Denmark players and staff receive standing ovation in Copenhagen as a sign of gratitude from their fans for their incredible journey.
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Denmark’s football team reached back home after their heroics in Euro 2020. The euphoric reaction of the fans was a sight to behold. They were greeted by a standing ovation and tremendous clapping on arrival at Copenhagen. The fans understood the remarkable journey their team had gone through over the course of the tournament. The Danes, who saw their talisman Christian Eriksen collapse on the field, reached the semi-final where they lost 2-1 to England at Wembley stadium.
Denmark started their campaign with two losses against Finland and Belgium. But, they thrashed Russia 4-1 to book a place in the knockout stage as runner-up from Group B behind Belgium. Meanwhile, from then on there was no looking back. Denmark routed Wales 4-0 in the round of 16. They then overcame the Czech Republic 2-1 to seal their spot in the last-4 for the first time since 1992.
Many of the players had tears in their eyes as they responded to the fans and embraced each other.
“It’s nice to see you, nice it’s not online. This is our way of saying thank you,” coach Kasper Hjulmand said, trying to hold back tears. “It’s been strong, what we have been through, and now I’m starting to wail again.”
In the semi-final match, Denmark took the lead in the 30th minute courtesy of a superb free-kick goal by Mikkel Damsgaard. It was the first goal England had conceded in the tournament. However, England leveled the score through an own goal by captain Simon Kjaer to take the game to extra time.
Meanwhile Harry Kane converted a controversial penalty in the 104th minute to take England through. Although Kasper Schmeichel saved the penalty initially, the English captain scored of the rebound. Despite losing, the Danes can be proud of their incredible journey and go out with their heads held high.
“We continue with two things – one, we want to win. We are annoyed and disappointed. Number two, we want to inspire and unite Denmark. We will continue to do so. We thank you for the support, and without that support we would not have got back up on the horse, and we end by giving the people a round of applause,” Hjulmand said.
Captain Simon Kjaer added, “There is pride around it all, because it’s been a huge journey. We have been through the whole emotional register and I have never experienced anything like this.”
Kjaer also explained how he had spoken with Eriksen after Denmark’s loss to England. The captain said, “He [Eriksen] was disappointed with the result, but he’s enjoying the time with his family.”
