Group E contenders
Netherlands 
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Route to the finals
Denmark were the surprise winners of one of the closest fought groups in the European zone.

With Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and Hungary the main nations to be vying for qualification in Group 1 it was the Danes who took an early initiative in the campaign with a 3-2 victory over Portugal in Lisbon in their second Qualifier.

They went on to beat rivals Sweden both home and away, with the 1-0 victory in Copenhagen – their penultimate Qualifier – proving to be the point where top-spot was guaranteed.

The only loss of their campaign occurred in their final match-up with Hungary, meaning they finished just two points ahead of runner-up Portugal.

Manager
Dane Morten Olsen achieved legendary status as a player, picking up 102 caps in an international career spanning almost 20 years.

He captained the side during their first World Cup appearance in 1986 and was also involved in the 1984 and ’88 European Championships.

He was appointed coach of the national side in 2000 and has led them to the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 European Championship.

The side has endured a rather lean few years but qualification to South Africa 2010 has, once again, shown Olsen’s class as a manager.

Player watch
At 33 years of age Jon Dahl Tomasson is one of the elder statesmen of the Denmark squad, but the country’s second highest goalscorer still plays an important role for the Danish Dynamite.

Two more goals for the Feyenoord forward would give him the top-scorer record outright but the Danes are certainly not short of a goalscoring options, with the likes of Ajax’s Dennis Rommedahl and Arsenal’s Nicklas Bedntner also available.

Competition History
First appearance: 1986
No. of appearances (inc 2010): 4
Best result: Quarter-Finals (1998)
Matches against England: 17

Squad

Goalkeepers
1	Thomas Sørensen	Stoke City, ENG
16	Stephan Andersen	Brøndby IF, DEN
22	Jesper Christiansen	FC København, DEN
Defenders
2	Christian Poulsen	Juventus, ITA
3	Simon Kjær	Palermo, ITA
4	Daniel Agger	Liverpool, ENG
6	Lars Jacobsen	Blackburn Rovers, ENG
13	Per Krøldrup	Fiorentina, ITA
15	Simon Poulsen	AZ, NED
23	Patrick Mtiliga	Málaga CF, ESP
Midfielders
5	William Kvist	FC København, DEN
7	Daniel Jensen	Werder Bremen, GER
10	Martin Jørgensen	AGF, DEN
12	Thomas Kahlenberg	VfL Wolfsburg, GER
14	Jakob Poulsen	AGF, DEN
20	Thomas Enevoldsen	FC Groningen, NED
21	Christian Eriksen	Ajax, NED
Forwards
8	Jesper Grønkjær	FC København, DEN
9	Jon Dahl Tomasson	Feyenoord, NED
11	Nicklas Bendtner	Arsenal, ENG
17	Mikkel Beckmann	Randers FC, DEN
18	Søren Larsen	MSV Duisburg, GER
19	Dennis Rommedahl	Ajax, NED