Denmark is going head to head with Finland starting on 12 Jun 2021 at 16:00 UTC at Parken stadium, Copenhagen city, Denmark. The match is a part of the European Championship, Group B Denmark will be looking to make the perfect start to their Euro 2020 campaign when they take on Finland in their tournament opener on Saturday evening.

The Danes will be hoping to rival Belgium for top spot in Group F, although Russia will also fancy their chances of advancing to the knockout stage, and it is set to be a fascinating battle in this particular section Denmark famously won the European Championship in 1992, while they reached the quarter-final stage of the competition in 2004, but the 2012 tournament proved to be a disappointment, exiting in the group stage.

The Danes actually failed to qualify for Euro 2016 but secured their spot in the finals of Euro 2020 courtesy of finishing second in Group D behind Switzerland, picking up 16 points from their eight matches. Denmark’s preparations for this tournament have been strong, meanwhile, as they drew 1-1 with Germany in a friendly on June 2 before Martin Braithwaite and Andreas Cornelius scored in a 2-0 success over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Brondby on Sunday evening.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side have lost just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions and will view their tournament opener in Copenhagen as key to their chances of claiming a top-two position.  Third could yet be enough to advance from Group B, but the Red and Whites will not want to take any chances, particularly as they will finish this section with two difficult games against Belgium and Russia, making Saturday’s contest absolutely vital to their hopes of progression.

Finland face a tough task when it comes to securing a spot in the knockout round of the European Championship, but in many ways, they will be delighted to have qualified for the finals in the first place. Indeed, this is the first time that the Eagle-owls will be present in the European Championship, meaning that it will be a very special competition for the country as a whole.

Markku Kanerva’s side will not just be there to make up the numbers, but the team’s preparations have been far from ideal, losing their two pre-tournament friendlies against Sweden and Estonia. Finland recorded four straight victories in the latter stages of 2020 but are now winless in their last six, suffering four losses in the process, and they are being tipped to finish bottom of this section.

Nevertheless, there is certainly talent and plenty of experience in the squad, and a positive result against Denmark would lead them nicely into a clash with Russia on June 16.