The Danish national team are riding a wave of success at the moment. In the Fall the Danes managed to keep hold of their spot in Nations League A, and they have gotten off to a perfect start in the qualification to the 2022 World Cup.
With these results in mind, it comes as no surprise that the Danes are in this summers Euros. Here they are among the larger outsiders, but their impressive form as of late cannot be ignored.
One of the reasons for the widespread optimism regarding the Danish national team is their new coach Kasper Hjulmand. Hjulmand took over for Åge Hareide who had not gotten his contract extended though he had a run of 34 games without defeat.
Despite the great run of results one of the criticisms of Hareide was that he did not play attractive enough football. This is one area where the Danes have improved now that Hjulmand has had more time to implement his own style of play.
Throughout the last decade the undisputed star on the Danish national has been former Spurs man Christian Eriksen. The current Inter player has played over 100 games and scored over 35 goals for his country. During the qualification for the Euros he was Denmark’s top goal scorer with five goals from eight games.
There is also the captain of the Danish national team – AC Milan’s Simon Kjær as well as stars from the Premier League such as Kasper Schmeichel and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.
Denmark’s chances at Euro 2020
The bookmakers have estimated that Denmark are just behind the usual suspects when it comes to odds on the Euro 2020 winner.
This places them just behind strong sides such as Italy and Netherlands and ahead of the 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia, Russia, and Switzerland. It is worth noting that the odds on Denmark as European Champions has generally gotten lower throughout the last couple of months. This is of course an indicator of their good form and progression under Hjulmand.
The latest batch of World Cup qualifiers produced three Danish wins with a combined score line of 14-0 over three matches against Israel, Moldova, and Austria. The 4-0 win over Austria in Vienna was particularly impressive.
Denmark in Group B
For Euro 2020, Denmark has been placed in Groupe B. Here they will compete against Belgium, Finland, and Russia. Denmark was seeded third, and there was a feeling of satisfaction with the group they were delt. Belgium and Denmark are Europe’s two in-form sides at the moment, so they are favourites for the top spots.
Denmark has the added benefit of getting to play all their group games at home in Copenhagen, where the Danish national stadium, Parken, has been chosen as one of the venues for the Euros. It will also host one match for the round of 16.
The Belgians are the unsurprising favourites to win Group B. That would mean that they would face off against a that that finished third in one of the other groups. If Denmark were to finish second, they would get to play the runner-up from Group A. If Italy end up winning that group it would mean Switzerland, Turkey, or Wales. All these are sides that Denmark could very well beat.
If the Danes finish third their path towards the final 16 becomes a bit more complicated. It would mean that Denmark would have the one of the three best third place finishers. In that case they would find themselves playing the winner of Groups E or F. This could potentially mean a match against Spain or the French world champions.
This is also earliest point at which Denmark and England can meet each other. However, that would require Denmark to win their group and England to finish third in theirs. According to the bookmakers the most likely scenario is for England to win Group D, and for Denmark to finish second in Group B. If that where to come to pass the two would not be able to meet until the final in London.
