Olsen plays down Denmark's high expectations

Denmark coach Morten Olsen has stuck with the 20 players that have served him so far in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying as he named his squad to face Portugal and Cyprus.

The Danes kicked off Group H with a 1-0 win over Iceland on 7 September and now travel to Portugal on 8 October before hosting Cyprus four days later. Goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen, a late dropout against Iceland because of a recurring elbow injury, returns along with Anders Lindegaard, the understudy who kept a clean sheet in his absence. A third keeper will be among three additional players named at the end of the week.

Olsen's concerns in announcing the squad, however, were focused on his attack. "We have to look realistically at the options we have in Danish football," he said. "You can talk about our three central strikers or other players, but we do not have a Preben Elkjær or a Michael Laudrup any more. I like the fact people have expectations for our team but these have to be realistic – if not, they hamper the team."

Denmark squad
Goalkeepers: Thomas Sørensen (Stoke City FC), Anders Lindegaard (Aalesunds FK)

Defenders: Daniel Agger (Liverpool FC), Lars Jacobsen (West Ham United FC), Leon Jessen (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Per Krøldrup (AFC Fiorentina), Simon Kjær (VfL Wolfsburg), William Kvist (FC København), Johnny Thomsen (SønderjyskE)

Midfielders: Christian Poulsen (Liverpool FC), Christian Eriksen (AFC Ajax), Martin Vingaard (FC København), Michael Silberbauer (FC Utrecht), Thomas Kahlenberg (VfL Wolfsburg)

Forwards: Dennis Rommedahl (Olympiacos FC), Lasse Schøne (NEC Nijmegen), Mads Junker (Roda JC), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Brøndby IF), Morten Skoubo (Roda JC), Nicklas Pedersen (FC Groningen)