Danish fans believe their roller-coaster ride in Euro 2020 is destined to end in triumph – just like the Scandinavian’s unlikely victory in the 1992 tournament.
And if the Danes knock out England at Wembley Stadium tonight, and defeat Italy in the final on Sunday, they believe the events will be so momentous they are worthy of a national holiday.
The Danish authorities are certainly entering into the spirit of their nation’s unlikely bid for glory.
Denmark have enjoyed an incredible run at Euro 2020, including victory over the Czechs
They have bought 5,000 Danish flags from a UK supplier and have flown in 1,000 Denmark shirts to ensure their fans are kitted out and ‘well dressed’ tonight, after selling 7,900 tickets.
On top of that, Denmark’s Football Association has included 40 of the most loyal supporters in their bio-secure bubble, so they can fly them in for the game and home again afterwards.
‘People are thinking of the Euros in 1992 and we have a real chance again – it is just two games,’ Christian Rothmann, chairman of the Danish Football Fans’ Group, told Sportsmail.
‘The way Denmark has been playing has been good. We can match any team, any day of the week. And if we win it will be marked as a national holiday. It will be marked in history. It is a huge thing.’
Denmark’s brilliant fans will make the atmosphere at Wembley ‘electric’ with 7,900 attending
It would have been easy for Denmark’s tournament to be defined by the appalling scene of Christian Eriksen collapsing to the turf at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, against Finland, in their first game of the European Championships.
Christian Eriksen is now recovering at home, having initially been taken to hospital after the incident
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and his illness shook the team and the country in equal measure. However, remarkably – and with Eriksen’s steadfast support during his recovery – both have rallied and now they believe anything is possible.
‘We had the first game and people, thought, ‘Oh Shit!,’ said Rithmann, who will be watching on a big screen by the harbour in his home town of Aalborg. ‘But we have shown we can persevere and get through this. The team is gathering the whole country behind it.
‘Even though we are missing our best player the team is still performing. We are honouring him by playing on.’
No one has exemplified the Danish spirit more than their captain, Simon Kjaer, who was hailed a hero for managing events on the pitch in the awful aftermath of Eriksen’s collapse and then speaking so eloquently after the game.
‘Kjaer brought the entire nation together,’ reflected Rothmann. ‘In the match and afterwards. That is a wonderful man and the perfect captain.’
After the shocking collapse of Eriksen, Denmark and their supporters have lit up the tournament with their togetherness and determination to honour their countryman
Eriksen, his family and the medics who cared for him are special guests at the match tonight, which has thrilled the Danish fans.
The midfielder was admitted to hospital after collapsing on the pitch against Finland but was discharged just six days later having been fitted with a heart-starting device.
Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand agrees with the fans that Eriksen is helping to drive the team, even though he is not playing.
Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s first game of the tournament
Denmark fans believe their country can repeat the heroics of 1992 when they won the Euros
“We are carrying Eriksen all the way. He is with us, he is with me and everyday I think about him. He is the heart of this team and we carry him with us all the way.
“I don’t really believe in fairytales, but I do believe in the character of this team, the love and compassion of the whole Danish population has given this team wings.
Denmark’s Brian Laudrup and Holland’s Ruud Gullit as the Danes dumped the Dutch out of Euro 92
There are echoes of Denmark’s 1992 triumph in their progress this time around. Almost two decades ago the Dane’s also succeeded in adversity, although it was not on the scale of what they have experienced this year.
Denmark did not qualify for the ’92 tournament in Sweden. They only competed after Yugoslavia was disqualified as a result of the breakup of the country and the war that followed.
The team, which included Peter Schmeichel, Brian Laudrup and Henrik Larsen finished second in Group 1, knocking out England, who finished bottom after 0-0 draws with Denmark and France and defeat to the Swedes.
The Danes drew 2-2 with Holland after extra time, winning 5-4 on penalties and then stunned Germany in the final 2-0. It was the first time the Germans had competed in a major tournament as a unified nation.
This time around, the Danes pinpoint half-time in their second game against Belgium when the grief of Eriksen’s collapse lifted, as news of his recovery spread, and the nation united.
Denmark succumbed to Finland 1-0 when the teams controversially retook the field once Eriksen had been taken to hospital and they went on to lose to tournament favourites, Belgium, 2-1.
Peter Schmeichel won Euro 92 with Denmark and fans think it can happen again
But there were signs in the Belgium game of what was to come and the Danes thumped Russia 4-1 in their final group game.
“This heaviness on our shoulders lasted until half-time of the Belgium game,” Jes Hogsberg Lind has been a season-ticket holder at FC Copenhagen, told the BBC.
“The players played a tremendous first half and then the bad feeling disappeared and we could talk about football again. We knew Eriksen was OK, breathing and recovering in hospital.
“The atmosphere in the Belgium and Russia games was magical and you could see that everyone was there to support the team. The fans exploded when Mikkel Damsgaard scored the opening goal and we managed to progress.
“The tournament has brought everyone closer together – the players, the coach and the fans are on this journey together.”
The Danish team was given a rousing send-off as they headed to London for the match
And so, Denmark take on England in the semi-finals tonight in front of 60,000 fans. While around 50,000 of them will be supporting England, the passionate Danes will give a good account of themselves in the stands.
‘It’s going to be electric,’ said Matt Willis, the Fans’ Embassies project manager at Euro 2020, who will be helping to put flags out on the Danes’ seats and distribute the free shorts. ‘I am really looking forward to it. It will be the first game at Wembley that feels like there is proper away support.’
Willis, who is part of the Football Supporters’ Europe organisation, an umbrella body for fan groups across the continent, is hugely impressed with the Danish approach to the game. The country sold out its initial allocation of tickets and had to request some more as its ex-pats resident in the UK snapped them up.
However, Danish merchandise is not widely available in this country, so the authorities have stepped in to make sure they put on a good show.