Denmark are back at the World Cup for just for the fifth time, having last qualified eight years ago for South Africa 2010. They will hope to advance from Group C, however, where - though France are favourites to win the group - the Danes will face Australia and Peru for second place.
After finishing second in Group E of the European qualifying section, Denmark beat Republic of Ireland in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup. After a goalless draw in Copenhagen, Ireland went 1-0 up in the return leg in Dublin only for Denmark to storm back to win 5-1, with Christian Eriksen bagging a hat-trick.
Eriksen also bagged eight goals during regular qualifying too, including a goal in each of their final five matches – a run of five games unbeaten which saw them thrash eventual group winners Poland 4-0 and seal what was ultimately a vital win in Podgorica against third-placed Montenegro too.
This will be Denmark’s fifth World Cup appearance, having last reached the finals in 2010. That tournament in South Africa is the only one of the previous four editions in which the Danes have failed to advance from the group stage.
They have won eight of the 16 World Cup finals games they have played, to reach the quarter-finals in 1998 and the last-16 in both 1986 and 2002.
Veteran striker Nicklas Bendtner will miss the World Cup through injury, denying him the chance to add to his 81 international caps and 30 goals. Bendtner was one of two players to miss out through injury – defender Andreas Bjelland being the other – while other notable players cut from the original preliminary squad include Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and defender Riza Durmisi. The four uncapped players in the preliminary squad – Jesper Hansen, Mathias Jensen, Robert Skov and Kenneth Zohore – all missed out, and remain without an international appearance.
Christian Eriksen's hat-trick in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland fired Denmark to the World Cup, and the Tottenham Hotspur playmaker is the lynchpin in this Danish side. The 26-year-old has 21 goals in 77 international appearances - and is coming off another strong season for Spurs which saw him reach double figures for both goals and assists. At the other end of the pitch, Kasper Schmeichel will pull on the number-one jersey for the Danes and is a commanding presence in goal.
DWWDD
Denmark thrashed Republic of Ireland 5-1 in Dublin to seal their World Cup place thanks to Christian Eriksen’s hat-trick. They played two unofficial friendlies in January, with an entirely Scandinavian-based squad, and lost to Sweden and Jordan, but with their star men restored beat Panama 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Chile in March. Another friendly with Sweden kicked off their final World Cup preparations, with another goalless draw in that game being their third in five full internationals.
| Goalkeepers | ||||
| Jersey Number | Name | Age | Caps | Goals |
| 1 | Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City) | Age 31 | 34 caps | 0 goals |
| 16 | Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield Town) | Age 29 | 1 cap | 0 goals |
| 22 | Frederik Ronnow (Brondby) | Age 25 | 6 caps | 0 goals |
| Defenders | ||||
| Jersey Number | Name | Age | Caps | Goals |
| 3 | Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Monchengladbach) | Age 25 | 16 caps | 1 goal |
| 4 | Simon Kjaer (Sevilla) | Age 29 | 77 caps | 3 goals |
| 5 | Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich Town) | Age 25 | 3 caps | 0 goals |
| 6 | Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) | Age 22 | 15 caps | 1 goal |
| 13 | Mathias Jorgensen (Huddersfield Town) | Age 28 | 12 caps | 0 goals |
| 14 | Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford) | Age 28 | 10 caps | 0 goals |
| 17 | Jens Stryger Larsen (Udinese) | Age 27 | 12 caps | 1 goal |
| Midfielders | ||||
| Jersey Number | Name | Age | Caps | Goals |
| 2 | Michael KrohnDehli (Deportivo La Coruna) | Age 34 | 58 caps | 6 goals |
| 7 | William Kvist (Copenhagen) | Age 33 | 79 caps | 2 goals |
| 8 | Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen) | Age 26 | 26 caps | 4 goals |
| 10 | Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) | Age 26 | 77 caps | 21 goals |
| 15 | Viktor Fischer (Copenhagen) | Age 23 | 18 caps | 3 goals |
| 18 | Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux) | Age 24 | 3 caps | 0 goals |
| 19 | Lasse Schone (Ajax) | Age 32 | 35 caps | 3 goals |
| 23 | Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo) | Age 23 | 13 caps | 1 goal |
| Forwards | ||||
| Jersey Number | Name | Age | Caps | Goals |
| 9 | Nicolai Jorgensen (Feyenoord) | Age 27 | 30 caps | 8 goals |
| 11 | Martin Braithwaite (Bordeaux) | Age 27 | 19 caps | 1 goal |
| 12 | Kasper Dolberg (Ajax) | Age 20 | 5 caps | 1 goal |
| 20 | Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) | Age 23 | 27 caps | 3 goals |
| 21 | Andreas Cornelius (Atalanta) | Age 25 | 18 caps | 4 goals |
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Defensive Midfielder
Attacking Midfielders
Forwards
Denmark have only once failed to get out of the group stage at the World Cup, but that was in their most recent appearance in the finals in South Africa eight years ago.
After missing the last World Cup, they are back now with Christian Eriksen – the man who fired them to the World Cup – the key figure in their team, and in top form again for Spurs this season.
However, the draw has not been too kind to the Danes – despite a group they will be expected to qualify out of to live up to their price of 4/6 with Bet365 to advance beyond the group stage – as they most likely will need to get the better of France in their final group game to avoid a potential match against Argentina in the last-16.
Denmark have lost their last three matches against the French, and are 6/4 to finish second in Group C with France in 1st in a group forecast with Bet365, and with Argentina therefore awaiting a price of 17/10 on them falling at the last-16 stage with Bet365 looks generous.
With Peru inexperienced at the World Cup, and Australia failing to get through the groups in their past two attempts, Denmark will fancy their chances of reaching the last-16. There, however, they are likely to face Lionel Messi and Argentina, where their World Cup journey should end.