The really surprising thing was that Denmark won this quarter-finals in the style of the favorite.

Amazingly cool.

Without shaking extremely again at the end.

With a lot of willingness to run in midfield (Thomas Delaney worked like a mule, wrote a Danish newspaper), with what felt like a hundred balls that the always brilliant Simon Kjær headed out of the box, and also with Kasper Schmeichel's saves.

But like an outsider, the Danes did not play in the 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in Baku on Saturday evening, and nobody would say that the win was undeserved.

Denmark has grown into the secret favorite that many Scandinavians had seen before the European Championship.

After the gala successes against Russia (4: 1) and Wales (4: 0), a work victory followed in the second knockout round.

Clever, played out with brains and only not clearer because coach Kasper Hjulmand's team countered a few times imprudently in the end - perhaps also paying tribute to the 30 degrees Celsius in Azerbaijan's capital and the long course of the tournament.

In any case, the self-confidence after this favorite success was huge.

"I would be lying if I said we are happy with the semi-finals now," said Kjær.

Hjulmand has found his team

This Wednesday at 9 p.m. (in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship as well as on ZDF and MagentaTV) the first selection of the Dansk Boldspil Union (DBU) will play against England in Wembley. In itself, every semi-final that a Danish national team achieves in whatever competition is something great. In the motherland of football against a country where so many Danes play: That of course makes it even more special. Andreas Christensen, Jannik Vestergård and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from the regular eleven earn their living on the island. There are also substitutes Joachim Andersen, Mathias Jensen and Christian Nørgård. All three were used on Saturday.

But neither this delightful constellation nor the opponent were the topics of the day - Denmark remained to itself. The team revealed that Christian Eriksen reported in the internal chat after the game; Kjær and Hjulmand didn’t forget to say hello to Eriksen after the fifth game and to express their solidarity: “Christian is a big part of the support we get from all over Europe during the European Championship,” said Hjulmand.

The coach had again proven coaching qualities when he pushed Christensen into midfield in the first half to create dominance there. It worked, Denmark led through Delaney's goal in the fifth and Kasper Dolberg's goal in the 42nd minute comfortably, before Patrik Schick made things exciting. It is Denmark's back three with the strong headers Kjær, Christensen and Vestergård that gives the whole team security. Before that, Delaney and Højbjerg and Martin Braithwaite plowed as strikers in endurance mode. At the top, Hjulmand can rely on surprises from Dolberg or Mikkel Damsgaard.

The coach found his team in the course of the tournament, and that also means that Yussuf Poulsen only comes from the bench - but then makes it splendid. In short: There is so much great things to say about this team that the opponents are no longer that important. The team notices that some things are now running as if by themselves: “My generation grew up with the legends of 1986 and 1992,” said Delaney, “we haven't got that far yet, but the joy we create at home is great Driving force for us. "

Having established players wear a team at a European Championship is a prerequisite for achieving something. The whole thing has to be garnished with surprises. This is what Joakim Mæhle stands for. Atalanta Bergamo's left-back shows how well a right-footed player can play in this position. The 24-year-old professional is representative of the Danish self-confidence - how else can this cross with the right outer instep, which prepared the 2-0, be explained?

Mæhle is a discovery of the tournament. And Højbjerg as a leading player is thanks to Hjulmand. Predecessor Åge Hareide ignored Højbjerg. At Hjulmand, Højbjerg always plays - at the age of 26 the great talent has matured and the team the help they need. His reaction after the final whistle showed that a Danish semi-final is anything but normal: Højbjerg cried for minutes. In retrospect, another important part of the Danish team came into play. Finally, a goal had succeeded after a set piece situation (Delaney 1-0), and the work with Mads Buttgereit had paid off. The Danish “dødboldstræner” (“deadball trainer”) is considered the strategist of the ball at rest - that many hours of practice now lead to something countable, not only pleased him, but also Hjulmand.

Although not everything the trainer says during these exciting days sounds easy to understand - but sometimes also irritating. With regard to the semifinals, he said loudly: "We have to hope that Boris Johnson wakes up and gives the many thousands of Danish fans access." Because of the pandemic, fans from Denmark are currently not allowed to travel to England without having to be quarantined. According to the current status, only Danes living in the United Kingdom can buy tickets, 5000 tickets should receive them, the Danish association announced. So that they can also support their team, the association sent jerseys and flags to England.