WC2010 review: Denmark

The Danes were probably expected to produce more than what they did at South Africa 2010.

Morten Olsen’s men had every chance to qualify for the Round of 16 but failed to overcome a less-fancied Japan outfit in their final group stage match after a loss to Holland and win over Cameroon.

Denmark did not have their customary fighting spirit which had done the nation proud on nearly every other occasion they stepped out onto the world stage and their final standing would have to be classed as a disappointment.

Former goalkeeper and national team legend Peter Schmeichel was very critical of the Danish side for their World Cup performance, saying both the players and coach simply did not perform.

"Everybody involved needs to take a good look at themselves," he told FIFA.com. "The players just didn't perform and, for me, neither did the coach. I felt beforehand that he was sticking with the same old players, some of whom just haven't been doing it for the past couple of years. And that cost us. If I'd been in his position, I'd have introduced some of the younger lads, just to change the dynamic if nothing else.

"It's a pity because I felt we could have been a dark horse at this tournament, but in the end we went out in the worst possible way. Against Japan, we just crumbled. And that's something I never expected to see. Most of the Danish sides I played in didn't have lots of super-talented players, but we did have plenty of determination. I didn't see that same fight in this team."

Finished: 24th
Record: Wins – 1; Draws – 0; Losses – 2; Points – 3
Matches: Holland (0-2), Cameroon (2-1), Japan (1-3)
Goals: 3
Against: 6

tribalfootball.com’s Star Man
Simon Poulsen (The relatively unknown defender was impressive for the Danes)

Official statistics

Minutes played
Simon Poulsen 270
Christian Poulsen 270
Daniel Agger 270
Lars Jacobsen 270
Thomas Sorensen 270
Dennis Rommedahl 270

Top scorers
Nicklas Bendtner 1
Dennis Rommedahl 1
Jon Dahl Tomasson 1

Total shots
Jon Dahl Tomasson 8
Daniel Agger 7
Dennis Rommedahl 5
Nicklas Bendtner 4

Pass Completion Rate
Lars Jacobsen 82%
Christian Poulsen 78%
Simon Poulsen 78%
Daniel Agger 75%

Most Fouls
Christian Poulsen 11
Thomas Kahlenberg 7
Daniel Agger 6
Nicklas Bendtner 5
Simon Poulsen 5

Yellow cards
Simon Kjaer 2
Thomas Sorensen 1
Per Kroldrup 1
Nicklas Bendtner 1
Christian Poulsen 1

Red cards
none

Saves
Thomas Sorensen 17