World Cup Treated to a Danish : 3 Goals for Elkjaer as the Great Danes Rout Uruguay, 6-1
If there is a better team than Denmark involved in the 1986 World Cup, it has three weeks in which to prove it.
The Danes, playing the kind of soccer that once brought Brazil worldwide acclaim, crushed Uruguay, 6-1, Sunday afternoon to assure themselves a spot in the second round.
Three goals by Preben Elkjaer and one each from Soren Lerby, Michael Laudrup and Jesper Olsen were enough to bring a standing ovation from the crowd at the final whistle. Even Uruguay’s supporters had to admit their team had been outclassed in every aspect.
There might be more closely contested and therefore more intense games in the weeks leading up to the June 29 final, but there is unlikely to be a better single-game performance from any one of the 24 teams. Unless, that is, Denmark has even greater surprises in store.
Having single-handedly lifted the tournament out of the doldrums into which it had fallen, the Danes must now be considered favorites to reach the championship game. If they do, it can only benefit the sport.
Sunday’s performance was virtually flawless, the type of showing that is best retained on videotape to be savored again and again through the years. The fact that Uruguay scored on a penalty kick by Enzo Francescoli seconds before halftime after he had been obstructed just inside the penalty area by Jens Bertelsen is a minor blemish.
The only dark note for the Danes, in fact, came 10 minutes into the second half when Bertelsen was felled by a harsh tackle and had to be carried from the field on a stretcher. He suffered a possible broken right leg and was taken to hospital for X-rays and treatment.
By then, however, Denmark held a 3-1 lead, an advantage it appeared capable of increasing at will. Completely controling the midfield and breaking in on the Uruguayan goal in wave upon wave, the Danes were an irresistible force.
There was really no portion of the match that belonged to Uruguay, which was forced to play a man short after Miguel Bossio was ejected for rough play in the 20th minute. Elkjaer’s three goals, for example, were scored at 10:21, 68:10 and 79:20. Lerby’s came at 40:50, Laudrup’s at 51:57 and Olsen’s at 88:01.
Of the six, Laudrup’s was perhaps the most dramatic, climaxing as it did a string of 16 consecutive passes without the Uruguayans getting a touch of the ball. The Danes’ passing throughout the match was tremendous, their finishing, deadly.
Making their mastery more astonishing is the fact that this is their first World Cup and they are unbeaten. First Scotland fell, 1-0, and now Uruguay.
The group in which they play, Group E, had been labeled the “Group of Death” because it contains four strong teams, two of which are expected to be eliminated.
Denmark was the team many fans felt sorry for, believing they were given an impossible task in their World Cup debut. As it turns out, it is the others in the group who need to be pitied.
On Friday, Denmark meets West Germany in Queretaro and, as one Brazilian journalist said Sunday, “the champion might come out of that game.” Before the tournament began, the Danes feared they might need to beat the Germans in order to advance. Now, they need only tie them in order to finish first in Group E.
As for Uruguay, the former two-time world champion is left with the unenviable task of having to defeat Scotland on Friday in order to even think of advancing. A tie, and the single point it would bring each team, might not be enough to prevent Uruguay from being eliminated.
Denmark leads the group standings with four points, Germany has three, Uruguay one and Scotland none.
After Sunday’s match, one fan, his naked chest and face emblazoned with the red and white Danish flag raced to the center of the field, carefully spread Denmark’s flag on the ground and, on his knees and with his arms raised in triumph, began bowing up and down to the exhortations of the crowd.
The World Cup security is extremely tight, but no one bothered him. Like the rest of the Danes Sunday, he, too, was unstoppable.
