Despite its elimination in the semi-final of the Euro against England in overtime (2-1 ap), Denmark left the tournament with its head held high thanks to an unexpected and strewn path.

Christian Eriksen's discomfort on the first day, his flamboyant game and his courage make him the nation's favorite in the competition.

To the end of their strength, Denmark clung to their dream of playing in a European Championship final 29 years after their surprising triumph at Euro 1992. The Danes' journey, even if it is arrested late Wednesday evening in extra time against England, host of the last four (2-1 defeat), will remain as one of the most beautiful stories in European football.

On the verge of entry elimination after two defeats in Group B and the fear of the discomfort of its Inter Milan star Christian Eriksen against Finland (1-0 defeat), Denmark has recovered beautifully for string together high-end performances and climb into the last four of the competition.

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"A pleasure to play with these people"

Simon Kjaer, the captain of the Danish selection underlines the feat of this course on the evening of the elimination in the semi-final against England from the Euro, at the microphone of the DR1 channel: "It was a fantastic adventure. I'm sorry it's over now, but that's how it is. The support we have received is beyond anything I had hoped for. I'm proud. But I'm also disappointed that we didn't make it to the final . (...) ". A satisfaction shared by his midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg: "I'm at a loss for words. It's a bit difficult to say anything. I'm proud of the group and of those who took part in this adventure. It was a pleasure. It would have been extraordinary to go further but it was a pleasure to fight with these people. "

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The Danes believed in the feat when their team opened the scoring with a sumptuous free kick from Mikkel Damsgaard on the hour mark (1-0, 30th).

But the English domination was felt immediately after, with the goal against his camp from the captain of the Vikings (1-1, 39th).

Despite their courage, the Danes, physically exhausted, surrendered on a penalty admittedly contested, but transformed into two stages by the English striker Harry Kane (2-1, 104th).

The end of a miraculous journey.

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See you in the next competitions

On the strength of this great adventure, Denmark wants to come back stronger in the years to come. Still under the leadership of his coach Kasper Hjulmand, nevertheless frustrated by the outcome of the semi-final: "We are very disappointed. We were so close to the final. I read in the press that there would not be any must have had a penalty so that's something that annoys me, I'm disappointed. I can't find the words to say how much I admire this staff and these players. We've been through so many trials. two players who saved a teammate (Christian Eriksen who had a cardiac arrest during the first match, note), we played good football. "

"I am grateful to Denmark, we needed this support, this empathy. Our future is full of hope, these guys are incredible and the whole nation can be proud of them," continued the coach. hurry.

Same story with the former Toulouse player Martin Braithwaite, star striker of the Danish selection: "We have to digest but we will come back, of course. We are proud but also very disappointed because we think we could have gone further. how we lost makes it even harder to figure out. We have an amazing group and we can definitely do great things in the future. "

The end of a dream for Denmark but also the start of a great story for the nation of 5.8 million inhabitants.