Christian Wenande
June 28th, 2015

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Denmark’s best ever under-21 team faltered against its neighbours (photo: José Goulão)

The Danish under-21 team’s bid to reach its first ever European final was denied as the team lost 1-4 to Sweden in Prague last night.

The Danes were considered favourites to progress to the final against Portugal, but the Swedes went 2-0 ahead midway through the first half to push the Danes under pressure.

The Danes pulled one back  on the hour through Uffe Bech and looked like they would equalise. But as they pushed forward, the Swedes hit them on the break to seal the deal seven minutes from the end, and they then added a late fourth.

“Once the disappointment has subsided, they will learn from this, and Denmark will be living off this group of players for many years to come,” head coach Jess Thorup told Bold.dk.

“We learned a hard lesson in the end, but at least the players now have experience of playing at this level, and it hopefully won’t be the last time.”

READ MORE: Danish clubs handed easy first European hurdles

Mission accomplished
The Danes can at least take solace from the knowledge that their semi-final place has ensured them a spot at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, which was the goal before the tournament began.

Olympic football squads are mainly made up of under-23 players, with room for just three players over that age. The question now, therefore, will be who will be added to the squad from the seniors.

Meanwhile, Sweden will take on Portugal – which battered Germany 5-0 in the other semi – in the final on Tuesday.