World Cup 2022 Group D: Denmark have the form and talent to be dark horses

Danes have impressed in the Nations League and reached the Euro 2020 semi-finals, despite the trauma of Eriksen's cardiac arrest

Christian Eriksen, centre, has returned to the Denmark team after his cardiac arrest last summer and remains as important to the team as ever. Reuters

The surprise European champions of 1992 have long since lived off of that reputation but in the present day, things are slightly different. Denmark are now viewed as a rising force in European football which leads to the question - is this the tournament that sees them make an even bigger breakthrough?

Europe is a continent stacked full of talent and as such, the Danes are seen as having an advantage over Australia and Tunisia, the teams most likely to compete with them for second place in Group D. Given the depth they now have in their squad, it’s hard to argue against that.

At Euro 2020 last summer, Denmark had to overcome Christian Eriksen's terrifying cardiac arrest. Over the course of the next few weeks, and motivated by the traumatic ordeal, they shocked the world by making a run to the semi-finals.

Three years prior in Russia, Denmark carefully went about their business by going unbeaten in a group that will look quite familiar heading into November. They beat Peru, managed to hold off Australia for a draw and even held eventual champions France to a stalemate before a penalty shootout loss to runners-up Croatia in the first knockout stage.

The Nations League in June saw Denmark again lost to Croatia, 1-0, but when put alongside the two wins over Austria and a 2-1 victory against France, there’s definitely an argument to be made that they are coming into this tournament with some momentum.

The defensive strength of Denmark has spoken for itself for years and if they can finally find a creative outlet for their forward stars, this could be a big coming out party.

Denmark's Road to Qatar

Manager: Kasper Hjulmand

Star player: Christian Eriksen

One to watch: Kasper Dolberg

World Cup finals appeared in: 1986, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2018

Fixtures: Nov 22 - Denmark v Tunisia; Nov 26 - France v Denmark; Nov 30 - Australia v Denmark