Okore and Pedersen complete Denmark squad
Thursday, May 24, 2012
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Denmark coach Morten Olsen has named defender Jores Okore and forward Nicklas Pedersen as the final members of his 23-man squad for next month's UEFA EURO 2012.
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Denmark coach Morten Olsen has named FC Nordsjælland defender Jores Okore and FC Groningen forward Nicklas Pedersen as the final two members of his 23-man squad for UEFA EURO 2012.
Okore, 19, impressed during a successful season for Danish champions Nordsjælland and has two international caps to his name having featured in friendlies against Sweden and Finland in November. Pedersen made three appearances in qualifying as Denmark topped Group H but the 24-year-old is yet to register an international goal.
"After a very good year, Jores has been nominated as one of four central defenders in the squad," said coach Olsen. "Regarding Nicklas, we have never doubted his qualities, but we have been in doubt about his physical condition. During the training sessions in Helsingør he has not only confirmed his technical skills and his goalscoring abilities, but we also tested him to the extreme physically and he has passed."
Denmark face Brazil and Australia in pre-tournament friendlies on Saturday and 2 June respectively. Olsen's charges take on the Netherlands in their opening UEFA EURO 2012 Group B fixture on 9 June before games against Portugal and Germany.
Denmark squad
Goalkeepers: Thomas Sørensen (Stoke City FC), Stephan Andersen (Évian Thonon Gaillard FC), Anders Lindegaard (Manchester United FC).
Defenders: Lars Jacobsen (FC København), Daniel Wass (Évian Thonon Gaillard FC), Daniel Agger (Liverpool FC), Simon Kjær (AS Roma), Andreas Bjelland (FC Nordsjælland), Simon Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar), Jores Okore (FC Nordsjælland).
Midifelders: Christian Poulsen (Évian Thonon Gaillard FC), Jakob Poulsen (FC Midtjylland), William Kvist (VfB Stuttgart), Niki Zimling (Club Brugge KV), Thomas Kahlenberg (Évian Thonon Gaillard FC), Christian Eriksen (AFC Ajax), Michael Silberbauer (BSC Young Boys), Lasse Schøne (NEC Nijmegen).
Forwards: Dennis Rommedahl (Brøndby IF), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal FC), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Brøndby IF), Tobias Mikkelsen (FC Nordsjælland), Nicklas Pedersen (FC Groningen).
