucially, Denmark managed a win and a
draw against both main group rivals - the Czechs and Bulgaria.
No prizes for guessing which player the Danish fans will be looking to for
inspiration - their fabulous forward, Ebbe Sand. The Schalke striker scored
an impressive nine goals in the qualifiers and, in Feyenoord's Jon Dahl
Tomasson, Sand has a handy partner up front.
Indeed it was a brace by Tomasson in Denmark's second-last qualifier in
Bulgaria which proved decisive. The Danes' 2-0 win in Sofia virtually
assured them of a ticket to the Far East.
The key players in Denmark's midfield will include hard man Thomas Gravesen
and the speedy Dennis Rommedahl who, like Tomasson, plays his professional
football in the Netherlands. Rommedahl has shown real ability to create and
finish and his performances in Korea/Japan could be pivotal to Denmark's
hopes. The Danes will also be hoping that Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer
has fully recovered from injury.
AC Milan star Thomas Helveg will also feature prominently for the Danes.
Coach Morten Olsen may play him in either defence or midfield.
Another ace in the Danish pack will be their first choice goalkeeper - and
no it's not Peter Schmeichel. The Aston Villa custodian retired from
international football during the 2002 qualifying campaign but his
replacement, Thomas Sorenson (also in the English Premiership with
Sunderland), is proving just as great a barrier for opposing teams.
Coach Morten Olsen is, of course, already a hero of Danish football. His
long international career as a player included membership of Denmark's
dazzling World Cup team of 1986. Since his retirement as a player, Olsen has
coached clubs in the Netherlands and Germany and he took the Danish national
job before the commencement of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
If Denmark makes it as far as the quarter-finals - as it did four years ago
- it will be no mean feat. Despite the fact that they have a well-balanced
team which was unbeaten in qualifying, the Danes had no luck in last
December's draw. It placed them in Group A with France, Uruguay and Senegal
and, while there should be no excuses for not advancing to the Round of 16,
their next opponent would be a team from Group F. Yes, you know who's in
that group - Argentina, England, Nigeria and Sweden.
Denmark's opening match against Uruguay could prove to be its most important
in the group phase. Group A has a clear favourite (France) and a clear
outsider (Senegal) and while no one is immune from World Cup upsets, it's a
fair bet that the all-important second place will come down to a battle
between Denmark and Uruguay.
Fortunately for Olsen, he will have a fair amount of creativity at his
disposal if all his midfielders are fit and in form for the finals. He will
need to have the right combination firing immediately as the Uruguayans
boast an imposing defensive record.
Can Ebbe Sand continue his marvellous qualifying form? Could Dennis
Rommedahl star? Can Thomas Sorenson make the crucial saves?
If it all comes together for this team, you never know, they might surprise
us again. But for Denmark, it's a difficult path to the latter stages of the
tournament.
A BRIEF WORLD CUP HISTORY
by Jan Alsos
Despite having produced some great teams in the past, Denmark
had to wait until 1986 for their first appearance in the World Cup. The likes of Elkjær and
Michael Laudrup dazzled the crowd in Mexico with some awesome performances, most
notably against Uruguay. With three straight wins in the Group of Death which contained
West Germany and Scotland in addition to Uruguay and Denmark, the red and white army
suddenly found themselves as one of the hottest favourites to win the World Cup. However,
an inexplicable crashlanding at 1-5 against Spain and Butragueño in the second round sent
shockwaves around the footballing world. The Danes had used all their dynamite in the first
round.
It took them twelve years to qualify again and Denmark made it past the first round - although
not as convincingly as in ‘86, but with a far more impressive second round performance.
Nigeria was outplayed 4-1 and that set them up for a quarterfinal against Brazil in which they
contributed equally much as the defending champions in making it one of the best matches of
the latest World Cup. Brazil won 3-2.
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