Euro 2020: Denmark Is Used To Defying The Odds. Just As The Team That Won Euro 1992

Euro 2020

Denmark has always performed their best when they have the world behind them. During the 1992 Euros, the Danish squad pulled off the beach to step in as a last-minute replacement for Yugoslavia, defying all odds to win. Almost three decades later, Denmark has successfully recovered from the traumatic events surrounding the cardiac attack of talisman of Christian Eriksen, reaching the last four games at the Euro 2020. 

In 1992, the team’s late call-up secured their place as the competition’s favorite underdogs, but they went ahead to defy all odds. This year, Denmark managed to reach the semifinals, facing England on Wednesday, in Wembley Stadium in front of a partisan crowd. Unfortunately, the Danish squad lost the match 2-1 to Betway’s favorite for the match (England), but they had an incredible display after the collapse of Eriksen on the field in their first game against Finland about three weeks ago. That means England will meet Italy in the finals with odds available on the Betway app ahead of the game on 11th July. 

Denmark is a small country with less than 6 million people, but they’ve proven that anything is possible in the European Championships. According to a former Danish player Johnny Molby – who was part of their 1992 squad, Denmark came in late 29 years ago and got a lot of sympathy from fans. That was the same case this year, following the collapse of one of their comrades in their opening match. 

During the 1992 competition, Yugoslavia was already in Sweden, when a civil war in their home country together with UN sanctions forced them out. That opened up a spot for Denmark, who had finished behind Yugoslavia in the qualifying round and they were hastily invited to the eight-team tournament to make up the numbers. As a result, their plans to enjoy the games on TV quickly changed. 

Denmark’s football association was officially notified of the news on 20th May 1992, a day before the final squads were submitted to UEFA. That meant manager Richard Moller Nielsen only had a few days to name his squad and on 11th June, they matched up against Malmo. The game against England ended in a goalless draw followed by a 1-0 loss against Sweden. However, a 2-1 victory over France in their last group game secured them a spot in the semifinals. 

At the 2020 European championship, the crucial victory was over Russia following defeats by Finland – understandably because of witnessing a fellow player suffer a cardiac arrest during the match. The Danish squad followed it with a 4-0 win over Wales during the round of 16 and beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, Denmark couldn’t outwit England to book a spot in the finals against Italy. 

Denmark has proven to be a dangerous team when they’re the underdogs and they’ve proven that once more after reaching the semi-finals this year. That’s because their confidence keeps growing after they start getting good results, making it very difficult for any team to play against them. 

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