FIFA Ranking: 10
Odds: 33-1
Previous tournaments:
Denmark made their World Cup debut in Mexico in 1986 but did not appear again until 1998 in France, where they had their best performance by reaching the quarter-finals. Since then they have twice made the last 16 (2002, 2018), going out at the group stage in 2010 and missing the 2006 and 2014 tournaments.
How they qualified:
Nine straight wins saw them cruise to victory in Group F, where they finished on 27 points, four ahead of second-placed Scotland. They scored 30 goals and conceded three.
Form guide:
After reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals, losing to England, Denmark blasted through World Cup qualifying, winning nine straight games to book a spot in Qatar before beating France twice in the Nations League where they lost twice, to Croatia.
Denmark can point to history and dream of World Cup glory
Many teams head for the World Cup more in hope than expectation but Denmark can point to previous occasions when they have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and say that they are genuinely in with a shout of winning the trophy.
This, after all, is the nation that was only admitted to Euro 92 in Sweden at the last minute following the exclusion of the former Yugoslavia. They went on to win it.
In more recent times, it is the team that bounced back from the traumatic loss of talisman Christian Eriksen to a heart attack in their Euro 2020 opener against Finland, only to miraculously get out of their group and make it all the way to the semi-finals where they narrowly lost to England.
Since taking the reins in 2020, Kasper Hjulmand has the Danish national team playing a breathtaking style of attacking football that blends individual brilliance with a rock-solid organisation that will be hard to beat in Qatar.
The hallmark of his team is the kind of intelligence and tactical flexibility that is invaluable in the cauldron of tournament football, coupled with a desire for continuous improvement.
Denmark could hardly have been more dominant in qualifying, blazing their way to nine straight wins to qualify directly for the finals before a 2-0 defeat to Group F runners-up Scotland.
The teak-tough quartet of centre backs Simon Kjaer and Andreas Christensen and midfielders Thomas Delaney and Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg protects a world class keeper in Kasper Schmeichel, whose father kept goal for the victorious 1992 side.
Around them are the attacking talent of the recovered and rejuvenated Eriksen, marauding wing-back Joakim Maehle, tricky wingers Andreas Skov Olsen and Mikkel Damsgaard, and dependable strikers such as Martin Braithwaite and Kasper Dolberg.
The Danes will contest Group D against Tunisia, France and Australia and, having already beaten world champions France twice in their recent Nations League campaign, they will enter the tournament with their dream of winning it very much alive.
Team announced :
Kasper Schmeichel , Oliver Christensen , Frederik Ronnow , Simon Kjaer , Joachim Andersen , Joakim Maehle , Andreas Christensen , Rasmus Kristensen , Jens Stryger Larsen , Victor Nelsson , Daniel Wass , Alexander Bah , Thomas Delaney , Mathias Jensen , Christian Eriksen , Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg , Christian Norgaard , Robert Skov , Andreas Skov Olsen , Jesper Lindstrom , Andreas Cornelius , Martin Braithwaite , Kasper Dolberg , Mikkel Damsgaard , Jonas Wind and Yussuf Poulsen.
