Denmark are relishing their status as Euro 2020 dark horses ahead of their opening Group B clash with Finland on Saturday, the first of three home games at the Parken Stadium for the Danes.
A string of good performances has many commentators tipping the Danes as possible winners of the tournament, which they won in stunning fashion in 1992 after being called up as late replacements for the former Yugoslavia.
“It’s probably because we’ve got good results, played football that’s worth watching and won some matches that we take with us,” playmaker Christian Eriksen told a media conference.
“We have a lot of confidence, but to go and win, that’s what we have to do if we want to go far. I think there’s a lot of bumps we need to get over first,” he added.
The first of those hurdles will be Finland, who are looking to make a splash after qualifying for the finals of a major tournament for the first time.
“It’s incredibly important that we come out and get a good start,” central defender Simon Kjaer said.
Denmark face Belgium, the top-ranked side in the world, in their second Group B match, likely adding to the pressure for a result against Finland, who next take on Russia.
Coach Kasper Hjulmand, who has taken over the reins after Age Hareide orchestrated the successful Euro qualifying campaign, bristled with confidence as he said the tournament was the biggest thing ever to happen on Danish soil.
“We are in a good place, we have a good balance in the squad. We are well-prepared, we are full of energy, we are excited, we are confident and respectful of our opponent. We are where we need to be,” he told reporters.
Defender Kjaer shared his coach’s confidence, but sounded a note of caution with tough games against Belgium and Russia to follow.
“We have a huge amount of belief in ourselves, but we take one game at a time and one day at a time,” he said.
Striker Teemo Pukki raised the fever of Finnish fans a notch by declaring has himself fit to lead the line against Denmark in their opening Euro 2020 Group B clash.
Pukki, who scored 10 of Finland’s 16 goals as they came runner-up to Italy in their group to qualify for the finals of a major tournament for the first time, told reporters he has fully recovered from an ankle injury he sustained in May.
“I’ve been training normally for the past week and a half, as all the other player have, and I played 30 minutes in the last preparation game, I haven’t had any issues with the ankle and I’m ready to play as much as the coach will allow me to,” the Norwich City player said.
Finland’s blue-and-white clad fans had already begun arriving in Copenhagen on Friday, enjoying the sunshine around the stadium as their team made their final preparations.
“There is a clear football fever in Finland at the moment, it’s great to see that there’s been a lot of videos, support messages, songs sent to us,” Pukki added.
Both Pukki and team captain Tim Sparv know the Danes well, having spent four and six years respectively playing in the Danish top flight, and they have plenty of respect for their opponents.
“In my mind, the Danish team don’t have any big weaknesses. We’ve been talking about their offensive game, they have some big names that can be very dangerous if we give them the time and space to do what they want,” Sparv said.
Coach Markku Kanerva said he had no worries about Pukki or Sparv, who had been troubled by a knee injury in the lead-up to the tournament.
“There are no new injuries, and we will go through our final training to see if all our players are 100 percent in shape. It all looks good, the players that had some small issues are doing well,” he said.
