Who can forget England's 3-0 victory over Denmark in the World Cup of 2002? The win enabled Sven's boys to move into the quarter final before their 2-1 defeat against Brazil ended any hopes of lifting the trophy. However, both England and Denmark have qualified for Euro 2004 and meet this Sunday at Old Trafford in a prestige friendly as the build up to Portugal begins in earnest. Aston Villa's Danish shot stopper, Thomas Sorensen, will be between the sticks for the Scandinavians and he will be looking to erase the memory of their crushing World Cup defeat. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson spoke to Sorensen in another exclusive interview prior to Sunday's big game.
Q:HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS GAME?
A:All internationals are important, but both teams can relax as they have qualified and try and build some momentum towards the final in the summer. We have got three great friendlies - against England, Turkey and Spain - all away from home and they will all be very tough games. It is always a great occasion when you play England and you hope that you win so that you can go back to your club on Monday morning with a smile on your face!
Q:IS IT A REVENGE MISSION AFTER LOSING IN THE WORLD CUP?
A:We made some mistakes on that day, but this isn't a re-match as there isn't a World Cup quarter final at stake. Nevertheless, I am sure it will be a great atmosphere and both teams will treat it as a friendly and want to try out a few things.
Q:IS THE RESULT IMPORTANT?
A:If you can draw or win in England then it is always a memorable day, irrespective of the occasion, because England are one of the biggest footballing nations in the world. You would always want to measure yourself against these kind of teams so a good result would definitely boos morale.
Q: HAVE ENGLAND IMPROVED IN THE FIVE YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN HERE?
A:I feel that they have improved and become a really solid team. Even when they are under pressure they can grind out results and they have players who can make a difference. It is always nice to have players of this ability available because even on a bad day they can turn things around for you.
Q:DENMARK SEEM TO HAVE A PRETTY SETTLED SQUAD AT PRESENT DON'T THEY?
A:You need to have a settled first eleven because if you don't train together week in and week out it is so important that you know each other and the team gels together. This has been the Danish strength recently because we are a small footballing nation, and even though we do have some very good players, we just don't have 40 like England. It is probably harder to pick the English team because there are so many good players, but Sven Goran Eriksson has done a very good job and they have qualified.
Q:HOW MUCH DID WORKING WITH PETER SCHMEICHEL HELP YOU?
A:I was his understudy for a few years and I tried to learn as much as I could from him. He gave me advice and passed on things that he thought would help me in my career and you would be stupid to disregard that. It was nice to be able to step into his shoes when he finally retired.
Q:DO YOU THINK YOU WILL EVER MATCH HIS APPARANCE RECORD?
A:I have 31 caps at the moment and still need around another 100 to catch up with Peter! I can't promise you I will get there, but as long as you feel you are on top of your game and number one in your country then you want to be playing. If that gets me to 129 caps for my country then so be it - but I don't expect it to.
Q:CAN DENMARK WIN EURO 2004?
A:We have a chance of winning, but we have to be on top of our game all the way through and avoid injuries and suspensions as we only have a small squad. We are as good as the 1992 team that won the same tournament, but there are eight more teams in the tournament now and that makes it far harder to win.
Q:WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE FAVOURITES?
A:You can't really pick one team out and say they are going to win it so that is what makes it so difficult. However, if we have our best team out then we have a chance.
