UEFA Euro 2020: Denmark present coronary heart, spirit in a match full of hurdles

Even with the bitter style of an extra-time defeat lurking past the ultimate whistle on the Wembley Stadium on Wednesday, hundreds of Denmark followers had been seen crying and hugging one another with a proud smile on their faces… and justifiedly so. With nobody anticipating their UEFA Euro 2020 marketing campaign to increase to the knockout phases after their opening 45 minutes within the match, Kasper Hjulmand‘s staff scripted an unforgettable footballing journey within the house of little greater than three weeks.
Powered by a resolve to raise the trophy for Christian Eriksen — who collapsed on the sector through the staff’s opener towards Finland on June 12 and needed to be revived with a defibrillator throughout a tense halt in Copenhagen — Denmark reached the semi-finals of the European Championships after an extended, arduous wait of 29 years.
Although the Red and Whites lastly ran out of steam within the ongoing match throughout their 2-1 defeat to England, their ascension from the depths of tragedy touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands. After failing to qualify within the earlier version 5 years again, Denmark entered the match as “dark horses”, boasting an amicable and impressive head coach and a multi-faceted squad of lionhearts.
But issues didn’t fall into place for them from the get-go itself.
After being rocked by the sight of Eriksen struggling a cardiac arrest early on, the Danes fell to 2 consecutive defeats of their Group B encounters — a 1-0 loss to Finland adopted by a 2-1 defeat to eventual group-toppers Belgium on June 17.
With the exit door looming giant, Denmark didn’t let their heads drop earlier than the ultimate matchday. Putting the shock of that life-and-death scenario behind them, Hjulmand’s aspect refused to throw within the towel towards Russia and have become the first-ever staff to qualify for the knockouts after dropping their first two matches on the European Championship. The residence supporters in Copenhagen discovered new heroes to sing and chant about in left midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard and wingback Joakim Maehle on the evening of June 22 as Denmark romped on to a spectacular 4-1 win.
A view of a fan-made banner devoted to Christian Eriksen through the UEFA Euro 2020. (Reuters)
After turning despair into exhilaration, Denmark continued with their momentum into the knockout phases as they walloped Wales 4-0 within the last-16 because the headlines lastly turned to their soccer, relatively than Eriksen’s destiny. OGC Nice striker Kasper Dolberg got here into the highlight with two objectives on both aspect of the break throughout his go to to his former home-ground in Amsterdam. The 23-year-old once more got here clutch with a cool end within the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Czech Republic, changing into the nation’s joint top-scorer within the historical past of the competitors.
The emotionally charged red-and-white prepare even acquired off to a promising begin throughout their final 4 contest towards England by way of one other applause-worthy Damsgaard objective, however the cracks had been starting to indicate. After an unfortunate personal objective by Simon Kjaer restored parity earlier than half-time, Denmark suffered a drop within the adrenaline ranges through the latter phases with the entrance three wanting toothless. After a controversial extra-time penalty by Harry Kane, it was throughout.
“We’re disappointed, we’re very disappointed,” Hjulmand stated after his staff’s exit from the UEFA Euro 2020. “But then there’s another part of me and I can’t describe with words how much I admire the technical staff behind these players.”
“They have been through so much. We have two people from the staff who saved one of our best player’s life. We have been fighting like crazy. We play good football and I’m grateful for Denmark, the entire nation. We needed the support, we needed the empathy when that happened with Christian,” the 49-year-old coach added.
When all of the mud of disappointment has settled down, Hjulmand has his thoughts fixated on one factor — the intense and promising way forward for De rød-hvide.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get to the final, but one thing’s for sure, we’re going to attack again and our future is full of hope and belief,” he stated. “These guys are outstanding and the whole nation can be proud and keep giving them the love and respect they deserve. They are an amazing squad that has done an amazing job.”