Women's EURO team guide: Denmark

Group B fixtures

Friday 8 July
Germany vs Denmark (21:00 CET, Brentford)

Tuesday 12 July
Denmark vs Finland (18:00 CET, Milton Keynes)

Saturday 16 July
Denmark vs Spain (21:00 CET, Brentford)

How they qualified: Group B winners (P10 W9 D1 L0 F48 A1)
Women's EURO best: Runners-up (2017)
Women's EURO 2017: Runners-up

Key player: Pernille Harder

The only two-time UEFA Women's Player of the Year, in 2018 and 2020, Harder scored a hat-trick on her senior Denmark debut, aged 16, in 2009 and has not looked back, racking up superb performances for her country and club titles wherever she has played. The supreme all-round attacker became Denmark's top scorer last September when she reached 66 goals.

One to watch: Lene Christensen

Christensen had been a success for Denmark at youth level when, aged 20, the then KoldingQ goalkeeper was handed a senior debut in their December 2020 EURO qualifier with Italy and excelled in a 0-0 draw that ensured first place in the group. Since then she has established herself as her country's No1, and was snapped up by Rosenborg at the end of 2021.

Coach: Lars Søndergaard

Søndergaard has wide coaching experience in men's club football in both Denmark and Austria and was appointed at the end of 2017 to replace the trainer that led the team to that year's UEFA Women's EURO final, Nils Nielsen. Their EURO final nemeses Netherlands also pipped them to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup but Søndergaard's Denmark stormed through qualifying for these finals and have begun 2023 World Cup preliminaries in similar style.

Tactics

As a club coach Søndergaard played various systems and he has shown similar flexibility with Denmark. Most commonly he has played three at the back, either 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, Signe Bruun usually spearheading the attack with support from Harder, always the danger player, and Stine Larsen. However, particularly in big games, Søndergaard has also been willing to switch to 4-3-3; either way his Denmark teams have usually proved high scorers.

Pedigree

Denmark were one of the early adopters of women's football, winning unofficial European and world titles in the 1970s, and making the first EURO semis in 1984, the inaugural World Cup last eight in 1991 and also competing at the initial Olympic tournament of 1996. They have not appeared in the World Cup since 2007 but have consistently featured at EURO, making the semis for the fifth time in 2013 and reaching a first final four years later, when they were pipped in an exciting decider by hosts Netherlands.