Denmark has qualified for the third consecutive time for a final tournament. Coach Kasper Hjulmand can't believe his luck.
Denmark reached the knockout stage at the 2018 World Cup and even made it to the semi-finals of Euro 2021. The qualification for the Euro in Germany was more challenging, but they made it. The country won 2-1 against Slovenia and secured a place among the top two.
The celebration was so grand that even the journalists were unsure of what was happening. Hjulmand and the players appeared in front of the camera later than planned. "It's not that I never felt the pressure, because I did, but I have been so focused on finishing these games. And I have canceled everything in my life this fall. I missed weddings of good friends and all sorts of other things," said Hjulmand.
"Tomorrow (Saturday, red.), we have a training session that everyone must attend. I don't want to limit how big they can celebrate. But honestly, it's important to seize those nights. There are so many days of toil and pressure, so you have to make sure you take these nights to heart and enjoy them. I'll take a big teddy bear, and then I'll fall asleep fairly quickly. It's been a few intense days. I feel that the body relaxes on such a night. You must not forget to enjoy it because 99% of the time, it's suffering in this job," said the Danish head coach.
"This is what we did it for," added Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. "At the European Championship, we can really show something special. Sometimes, a top team shows its true self under pressure. It wasn't particularly beautiful, but we've shown how much we wanted it."
