Hailing from the country of fairy-tale author Hans Christian Andersen, this group of players from Denmark are writing their own epic tale this summer.
The Danish team is not allowing their remarkable Euro 2020 journey to end anytime soon. Their 4-0 knockout win against Wales on Saturday saw another unlikely hero write another chapter in this growing and unbelievable story of Caspar Hjulmand's side.
It was in the 2016 edition of the tournament where Wales were the favorites of the neutral as they reached the semi-finals in France. But five years later, their story ends at round 16 and it is Dane who plays that lead.
Following the fall of Christian Eriksson in the opening match against Finland, Denmark's campaign has been a roller-coaster of trauma, emotion, resilience, leadership and class. This match against Wales was preceded by further drama and disruption, as news from the pre-match team revealed that two of their main protagonists were absent: Yussuf Poulsen out with a thigh injury, and Daniel Vaas battling an illness.
So manager Hujulmand looked within the team, relying on their collective strength. Kasper Dolberg and Jens Stryger Larsen stepped up, with Dolberg scoring two of his four goals and Strieger impressing on the right. Their performance was testament to this group's bond and trust in each other.
"Obviously I'm happy. It's something I've been waiting for, especially sitting on the bench," Dolberg said. "No one wants to be on the bench and I thought waiting there at the end of the day was a good result. I thought I had contributed something great. I thought it was special to me. Everything seems right today." "
Hjulmand was never there to lead Denmark in these Euros. It was Ej Hareid's responsibility with Hujulmand to replace him at the end of the tournament. But then the year was delayed and Hujulmand took the hot seat for this incredibly difficult tournament.
But he remained calm. His calm and effective leadership has empathy and understanding which is basically what goes on. He has managed to keep the Danish ship on track and afloat despite everything thrown at them. And he has used the breadth and breadth of his squad. We have seen different heroes move through different stages in these Euros and understand the narrative. It has been a true team effort.
Two weeks ago on Saturday, Denmark was traumatized after watching teammate, friend and best player Ericsson suffer a cardiac arrest at his home ground at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. They somehow managed that evening in the match against Finland, with Kasper Schmeichel and Simon Kajar shining the lead. Thomas Delaney and Poulson helped form the protective human ring around Ericsson as he received his treatment on the ground. They lost 1-0 but remained united - and they wrote the first chapter of their story.
There were further twists and turns in the plot as Denmark regrouped against Belgium. Despite the 2–1 loss to the Red Devils, Poulsen led from the front and scored a brilliant opening goal, while Vaas was brilliant on the right. Then, they managed to secure their crucial 4-1 win against Russia, highlighting a brilliant goal from Mikkel Damsgaard - the young 20-year-old who had the incredible task of stepping into the void left by Ericsson.
"When Christian fell, he changed everything," said Hujulmand. "We were out in a different situation. I'm grateful for the support everyone has shown because that's what we needed in that moment, we needed love and support and that's what gives us wings - I admire boys They're warriors."
Next was Wales - the Dane's first match against Copenhagen. But they had their support at the Johan Cruyff Arena, with Denmark fans comfortably outpacing the opposition at the Amsterdam venue due to COVID-19 travel restrictions for Welsh fans.
But even so, the making of this match was unexpected. Poulson and Vas were his two trusted lieutenants, but Dolberg and Strieger came and neither was defeated.
Dolberg has had a rough year, his two bouts against COVID and his appendix removed, but he scored his two goals to fill the big void left by Poulsen. Back on his old patch at Ajax (he left the Dutch giants for Nice in 2019), he scored a remarkable run as he scored a brilliant first in the 27th minute. Damsgaard held the spot, turned back Wales' defense and fed Dolberg, who swung home from 25 yards.
For Dolberg's second at the start of the second half, he bounced the ball on Neco Williams' error to tuck the ball from close at home. The goal stood despite Wells' opposition to Keizer's tackle on Kieffer Moore prior to the move.
"I think we have a star striker in Casper. I saw him when he was a kid and he had that season when he scored 16 goals for Ajax. He had some problematic phases with injuries and the coronavirus But he bounced back," Hazulmand said. "He was charging, and I think that was meant to be such a great climax here. The first goal was amazing. It was an amazing performance from Casper."
Strieger had a disappointing evening for Gareth Bale, who started off right wing-back. The Udinese man canceled out Daniel James and Bell, and also made his own bunch of mischief with some fatal crosses in the Welsh box.
Wells started the match brilliantly, with Bale hitting two shots early on, but after 15 minutes or so, Hjölmund fell 3-4-3 to 4-3-3, with Andreas Christensen in midfield. shifted to the middle. This helped dissipate this early Welsh optimism, while Kajar and Jannik Vestergaard managed to eliminate Moor's aerial threat. And then as the match moved away from Wales and his frustration grew, Hjölmund fully judged his replacements and used Andreas Cornelius to create further havoc as Wales went bad and the excellent Joakim Mahle, who Played left and right and scored his third.
Wells' terrifying day was linked to a late red card from Harry Wilson - who seemed too harsh, for sluggish behavior on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - and Martin Braithwaite's fourth-place finish, originally dismissed for offside. Was given, but was reversed by VAR as he was played with the foot of Chris Mepham.
Wales will now return home after impressing in the group stage, but lost comfortably in the round of 16, suffering their heaviest defeat to date in a Euro final match. While avoiding questions over a possible retirement throughout this tournament, Bell has yet to reveal what his next move is.
But Denmark's journey continues. Before the match, Denmark received a good luck video from their title-winning Euro '92 heroes. No one envisioned that team to win the tournament, but they did win against the odds and the likes of Peter Schmeichel, John Jensen, Martin Olsen and the Lödrup brothers were written in Danish folklore.
The group is writing its own remarkable fairy tale in 2021, and it's thanks to every member of the squad stepping up. They are in no mood to write the final chapter on this story anytime soon.
"One thing at a time. Each sport has its own course," Hazulmand said. "We believe in the squad and our quality, and there's no need to look ahead. I can't promise the end result, but I can promise that we're going to fight."