Home - Teams -

Famously champions in 1992, Morten Olsen's Denmark fought their way past Portugal to qualify automatically but now face a tough finals task in Group B, which includes the Portuguese again.

When Morten Olsen leads Denmark to Poland and Ukraine, they will be returning to a competition which has served them famously well down the years. Having failed to qualify in 2008, the 2012 showcase will be the 1992 champions' eighth UEFA European Championship final tournament since their 1964 debut in Spain, and they have also graced four FIFA World Cups, bowing out after the group stage in South Africa. Considering Denmark is a country of under six million where professionals were excluded from the national team until 1971, it is no mean feat; nor was topping a section including Portugal and Norway en route to UEFA EURO 2012.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Denmark started their qualifying campaign with a slender win over Iceland at home before being outclassed by Portugal in Oporto.

Morten Olsen's men recovered in spectacular fashion, however, and won four out of their next five games to set up a winner-take-all encounter against Portugal on the final matchday.
 
Cristiano Ronaldo & Co were ahead of the Danes on goal difference before the crunch clash in Copenhagen but the hosts took the initiative right from the opening whistle and secured a 2-1 victory that confirmed their place in the showpiece in Poland and Ukraine.

PAST RECORD IN THE EUROS  
1960    Did not qualify      1988    Group Stage
1964    Fourth place        1992     Winners
1968    Did not qualify      1996    Group Stage
1972    Did not qualify      2000    Group stage
1976    Did not qualify      2004    Quarter-finalists
1980    Did not qualify      2008    Did not qualify
1984    Semi-finalists       2012    Qualified as group winners

The Danes have a history of punching above their weight in the European Championship. The small Scandinavian country finished fourth in 1964 before going one better 20 years later when they fell to Spain in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals.

Denmark then pulled off one the greatest shocks in the history of the tournament in 1992 when they beat the Netherlands in the semis, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, before disposing of Germany to lift the trophy.

The Danes have failed to reach the same heights again but did make a splash in the 2004 edition of the tournament when they advanced to the quarter-finals.

Matches played
Overall: P129 W56 D29 L44 F203 A168
Final tournament: P25 W7 D6 L12 F27 A38
Qualifying: P104 W49 D23 L32 F176 A130

Players
    Photos