World Cup 2022 Group D: Denmark have the form and talent to be dark horses

The surprise European champions of 1992 have long since lived off of that reputation but in the present day, things are slightly different. Denmark are now viewed as a rising force in European football which leads to the question - is this the tournament that sees them make an even bigger breakthrough?

Europe is a continent stacked full of talent and as such, the Danes are seen as having an advantage over Australia and Tunisia, the teams most likely to compete with them for second place in Group D. Given the depth they now have in their squad, it’s hard to argue against that.

At Euro 2020 last summer, Denmark had to overcome Christian Eriksen's terrifying cardiac arrest. Over the course of the next few weeks, and motivated by the traumatic ordeal, they shocked the world by making a run to the semi-finals.

Three years prior in Russia, Denmark carefully went about their business by going unbeaten in a group that will look quite familiar heading into November. They beat Peru, managed to hold off Australia for a draw and even held eventual champions France to a stalemate before a penalty shootout loss to runners-up Croatia in the first knockout stage.

The Nations League in June saw Denmark again lost to Croatia, 1-0, but when put alongside the two wins over Austria and a 2-1 victory against France, there’s definitely an argument to be made that they are coming into this tournament with some momentum.

The defensive strength of Denmark has spoken for itself for years and if they can finally find a creative outlet for their forward stars, this could be a big coming out party.

Denmark's Road to Qatar

HOW DENMARK QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP 2022: (Group F): March 25, 2021. Israel 0 Denmark 2 (Braithwaite 13', Wind 67'): The Danes cruised to a comfortable win in their opening match thanks to goals from Martin Braithwaite and Jonas Wind. "We got what we came for - three points, and that's the most important," said Wind. "We scored two goals and stood up well defensively." Reuters
March 28, 2021. Denmark 8 (Dolberg pen 19', 48', Damsgaard 22', 29', Stryger Larsen 35', Jensen 39', Skov 81', Ingvartsen 89'). Moldova 0: Denmark turn on the style, scoring four in each half to smash hapless Moldova despite making 10 changes from the side that defeated Israel. "It's hard not to be satisfied after a game like this," said manager Kasper Hjulmand. "I'm a little strange, so I will probably find something" to complain about. Reuters
March 31, 2021. Austria 0 Denmark 4 (Skov Olsen 58', 74', Maehle 63', Hojbjerg 67'): Four second-half goals in 16 minutes - with substitute Andreas Skov Olsen scoring twice - saw Denmark demolish Austria in Vienna. "We played a brilliant second half. We created chances. Scored beautiful goals," said Hjulmand. " We have played three matches, and the biggest save Kasper [Schmeichel] has had was against Moldova. He didn't have a single one here or in Israel." Reuters
September 1, 2021. Denmark 2 (Wass 14', Maehle 15') Scotland 0. September 4, 2021. Faroe Islands 0 Denmark 1 (Wind 85'). Denmark outclass Scotland in Copenhagen thanks to two goals in 93 seconds from Daniel Wass and Joakim Maehle, while Jonas Wind's late finish earned them three points three days later against the Faroes. PA
September 7, 2021. Denmark 5 (Poulsen 28', Kjaer 31', Skov Olsen 41', Delaney 58', Cornelius 90'+1) Israel 0: A man-of-the-match display from Mikkel Damsgaard helped Denmark make it six wins out of six and take them seven-points clear of second-placed Scotland. AFP
October 9, 2021. Moldova 0 Denmark 4 (Skov Olsen 23', Kjaer pen 34', Norgaard 39', Maehle 44'): Denmark made it a 12-0 aggregate score against the Moldovans over two group games after scoring four first-half goals in Chisinau. The win left the Danes top of Group F with seven wins from seven games and no goals conceded. Reuters
October 12, 2021. Denmark 1 (Maehle 53') Austria 0: Denmark became the second European nation to reach the finals in Qatar after Joakim Maehle's second-half goal made it eight wins from eight group games. "We built up a crew and a mentality that is incredibly healthy and we have been eager to improve all the time," said captain Simon Kjaer. "We have come a long way already but we have only become hungrier." AP
November 12, 2021. Denmark 3 (Skov Olsen 18', Bruun Larsen 63', Maehle 90'+3) Faroe Islands 1 (K Olsen 89'): With their place in Qatar already safely in the bag, Denmark maintained their 100 per cent record with a comfortable win in Copenhagen, although their eight-match run without conceding a goal was ended by Klaemint Olsen's late finish. EPA
November 15, 2021. Scotland 2 (Souttar 35', Adams 86') Denmark 0: Denmark drop points for the first time in their final group game as Scotland seal a play-off place thanks to a deserved win in Glasgow. Denmark defender Andreas Christensen said: “There wasn’t that much motivation, though that’s a bad excuse. But they had more to play for than we did, and you could see that." AFP