Denmark–Sweden football rivalry
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Denmark–Sweden football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national men's
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams of
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The clashes between the two neighbouring countries has since the very first match in 1913 attracted large crowds that have witnessed several spectacular games and controversial incidents, despite the fact that the two teams very seldom have met in any of the larger international football tournaments. Sweden leads the series 46–20–41.


Memorable competitive matches


Euro 1992 group match

Hosting the 1992 European Championships, Sweden was playing in only its second-ever game in the tournament's history when they faced Denmark at
Råsunda Stadium Råsunda Stadium (; also known as Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Råsundastadion, Råsunda Football Stadium or just Råsunda) was the Swedish national football stadium. It was located in Solna Municipality in Stockholm and named after the district i ...
in Solna. A goal from
Tomas Brolin Per Tomas Brolin (born 29 November 1969) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward or as a midfielder. At club level, he had a successful period with A.C. Parma during the early 1990s, winning the 1992 Coppa Italia, th ...
was enough to give Sweden its first-ever Euro victory with a 1–0 win over Denmark. Sweden finished ahead of eventual winners Denmark in the group.


Euro 2004 group match

In the group stage of the
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
tournament, the two teams met each other for the first competitive game since the
UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...
group stage, and the first rivalry game since April 2000. Prior to the game on 22 June 2004, the group C standings were as shown in the adjacent table. Simultaneously with the game,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
faced
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. With a win, Italy would advance from the group stage, unless Denmark and Sweden drew their game, causing all three teams to end with five points. The tiebreaker would then be the match results between the tied teams, and with Sweden playing 1–1 and Denmark 0–0 with Italy, a Denmark-Sweden draw of 2–2 or higher would leave Italy with one goal from the tied matches, and send both Sweden and Denmark through to the quarter finals, regardless of the Italian side's efforts. After a 28th-minute opener by
Jon Dahl Tomasson Jon Dahl Tomasson (; born 29 August 1976) is a Danish football manager and former player who is the current head coach of EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. A forward, his most notable run of football came in his first stint at Feyenoord, w ...
,
Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Hels ...
equalised on a penalty shortly after the break. Tomasson brought Denmark one up again in the 66th minute, but just minutes before the final whistle,
Mattias Jonson Olof Mattias Jonsson (; born 16 January 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Starting off his career with Örebro SK in the early 1990s, he went on to represent Helsingborgs IF, Brøndby IF, and Norwich Cit ...
equalised for Sweden to make up the final score of 2–2. The Italians, meanwhile, had beaten Bulgaria by 2–1 on a goal in the fourth minute of
stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, which would have otherwise sent them through. This caused an uproar within the Italian team, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Italian football federation president
Franco Carraro Franco Carraro (born 6 December 1939) is an Italian sport manager and politician. Career Carraro was born on 6 December 1939 in Padua, at the time Kingdom of Italy. He worked in many high-profile roles in the public and private sectors. He ...
both accusing the Danish and Swedish team of
match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
. However then-Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni said that neither he nor the federation would protest against the result.
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
did not investigate the case."Uefa will not investigate"
BBC.


Abandoned 2008 Euro qualifier

The next rivalry games came in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualification group games. The first game was played on 2 June 2007, and started out with the Swedish side going three goals up after two goals from Johan Elmander and one from
Petter Hansson Carl Johan Petter Hansson (; born 14 December 1976) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. He most notably represented Halmstads BK, SC Heerenveen, Stade Renna ...
in the first half-hour of the game. However, through goals by
Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. As an active player, he played as a central defender for Brøndby and Liverpool a ...
,
Jon Dahl Tomasson Jon Dahl Tomasson (; born 29 August 1976) is a Danish football manager and former player who is the current head coach of EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. A forward, his most notable run of football came in his first stint at Feyenoord, w ...
and
Leon Andreasen Leon Hougaard Andreasen (born 23 April 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He won 20 caps and scored three goals for the Denmark national team. Biography Born in Aidt, Jutland, Andreasen sta ...
, Denmark completed a remarkable comeback. In the 89th minute, Denmark's
Christian Poulsen Christian Bjørnshøj Poulsen (born 28 February 1980) is a Danish former footballer. After starting his career with Holbæk, he played for a number of European clubs as a defensive midfielder, winning the Danish Superliga championship with F. ...
hit
Markus Rosenberg Nils Markus Rosenberg (; born 27 September 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He spent the majority of his career with his boyhood club Malmö FF, as well as a notable five-year stint with German Bundesli ...
in the stomach, prompting German referee Herbert Fandel to send him off and award Sweden a penalty kick. Before the penalty kick could be executed, a Danish supporter ran unto the pitch and attempted to punch Fandel, but was stopped by Denmark's
Michael Gravgaard Michael Julius Gravgaard (born 3 April 1978) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He began his career at Randers Freja. During his stay at Viborg FF he occasionally played as a forward. With Copenhagen he won th ...
. Fandel abandoned the match, Sweden was awarded the match as a 3–0 win, and Denmark was sentenced to play its next two qualifying matches at least 140 km away from Copenhagen. The two teams met for the re-match on 8 September 2007 in Stockholm, which ended in a 0–0 draw. Sweden eventually qualified for the
UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
, while Denmark finished fourth in the group and was eliminated.


