The first fixture of Group B in Euro 2020 sees 1992 European Championship winners Denmark host fellow Scandinavians Finland at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
Stadium: Parken Stadium (Copenhagen)
Key Statistics
Denmark are unbeaten in their last six games. They have lost just one of their last 12 games, winning eight times in that period.
Finland are on a three-game losing run. They have failed to win in their last six games, losing four and drawing two times.
The last time they kept a clean sheet was in November 2020, when they kept three clean sheets in a row.
Head to Head
Denmark 39 wins; 9 draws; Finland 11 wins; Denmark scored 154 goals against 58 by Finland (in total 59 matches)
Latest Matches
Denmark: WDWWWL
Finland: LLLDDL
Denmark
It is nearly 30 years since the last time Denmark were the champions of Europe. This time they have been installed as one of the outsiders for this summer’s campaign and are looking to cause an upset this summer.
Nine wins from their last 12 games means that they head into this tournament in impressive form and with a lot of confidence.
They have been paired alongside Russia, Finland and Belgium in group B this campaign and are expected to finish in second place behind Belgium.
Denmark were unbeaten in their qualifying matches, finishing second in their table behind Switzerland with four wins and four draws.
The task of finishing in second place in this group and progressing to the next round would not be impossible given the squad that is full of quality players. Kasper Hjulmand has players like Kasper Schmeichel, Christian Eriksen, Martin Braithwaite, Yussuf Poulsen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Thomas Delaney at his disposal and is expected to perform well in this year’s tournament.
Possible line-ups
Kasper Schmeichel; Joakim Maehle, Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen, Daniel Wass; Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Thomas Delaney; Christian Eriksen, Martin Braithwaite, Yussuf Poulsen; Jonas Wind.
We shouldn’t go out and lose a match because we’re not well enough prepared. We shouldn’t lose because we didn’t want it more than our opponents. And we shouldn’t lose because we don’t play our best. We must leave everything on the pitch and do everything we can to win.
Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark
Finland
After making it past the qualifying round, Finland are finally making their Euro debut in 2021.
The Scandinavian minnows have been installed as the least favourite team in a difficult group that has big names like Russia, Belgium and their Scandinavian cousins Denmark.
However, Markku Kanerva’s side are in the competition by merit and are looking to do as much as they can in a difficult group.
But their form heading into this tie does not inspire much confidence as they are without a win in their last six games. Three losses from their last three also make them one of the weakest teams in the Euros.
However, they were unbeaten in the qualifying round, finishing in second place behind Italy in their group with six wins from 10 games. They will be hoping to pull off a repeat here and qualify for the next round of the tournament ahead of their more illustrious opponents.
Possible line-ups
Lukas Hradecky; Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Joona Toivio, Paulus Arajuuri; Jere Uronen, Nikolai Alho, Tim Sparv, Glen Kamara, Joni Kauko; Robin Lod, Teemu Pukki.
Denmark have a very good team. If we look at their last few matches, they’ve had some magnificent results and have scored a lot of goals. Their defence has worked and they have some great individual players. Denmark are a really tough team and they get to play on home soil, but we have proved we can challenge even bigger countries than Denmark.
Markku Kanerva, Finland
Betting Odds
Denmark : Draw : Finland. :: 1.36 : 4.50: 10.00
| Denmark Goal | Finland Goal | Betting Odds |
| 1 | 0 | 5.50 |
| 2 | 0 | 6.00 |
| 0 | 0 | 8.50 |
| 3 | 0 | 9.00 |
| 1 | 1 | 10.00 |
| 2 | 1 | 10.00 |
Prediction
Denmark 2-1 Finland
