It doesn’t get any better than beating your other half at the World Cup.
In my case it happened in 2002: a last 16 meeting between Denmark and England for which I held a midday barbecue for 40 people at my garden flat in Charlton in Southeast London.
The 1998 classic ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les is one of football’s most vicious songs, and on that day it endeared itself to me forever as half the party cowardly turned on the defenceless Dane sitting on the floor.
“We’re going to score one more than you!” – three more as it happened.
The battle is won!
We’d have to wait eight years for another possible match-up, by which time we were – to borrow an expression from Bridget Jones – sprogged up.
‘She’ might have already won the war and persuaded me to move to Denmark, but the battle for the allegiance of my daughters was only just beginning.
“Danmark er lort,” my youngest volunteered this morning. “De boller med de små.”
I don’t think you need a translator to know this was a fight I won a long time ago.
FRANCE
Mette Schønfeld Mazella (DK) and Guillaume Mazella (France) are looking forward to their first World Cup together at which Denmark and France have both qualified and – who knows – maybe as a family.
Time will tell whether Mette can deliver in the ward before her countrymen deliver on the pitch, and whether the new arrival will be screaming Allez les Bleus or Kom så Danmark.
When is the due date and might this pose a problem for any of the fixtures?June 23 – France and Denmark are playing on the 26th, so we will ask the hospital to show the game if Mette is delivering three days later than planned … which is possible.
Is this your first World Cup as a couple featuring both Denmark and France?Yes, although we were a couple for Euro 2012, which Denmark and France both qualified for.
Would you say that one of you will be louder than the other in your support?Definitely Guillaume is the loudest one. We are both cheering a lot, but Guillaume swears more.
Some might say that France are more sophisticated than Denmark on the pitch. Is this also true at home?
Not really, we share the sophistication at home, so it’s a clear draw on this one.
Do you intend to watch the game together?
Yes of course. Guillaume will watch all the games until he has to leave for the hospital. Mette is also a huge fan of sports, so she will support both Denmark and France unless they are playing against one another.
Will you be superstitiously looking out for signs as to who’s getting the support down below: kicking during the national anthem of choice, for example?
Mette will definitely, but she will tell him what to do since she has the biggest impact on him … and the biggest belly by the way. Guillaume will be too focused on his beers and trying to sing the Danish national anthem without any pronunciation mistakes.
What do you think the score will be?
Mette says: 2-1 to Denmark. She is really hoping this. Realistically it will end up with a draw or victory for France.
Guillaume says 2-1 for France, but I hope both teams will have qualifed before the game, or else it will be hard to watch it with my wife’s family, or even in Denmark.
Are either of you a bad loser?
Guillaume is the worst loser, but bad losers are in the genes on both side.
So there are no plans to give the winner first dibs on naming the baby?
For many months we were joking about calling him Kylian (after Mbappé) since France will be world champions. But luckily we have already agreed on Enzo (Italy is not part of the World Cup … so problem solved).
AUSTRALIA
Jessica O’Sullivan-Munck met her Danish husband Morten Munck whilst co-writing a column for CPH POST called ‘Dating the Danes’ as an Australian looking for love in Copenhagen.
She has now been in the Danish capital for almost a decade, and last year she and Morten had their first child, Axel.
Approaching the World Cup, the big question is who will Axel be rooting for/hepper på?
Is this your first World Cup as a couple featuring both Denmark and Australia?
Yes, we’ve been together since 2011 but never encountered this problem before.
Would you say that one of you will be louder than the other in your support?I’m more the silent, studious supporter, whereas Morten is the kind who screams at the screen as if he can actually influence the game.
Some might say that Australia is a little more robust than Denmark at sport. Is this also true at home?
Haha. All I’ll say is that they don’t call Danes Roligans for nothing.
Do you intend to watch the game together as a family?
Yes, without a doubt. We had hoped to attend the game in Russia, but unfortunately the travel distances and pricing weren’t that family-friendly.
So crunch question: who will Axel be supporting?
Given we’ll be watching the game in Denmark, and Denmark is marginally (and I really mean only marginally) better than Australia at the moment, he’ll be backing Denmark.
What do you think the score will be?
3-1 to Denmark.
Are either of you a bad loser?
Yes, both unfortunately.
PERU
Anders Nash (England/DK) and Lisbeth Vogensen (Peru/DK) and their children Maya, 3, and Theis, 1, recently moved back to Denmark after living in Bolivia for five and a half years.
The family are now looking forward to the first World Cup at which all three of their nationalities are competing.
But who will their children be supporting: the red and whites or the white and red?
Is this your first World Cup as a couple featuring both Denmark and Peru?
It is indeed our first WC. Since Peru haven’t featured since 1982, and Lisbeth wasn’t born until 1983, we are enjoying it for the first time.
Would you say that one of you will be louder than the other in your support?I would actually say that Lisbeth will likely be louder, especially if Peru can pull off a win. She isn’t a big Peru supporter nor believer, but she feels Peru haven’t had the rub of the green in recent footballing years and it is a country that deserves this for reasons beyond football.
Some might say that Peru has a more ruthless streak than Denmark on the pitch. Is this also true at home?
Peruvians, ruthless on the pitch?! Don’t come home to us then… you ain’t seen nothing!
Do you intend to watch the game together as a family?
We will watch as a family and frankly will be happy regardless of the score. We will be happy win, draw or lose.
So crunch question: who will the children be supporting?
The kids will be screaming both ways but not know quite why – that’s the best bit about it! They will get hotdogs, Mummy soft ice and Daddy beer, so actually the game almost plays second fiddle, haha.
What do you think the score will be?
I actually fancy Peru to make a run of it, but you have to expect Denmark to win it. I think Peru were better as a team when Guerrero was banned, but now that’s been overturned let’s see how he is galvanised.
Are either of you a bad loser?
We are both horrible losers, and since we have two kids things are getting lost and broken relentlessly so it’s all part of the family growth curve!