2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

The two teams were once more drawn in the same group for the
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...
. On 6 June 2009, Denmark defeated Sweden 1–0 in Solna, the first victory for Denmark over Sweden since 1996. Sweden's
Kim Källström Kim Mikael Källström (; born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was noted for his play-making ability and free-kick taking. He started his career at several clubs in Sweden, winning cons ...
was given a penalty early in the game, but Thomas Sørensen saved the shot. Denmark's
Thomas Kahlenberg Thomas Zeuthen Kahlenberg (; born 20 March 1983) is a Danish former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He started his career with Brøndby IF, winning two Danish Superliga championship, and played four seasons at French club Auxer ...
scored the only goal in the 22nd minute after a defensive mistake by Mikael Nilsson. The 10 October 2009 re-match was the first rivalry game at
Parken Stadium Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
since the controversial fan attack incident. During the game, Sweden had two goals correctly annulled for offside, before Denmark's
Jakob Poulsen Jakob Bendix Uhd Poulsen (born 7 July 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and current assistant coach of Viborg FF. Poulsen started his senior career with Esbjerg fB, before moving to Dutch side SC Heeren ...
scored the only goal in the 78th minute. Denmark won the game 1–0, and secured Danish qualification for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, while Sweden eventually finished third and were eliminated.


2016 UEFA Euro qualifying play-offs

Once again both rivals faced for a spot in
2016 UEFA Euro The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, with Sweden the first leg at home by 2–1 with a 45th-minute goal from
Emil Forsberg Emil Peter Forsberg (; born 23 October 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Sweden national team. Forsberg was awarded Guldbollen in 2021 as Sweden's best footba ...
and a penalty converted by
Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...
on 50th minute,
Nicolai Jørgensen Nicolai Mick Jørgensen (; born 15 January 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is currently a free agent. Club career Akademisk Boldklub Nicolai Jørgensen began his career at Grantoften IF, he later joined Skov ...
scored for Denmark on the 89th minute. The return fixture in Denmark saw a 2–2 draw, Ibrahimović scored a
brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...
, scoring in 19th and 76th minute respectively. Yussuf Poulsen opened scoring for Denmark with a goal at the 82nd minute and
Jannik Vestergaard Jannik Vestergaard (born 3 August 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Leicester City and the Denmark national team. Vestergaard played for various Danish and German clubs before joining S ...
scored one at the last minute of the game. Sweden won 4–3 on aggregate. ''Sweden won 4–3 on aggregate and qualified for
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
.''


Comparison of Denmark and Sweden in major international tournaments


Statistics


See also

*
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
*
Copenhagen Derby The Copenhagen Derby is a Danish football rivalry between Brøndby and Copenhagen. Matches ''As of 28 October 2021'' Abbreviations *DSL – Danish Superliga *DC – Danish Cup *RL – Royal League Total This gives a total of: Other stati ...
* Football derbies in Sweden


References

;Print * * ;Online * *
A-LANDSKAMPE – SVERIGE
at Haslund.info


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denmark-Sweden football rivalry International association football rivalries
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Sweden national football team Denmark–Sweden relations Denmark at UEFA Euro 1992 Denmark at UEFA Euro 2004 Sweden at UEFA Euro 1992 Sweden at UEFA Euro 2004