Denmark have tended to punch above their weight at previous European Championships finals and they will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing World Cup as they once again look to live up to their seemingly perennial tag of dangerous dark horses.
The Danes exited the World Cup at the group stage, however they won the Euros in 1992 having famously made the most of a backdoor entrance to the competition and are twice semi-finalists, including at Euro 2020.
On that occasion it was England who broke Danish hearts at Wembley and they will be looking for revenge when the nations meet in the second round of Group C fixtures at Euro 2024.
Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht), Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin), Mads Hermansen (Leicester City).
Defenders: Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace), Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester City), Victor Nelsson (Galatasaray), Alexander Bah (Benfica), Joakim Maehle (Wolfsburg), Rasmus Kristensen (Roma), Victor Kristiansen (Bologna).
Midfielders: Christian Eriksen (Manchester United), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Morten Hjulmand (Sporting Lisbon), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford).
Forwards: Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge), Anders Dreyer (Anderlecht), Kasper Dolberg (Anderlecht), Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United), Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig).
Kasper Hjulmand has been in charge of Denmark since 2020 and huge faith was put in him despite their shock early exit at the World Cup with a contract extension to 2026.
Danish federation director of football Peter Moller explained the reasoning by saying: "We're not panicking because of nine days," and that looks like a fair understanding of the problems in Qatar as Hjulmand's expansive approach had previously led to positive results.
The former Mainz manager led Danish outfit Lyngby to promotion to the Superliga in 2007 and won the domestic title with Nordsjaelland in 2012. He was also linked to Ajax before signing his new deal with Denmark.
Vastly experienced centre-back Simon Kjaer is entering the twilight of his career but his leadership qualities are as important as his footballing abilities.
Kjaer, 35, has suffered injuries this season and has not played as often as he would have liked for AC Milan, where he won his only major honour as a professional when helping the Rossoneri to the 2022 Serie A title.
Eriksen has been pulling the Danish strings for well over a decade and was the youngest player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He isn't as mobile as he once was, but the 32-year-old playmaker still possesses an eye for defence-splitting passes and the link-up between Eriksen and his Manchester United team-mate Rasmus Hojlund will be key for Denmark.
Hojlund got his big move to Man Utd in the summer of 2023 and has shown in patches that he has a bright future. The 21-year-old scored seven times in qualifying and the mobile striker will be Denmark's main hope of goals at Euro 2024.
The fear for Denmark is that some of their experienced players might be past their best and the younger generation could need another couple of years to show their best, so the influence of 28-year-old midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is essential.
Hojbjerg tends to be used higher up the pitch for Denmark than for club side Tottenham and his late goal to beat Finland 1-0 in September was massive in their quest for qualification.
Year | Performance |
1960 | Fourth place |
1964-1980 | Did not qualify |
1984 | Semi-finals |
1988 | Group stage |
1992 | Winners |
1996 | Group stage |
2000 | Group stage |
2004 | Quarter-finals |
2008 | Did not qualify |
2012 | Group stage |
2016 | Did not qualify |
2020 | Semi-finals |
The draw has been relatively kind and Denmark will expect to qualify for the knockout phase but it's hard to escape the feeling they missed a big chance at Euro 2020 before going out to England.
The 2022 World Cup was a struggle, as they scored only one goal and gained one point from matches against Australia, France and Tunisia. Euros qualifying was not comfortable either despite a soft group on paper, which included a narrow 2-1 win over minnows San Marino.
Denmark's Euros record deserves respect, but the last 16 might be their limit and anything better would have to go down as a success.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.