Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

SPORT

‘We’re coming home’: How Denmark views the Euro 2020 semi-final clash with England

Denmark face England in the Euro 2020 semi-final clash on Wednesday night and the Danes are not cowed judging by the pre-match banter. It's not football that's coming home, they say.

Published: 7 July 2021 11:47 CEST
'We're coming home': How Denmark views the Euro 2020 semi-final clash with England
Denmark supporters celebrate after their team won the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-final football match between the Czech Republic and Denmark at the Olympic Stadium in Baku on July 3, 2021. (Photo by Darko Vojinovic / POOL / AFP)

Prior to England facing Denmark in the Euro2020 semi-finals, Danish European Championship player and Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen said the Danish team had received a lot of support from England following Christian Eriksen’s collapse. 

That is, until Denmark got through to play England in the semi-finals.

“We had an incredible number of supporters in England and we have been their favorite team so far,” Andreas Christensen said. “That has changed. Now we have become their enemies.” 

European Championship players receive text messages from England: Now you are our enemies, reports Jyllands-Posten

But Christiansen himself said he thinks Denmark’s chances are good, despite England being the favorites: “As a team, I would not say they are that much better.”

‘Not that much better’ – Denmark’s Andreas Christensen on England, reports the Guardian

Denmark’s head coach Kasper Hjulmand said Denmark is full of belief after its 1-0 victory over England in October in the Nations League. “They have a lot of support but also a lot of pressure on them.”

He referred to the fact that England hasn’t been in a major final since the World Cup in 1966. 

That’s when Denmark – home of the jante law, an informal, egalitarian set of cultural commandments which can best be summarised as ‘You think you’re better than me?’ – stepped in to knock England down a notch.

When an English journalist asked Danish national team goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who plays for Premier League club Leicester, what it would mean for him if he crushed England’s dream to bring the trophy home, Schmeichel replied with a bit of snark.

 “Has it ever been home? Have you ever won it?”

When the journalist said the trophy had been home in 1966, Schmeichel reminded him that it was the World Cup, not the European Championships. Eliciting smiles and laughter from his teammates, the comment went viral on social media Tuesday night, prompting responses from fans.

Once the laughter died down, Schmeichel said he wasn’t thinking much about England. 

“I think about what it will mean for our country at home,” Schmeichel said. “The joy it will bring in a country with only 5.5 million inhabitants to be able to do something like that.”

Schmeichel gives English journalists a cheeky reply, reports Jyllands-Posten.

However, England does have the home advantage, with the match held at Wembley in London. Although 8,000 tickets have been set aside for Danish fans, the remaining 54,000 seats are likely to be filled mostly by fans of England.

Denmark’s national lottery, Danske Spil, puts the odds of Denmark winning in the July 7th match at 18 percent, mostly because of the difficulty of playing them on their turf. 

The odds might not favor Denmark, but the Danes still believe in victory, reports Ritzau.

“England is a clear favorite against Denmark,” said Mathias Reimer Larsen, who is the odds setter in Danske Spil. “Additionally, the home court advantage adds another dimension.”

But Danes are betting against the odds. Eighty-two percent of bets have been placed on a Danish victory in the semi-final.

Berlingske’s correspondent in Britain, Poul Høi, writes why he thinks part of the reason Danes are so motivated to win Wednesday’s match has to do with what he calls the “Daily Mail syndrome” from which many English supporters suffer.

The reason Denmark must win Wednesday night has nothing to do with Denmark, reports Berlingske.

What is the Daily Mail syndrome? According to Høi, it’s the way English supporters don’t just feel the need for England to win, but for others to lose. “A victory for England will be intolerable,” he writes. 

And so, barbs are flying from both sides of the North Sea.

English newspaper mocks Denmark ahead of semi-final match, reports Tips Bladet.

British tabloid The Sun placed in Danish tabloid BT showing a picture of white bread with a cross made out of bacon, resembling an English flag (bacon is Denmark’s largest export to the country).

The ad reads “We eat you for breakfast.” 

The ad in BT inserted by the The Sun. Photo: BT

BT’s ad, which ran in The Sun, shows a group of Danish vikings and reads “It’s not coming home… We’re coming home!”

The ad in The Sun inserted by BT. Photo: BT

It’s a theme we’ve also seen in Politiken’s daily cartoons: 

Politiken’s daily cartoon ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final match

We’ll have to wait and see what tomorrow’s cartoon will bring.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

SHOW COMMENTS