Doha, November 09 (QNA) – After a comfortable qualification, the Danish national team is among the favorites to go far in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The one issue will be their lack of experience.
Given the results they achieved over the past two years, which saw them win nine matches and lose once. Denmark could be the dark horse of the tournament. It is not a stretch to see this team replicate the achievement of 1998 when Denmark reached the quarterfinals.
Denmark also excelled in the last 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, where it reached the semi-finals, after beating Wales, the Czech Republic, before losing to England in the semi-finals.
The Danish team is relying on a number of key players like goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who plays for Nice, Sevillas Kasper Dolberg. Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen, AC Milan captain Simon Kjaer, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Sevillas Thomas Delaney.
During their sixth participation in the World Cup, the Danish national team will compete in Group D against France, Tunisia, and Australia. Denmark will start its first group stage match against Tunisia on Nov. 22, then will face France on Nov. 26, and its last first round clash will be against Australia on Nov. 30.
The team will stay at Retaj Salwa Resort and Spa in Doha. They will train at Al Sailiya Sports Club.
Denmark first qualified for the World Cup back in 1986 in Mexico. They lost in the round of last-16 to Spain (1-5). Denmark returned to World Cup 12 years later in 1998 in France. They managed to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Brazil in a thriller.
Denmark qualified for the second time in a row four years later. They reached the second round, where they lost to England 0-3. Denmark then qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, which witnessed their worst results, as they were eliminated from the group stage after finishing the third in Group E after the Netherlands and Japan.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia witnessed Denmark qualify for the fifth time, and it was a difficult qualification by facing the European play-off when Denmark drew with Ireland without goals at home ground in the first leg and then won the second leg 5-1 in the Irish capital Dublin.
During all their World Cup participations, Denmark played in 20 matches. They won 9 times, drew five, and lost six. The team scored 30 goals and conceded 26.
At the European level, Denmark participated in the finals of the nations championship on nine occasions, the first of which was in Spain in 1964 knowing. They won the title once during their fourth participation in Sweden in 1992. Denmark played 33 matches across all Euro competitions. They won 10 times, drew six, and lost 17. They scored 42 goals and conceded 50.
Some of Danish footballs most prominent stars include goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, the most-capped player with 129 international matches. Both Jon Dahl Tomasson and Poul Nielsen are the leading goal scorers for Denmark with 52 goals. Martin Jorgensen participated in three different editions of the World Cup in 1998, 2002, 2010. Michael Laudrup is recognized as the best player in Danish football history.
He played 104 international matches, scoring 37 goals. He guided the team to the 1995 FIFA King Fahd Cup (Confederations Cup).
(QNA)