Euro 2020, Denmark: remember the summer of 1992

A festival. Denmark has set the pace to qualify for the quarterfinals of Euro 2020. The selection of Kasper Hjulmand swept Wales (4-0) and seems to gain momentum in this competition after the 4-1 victory against Russia which allowed him to get out of the group stage. A happy outcome as the start of the tournament had started in a chaotic fashion. Starting off well against Finland, Denmark was hit hard by Christian Eriksen’s heart disease. Past very close to the tragedy, the attacking midfielder is better now, but this event strongly affected the group. Beaten by Finland (1-0), Denmark will logically be affected emotionally.

Yet the reaction was immediate. Galvanized, the Rød-Hvide almost caught Belgium (2-1 defeat) before confirming against Russia and Wales that they had not left the tournament. Driven out the door and back out the window, this characterizes Denmark well. Indeed, in 1992, the Danish Dynamites were not qualified for the Euro which was disputed during the summer. However, Yugoslavia, which was qualified, was forced to forfeit following UN sanctions. Integrated into the eight qualifiers 11 days before the start of the tournament, Denmark arrives as a tourist and the atmosphere in the group is more of fun than concentration. However, the “Crazy Dan” won the competition against all odds when they only had one point after two matches in the group stage.

United around Christian Eriksen

Bad start to finish in style, a sacred point in common between these two generations where similarities are not lacking. Denmark’s 1992 goalkeeper was Peter Schmeichel while the current goalkeeper is Kasper Schmeichel. In 1992, Michael Laudrup who was then the best Danish player, had not taken part in the competition while for this edition, Christian Eriksen will miss the rest of the tournament. The other point in common that is obvious is above all the collective aspect. United in the tragedy, Denmark releases a collective osmosis like that which had made it possible to win in 1992. And this, the coach Kasper Hjulmand did not fail to evoke after the large victory against Wales (4 -0). The team is now united around one man: Christian Eriksen.

“When Christian collapsed, everything changed for me. We found ourselves in a totally different situation. I am very grateful for all the support we received, because that is what we needed after this incident. We needed love and that gave us wings. We believe in our qualities, in the team, but we must not think about the final victory, we will already have a very difficult match next Saturday in the quarter-finals. I cannot promise that we will win the Euro. The only promise I can make is that we will fight to the end ” he let go full of emotion. Not conditioned to go to the end despite recent good results, Denmark nevertheless displays crazy confidence.

Best attack in the Euro with 9 goals in 4 matches and with the second shooting average (18.8 just behind Italy), Denmark gets a lot of chances. In addition, the Rød-Hvide obtained the most shots on target (7.3 on average) in this competition. Solid figures, a united group and beautiful individuals like Joakim Maehle, Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg, Andreas Christensen or even Simon Kjaer and the revelation Mikkel Damsgaard. “There are a lot of great players in all the teams, but ours also play in big European clubs. So why not? It’s going to be difficult, that’s for sure, but we have a lot of qualities. They can win against everyone ” John Sivebaek, titled in 1992, explained recently in an interview for The Parisian. In a waking dream, Denmark will once again try to foil the odds to afford a dream ending that will be far from those found in Andersen’s tales. Next meeting on Saturday against the Czech Republic.