Door open for Danish duo
Denmark coach Morten Olsen had a surprise up his sleeve when he announced his squad for UEFA EURO 2004™ today. Olsen revealed only 21 names from the 23-man party, allowing time for PSV Eindhoven's Kasper Bøgelund and Peter Løvenkrands of Rangers FC to prove their fitness and complete the squad.
Press conference
Speaking at a press conference at the Parken stadium, Olsen promised a final decision next week. "I made this decision a couple of weeks ago, as there are a couple of players I want to check on a little bit more. I am going to announce the two last players some time next week," he said.
Duo recovering quickly
Although Olsen did not comment directly on who would fill the two vacant positions, his decision was undoubtedly influenced by the fact that both Bøgelund and Løvenkrands are recovering more quickly than expected from respective hamstring and knee problems.
Additional option
Neither player has featured in any of Denmark's warm-up matches but there is no doubt that a fit Bøgelund would provide useful back-up in both defence and midfield, while Løvenkrands would give Olsen an additional option on the left wing.
Denmark squad
Goalkeepers
1 Thomas Sørensen (Aston Villa FC)
16 Peter Skov-Jensen (FC Midtjylland)
22 Stephan Andersen (Akademisk Boldklub)
Defenders
3 René Henriksen (Panathinaikos FC)
4 Martin Laursen (AC Milan)
5 Niclas Jensen (BV Borussia Dortmund)
6 Thomas Helveg (FC Internazionale)
13 Per Krøldrup (Udinese Calcio)
18 Brian Priske (KRC Genk)
Midfielders
2 Morten Wieghorst (Brøndby IF)
7 Thomas Gravesen (Everton FC)
14 Claus Jensen (Charlton Athletic FC)
15 Daniel Jensen (Real Murcia CF)
17 Christian Poulsen (FC Schalke 04)
Forwards
8 Jesper Grønkjær (Chelsea FC)
9 Jon Dahl Tomasson (AC Milan)
10 Martin Jørgensen (Udinese Calcio)
11 Ebbe Sand (FC Schalke 04)
19 Dennis Rommedahl (PSV Eindhoven)
21 Peter Madsen (VfL Bochum)
20 Kenneth Perez (AZ Alkmaar)
Source: uefa.com
