Tournament History: Euro 1992 (Sweden)

The Tournament

Euro ’92 continued the same format that had been introduced in Euro ’80, where by the eight teams that qualified for the tournament were separated in to two groups of four, with the top two sides from each group progressing to the semi final stage.

The tournament itself began with the opening fixture of Group A on the 10th June 1992, a 1-1 draw between hosts Sweden and France, with this group also featuring England and surprise packages Denmark .  

Group B contained defending champions The Netherlands, the newly unified Germany, Scotland and the post Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.).

These teams traded blows throughout a group stage that saw Sweden and a so far unconvincing Denmark qualify from Group A, whilst in Group B pre tournament favourites the Netherlands and Germany came out on top to reach the semi finals.

The first game of the knockout phase saw the Tomas Brolin inspired Swedish team face Germany for the chance to reach the final.

This game began with a bang, with diminutive winger Thomas Häßler opening the scoring on 11 minutes for Germany with a trademark free kick. Germany smelt blood and continued to dominate their hosts, with Andreas Brehme coming close with two further free kicks, before it was left for Karl-Heinz Riedle to make it 2-0 in the 59th minute.

However, Germany’s two goal lead was cut in half in controversial fashion in the 64th minute through a hotly disputed Tomas Brolin penalty.

The score line was to stay this way until a crazy few minutes at the end of the match saw Riedle score his second of the game in the 88th minute to make it 3-1 to Germany, before Kennet Anderson scored a typically powerful header to make the final score 3-2.

The second semi final saw under dogs Denmark face off against the ridiculously talented defending champions the Netherlands in a battle to face Germany in the final of Euro ’92.

Whilst all the pre-game pundits predicted a second consecutive final appearance for the Netherlands, as soon as the game started the Dutch seemed strangely muted with Denmark dictating the pace of the game from the opening whistle.

This poor start was punished by the Danes in the fifth minute when the excellent Brian Laudrup found Henrik Larsen, who headed Denmark in to a 1-0 lead.

The Netherlands were to break out of this stupor in typical fashion in the 23rd minute with Dennis Bergkamp scoring a beautifully crafted goal after tremendous work from Frank Rijkaard.

However, the Danes reacted to this set back in the most positive way possible as they seized the initiative once again from the Dutch, with Larsen proving to be the goal scoring hero for the second time as his neat shot from outside of the penalty area put Denmark 2-1 ahead.

From here on in Denmark continued to be the better team, as they continued to restrict the Netherlands of any of the possession and chances that could have seen the Oranje dominate their supposedly inferior opponents.

As such, Frank Rijkaard’s late equaliser for the Dutch in the 88th minute could have proved to be a killer blow to most teams. Denmark were not however most teams, and their surprising run to the European Championships seemed to galvanise their squad as the game lurched through extra time towards the dreaded penalty shootout.

Here, Peter Schmeichel was to prove to be the hero of the hour as his save from the Netherlands’ second penalty taker Marco Van Basten was enough to see Denmark through to the final.
 
The Winners

Never has a team come from further behind to claim the European Championships than Denmark did for this tournament. The Danes weren’t even supposed to make it to Sweden, as they finished behind Yugoslavia in their qualifying group. However, the tragic events of the war that erupted in the Balkan states in 1991 led to Yugoslavia being banned from Euro ’92, with Denmark being chosen by UEFA to take their place in the finals.  

The Danes' unlikely road to victory continued in the group stages as they stumbled through to a semi final match up against defending champions the Netherlands after recording a draw against England, a loss against Sweden, and a win against a Jean-Pierre Papin inspired French team.

In both of their subsequent games against the Netherlands and Germany they were classed as distant outsiders. However, several of Denmark’s players were to leave a significant mark on the tournament.

Midfielder Henrik Larsen was to finish joint top scorer, Peter Schmeichel’s penalty saving heroics were to set him on the way to being proclaimed as the finest goalkeeper of his generation, whilst Brian Laudrup emerged out of the shadow cast by his absent brother Michael to provide the creative spark that was needed to edge past their more heralded opponents.

As such, Euro ’92 remains the distinct bright spot in the history of Danish football, whilst also providing a shining example that with hard work and team spirit surprises can happen in the European Championships.

The Final

Coming in to this match it seemed a sad fact that the fairytale story of surprise packages Denmark would surely be coming to an end at the hands of the all conquering Germany team that they would face in the Gothenburg final.

The opening minutes of this game more than reflected the supposed dominance of the German side as first Golden Boot chasing Karl-Heinz Riedle, then Stefan Reuter and Guido Buchwald all tested the impressive reflexes of Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

However, just as it seemed a matter of time before Germany took the lead, a questionable challenge from Danish midfielder Kim Vilfort began a move that was finished in the most surprising of styles by the perennially goal shy John Jensen to give Denmark a 1-0 lead.

This strike knocked the wind out of the sails of Berti Vogts’ German team, and from here on in the plucky determination and belief that was coursing through the veins of the Danish players shone through as they successfully frustrated their illustrious opponents.

The excellent performance of the Danish side was further rewarded in the 78th minute as Vilfort was once again in the thick of the action as he drove a low shot past the reach of Bodo Illgner to make the score 2-0, thus sealing Denmark’s name on the Henri Delaunay trophy.

Denmark 2 – 0 Germany

26th June 1992, Gothenburg

Denmark: Peter Schmeichel, John Sivebæk (66 mins Claus Christiansen), Kent Nielsen, Lars Olsen, Kim Christofte, John Jensen, Flemming Povlsen, Brian Laudrup, Torben Piechnik, Henrik Larsen, Kim Vilfort

Germany: Bodo Illgner, Stefan Reuter, Andreas Brehme, Jürgen Kohler, Guido Buchwald, Thomas Häßler, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Thomas Helmer, Matthias Sammer (46 mins Thomas Doll), Stefan Effenberg (80 mins Andreas Thom), Jürgen Klinsmann

Goals: 1-0 John Jensen (18), 2-0 Kim Vilfort (78)

Top Scorer

No single player could lay claim to the Golden Boot in this tournament as Swedish golden boy Tomas Brolin, Ajax's then-prospect Dennis Bergkamp, future Champions League winner Karl-Heinz Riedle, and Danish midfielder Henrik Larsen all found themselves tied at the top of the charts with three goals apiece.