Rio 2016 rundown: Today’s Olympic action (Day -1)

The Danish football team is up first tonight at 18:00

The Olympic Games in Rio may not officially begin until the extravaganza of the opening ceremony on Friday night (at 00:55 Danish time – Friday is Day 0 by the way), but it has actually already kicked off. Literally.

The women’s football started yesterday and today it will be the men’s turn to get the ball rolling, with the Danes involved against Iraq in the first game of the day at 18:00. The match will be shown on TV2.

Denmark, which qualified for the Olympics thanks to their semi-final appearance at the Under-21 European Championships last year, has turned up with a completely different squad from the one that qualified.

Alas, because the competition is not on the co-ordinated international calendar of FIFA, clubs can refuse to allow players to join their nations’ Olympic teams. And because club and European competitions have already begun, or are on the cusp of starting, across Europe, clubs are reluctant to let their players go.

READ MORE: Danish Olympic football side face losing the Fischer king

Watered-down version
For the Danes, this issue has been a particular problem. Of the 18 players on the Danish Olympic Squad, just five have played over ten under-21 games for Denmark.

Gone are the likes of Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Jores Okore (Aston Villa), Pierre Emile Højbjerg (Southampton), Victor Fischer (Middlesbrough), Riza Durmisi (Betis), Nicolai Thomsen (Nantes), Andreas Christensen (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Frederik Sørensen (Verona) and Lasse Vigen Christensen (Fulham), who have a combined 162 under-21 caps between them and play in top European leagues.

In fact, just two of the players who helped get Denmark to the tournament are in the squad: Jens Jønsson (AGF) and Nicolai Brock-Madsen (Birmingham).

Instead, the team in Rio is made up of 13 players from the Danish leagues – including one from second tier side Fredericia – and four of the five who play abroad are the three over-23 players permitted. It will be an uphill battle for the Danes, even against Iraq, which finished fourth at the under-20 World Cup in 2013.

Other match-ups of interest tonight include Mexico vs Germany, Portugal vs Argentina, Sweden vs Colombia and Nigeria vs Japan.

Denmark vs Iraq, 18:00 on TV2

TOP STORIES

  • Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Analysis shows that many students from Bangladesh are enrolled in Danish universities

    Earlier this year, the Danish government changed the law on access for people from third world countries to the Danish labor market. Yet, there may still be a shortcut that goes through universities

  • Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Danish Flower company accused of labor abuse in Türkiye

    Queen Company, a Denmark-origin flower producer with pristine sustainability credentials, is under fire for alleged labor rights violations at its Turkish operation, located in Dikili, İzmir. Workers in the large greenhouse facility have been calling decent work conditions for weeks. The Copenhagen Post gathered testimonies from the workers to better understand the situation

  • Advice for expats: Navigating Life as an International in Denmark

    Advice for expats: Navigating Life as an International in Denmark

    Beginning this month, Expat Counselling will be contributing a monthly article to The Copenhagen Post, offering guidance, tools, and reflections on the emotional and social aspects of international life in Denmark. The first column is about Strategies for emotional resilience

  • New agreement criticized for not attracting enough internationals

    New agreement criticized for not attracting enough internationals

    Several mayors and business leaders across Denmark are not satisfied with the agreement that the government, the trade union movement and employers made last week. More internationals are needed than the agreement provides for

  • Let’s not fear the global – let’s use it wisely

    Let’s not fear the global – let’s use it wisely

    Copenhagen’s international community is not just a demographic trend – it’s a lifeline. Our hospitals, kindergartens, construction sites, laboratories and restaurants rely on talent from all over the world. In fact, more than 40% of all job growth in the city over the past decade has come from international employees.

  • The Danish Connection: Roskilde gossip, a DNA scandal & why young Danes are having less sex

    The Danish Connection: Roskilde gossip, a DNA scandal & why young Danes are having less sex

    With half of the population of Copenhagen at Roskilde this week, Eva away in Aalborg and the weather being a bit of a joke , Melissa and Rachel bring you a chatty episode to cheer you up looking into three of the top stories in Denmark this week.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    “It’s possible to lead even though you don’t fit the traditional leadership mold”

    Describing herself as a “DEI poster child,” being queer, neurodivergent and an international in Denmark didn’t stop Laurence Paquette from climbing the infamous corporate ladder to become Marketing Vice President (VP) at Vestas. Arrived in 2006 from Quebec, Laurence Paquette unpacks the implications of exposing your true self at work, in a country that lets little leeway for individuality

  • Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Deal reached to bring more foreign workers to Denmark

    Agreement between unions and employers allows more foreign workers in Denmark under lower salary requirements, with new ID card rules and oversight to prevent social dumping and ensure fair conditions.

  • New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    New association helps international nurses and doctors Denmark

    Kadre Darman was founded this year to support foreign-trained healthcare professionals facing challenges with difficult authorisation processes, visa procedures, and language barriers, aiming to help them find jobs and contribute to Denmark’s healthcare system

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs