London (AFP)

Little Thumb at the enchanting game, Denmark did not come home with the cup, but sowed seeds for the future and aroused a huge outpouring of sympathy from Copenhagen to Wembley, where the beautiful history of the Euro took off. closed on a controversial penalty.

Defeated at the final whistle on Wednesday evening, the defeated semi-finalists sought comfort from their supporters all in red dressed in the stands, each other applauding for several minutes, before leaving the lawn, finally, under the ovation of the English public.

On social networks, a rain of praise fell on the partners of Kasper Schmeichel, beaten only in overtime by archifavorite England after a generous penalty awarded.

"Denmark, what a tournament. You won the hearts of many, you made Scandinavia proud. BRAVO!" Wrote Norwegian Ballon d'Or Ada Hegerberg.

- Union and strength -

The tenth nation in the world rankings, tiptoeing at the Euro, moved the world of football and beyond after the cardiac arrest suffered by its playmaker Christian Eriksen, in Copenhagen during the first match against Finland.

Placed in a lateral safety position by his captain Simon Kjaer, resuscitated on the lawn in front of his partners in tears, the Inter Milan player escaped after several days in hospital.

# photo2

"The European Championship will be remembered because of the episode with Christian Eriksen, and how the national team united us as a nation," noted the leading daily Politiken on Thursday.

Politicians in the small Nordic country, populated by less than six million, also thanked their unlikely heroes, as disappointed and proud Danes gathered in the streets, late into the night, singing the anthem of the supporters "We are Red, we are White".

"You have united Denmark around you, shown exceptional cohesion when it was the right moment, we were rarely so proud! Thank you for the trip", wrote on Instagram Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose thread has been since six days composed exclusively of football photos.

"Respect! It's sad but respect for the Danish team, the Danish collective, the Danish community!", Congratulated the leader of the People's Socialist Party, Pia Olsen Dyhr, on Facebook.

"And what a match Kasper Schmeichel played!" She added.

# photo3

The performance of the Leicester goalkeeper, "a wall", earned him praise from the press.

"One magnificent stop after another, and several of them were reminiscent of his father's miraculous saves in the 92 European Championship final," wrote the Berlingske daily.

- "Place au Mondial" -

Attractive in the game, solid on both sides of the field, the Danish selection offered the image of a united team.

On the opener at Wembley, the substitutes' bench leapt like one man.

# photo4

At the end of the game, the players also surrounded and consoled Joachim Maehle, the 24-year-old right-back who burst into tears, believing himself to be guilty of the conceded penalty.

The defender "Jannik Vestergaard took care of his young colleague", notes the newspaper Ekstra Bladet, for whom the player of Atalanta Bergamo is "without a doubt one of the greatest Danish heroes of the Euro".

With him, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Kasper Dolberg and especially Mikkel Damsgaard, author of the opener, the inspired coach Kasper Hjulmand has pretty cards in hand to see further.

# photo5

"We're sorry we didn't make it to the final, but I can say with certainty that we will attack again. Our future is hopeful and we can believe it, because these guys are exceptional," said the 49-year-old technician, happy that the team "received a lot of love and support".

In the front page of the daily Jyllands-Posten, this conclusion: "The Euro is over, place at the World" at the end of 2022 in Qatar.

© 2021 AFP