Euro 1992 in Sweden
Euro '92, held in Sweden, were the ninth European Championships and saw Denmark shock the continent and the wider footballing world, taking the title over much favoured World Champions Germany, for their first and only title to date. Was it not for Yugoslavia being disqualified due to the Yugoslav Wars, Denmark would not have even made it into the tournament in the first place. The competition took place over two weeks in June, from the 10th to the 26th. The competition continued the use of the two group format with Sweden (guaranteed entry for hosting the competition, marking their first appearance), Denmark, England, France, recently re-united Germany, reigning champions Netherlands, Scotland in their first appearance, and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), an alliance of 12 of the 15 former USSR states, competing. The USSR had qualified the previous year and despite the fact the USSR had dissolved on January 1st that year, they had qualified as the one state and were therefore forced to compete as the one state, albeit without Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia. The top scorers for the competition were Karlheinz Riedle, Henrik Larsen, Tomas Brolin and Dennis Bergkamp, all with 3 goals.
Hosts Sweden finished top of Group A, with Denmark finishing second and England and France being eliminated. Netherlands and Germany also progressed to the semi finals, leaving Scotland and the CIS to share the fates of England and France. The Group A matches provided little for the neutral, with only 9 goals scored in the 6 matches, however Group B was to provide the tournament with some early flair, with Netherlands defeating rivals Germany with 3 goals to 1, and Scotland emerging from a resounding victory over the CIS 3-0.
UEFA Euro 1992 Knockout Stages
Sweden played Germany in the first semi final at the Råsundastadion in Solna in front of almost 30,000 fans. The support for the home side was huge going into the game, with Sweden in hot form in their first appearance at the European Championships however they had some wind knocked out of their sails 11 minutes into the game when Thomas Häßler put the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net. The scoreline remained this way until Karlheinz Riedle doubled the lead in the 59th minute. This looked to be enough, however 5 minutes later Sweden were awarded a penalty and Tomas Brolin coolly converted to reduce the lead to a goal. They could not continue the comeback and Riedle scored again in the 88th to put the result beyond doubt. Although Kennet Andersson scored a minute later, two goals in a matter of minutes was too hard a task for Sweden, and Germany progressed to the final.
The second semi final saw Denmark and Netherlands face off in what proved to be an equally, if not more exciting game than the first semi. To many of the 37,000 fans at the Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, and indeed many more worldwide, this match seemed a forgone conclusion, with reigning champions Netherlands facing minnow Denmark. Denmark however, had nothing to lose and opened proceedings with a Henrik Larsen goal in the 5th minute of play. Dennis Bergkamp provided the reply 20 minutes later, but the Danes were not to be discouraged, retaking the lead with another Larsen goal on 33 minutes. The Dutch looked set to fall victims to a huge upset until they were rescued by Frank Rijkaard, scoring in the 86th minute. The game went to extra time, and when that provided no more goals to separate the two sides, the result would have to be decided on penalties. Ronald Koeman put the first in the back of the net, shifting the pressure onto Denmark. Henrik Larsen replied and levelled the shootout 1-1, bringing Marco van Basten the spot. Peter Schmeichel saved his shot, which would prove to be the deciding moment in the match, with the remainder of the penalties converted and Kim Christofte producing the winner, the penalty shootout being won 5-4.
1992 UEFA European Championships Final
The final saw underdogs Denmark return to the ground of their recent upset win to face World Champions Germany, in a match that somewhat overshadowed the dramatic semi final earlier in the week with an even more unpredictable result. In front of a capacity crowd of 38,000, Denmark provided an early shock with a John Jensen goal after 18 minutes. They had nothing to lose, and showed it, holding Germany out and reaching half time with a surprise lead. Germany failed to square the game up after the break, Denmark's early shock proving enough to quieten the Germans. The likelihood of a German comeback was further dented with a 78th minute goal from Kim Vilfort, all but securing the win for the Danes. They held on to their lead until the final whistle, being crowned European Champions against what seemed unsurmountable odds.
