by FOXSports.com

G Thomas Sorenson, Sunderland (ENG)
D Rene Henriksen, Panathaikos (GRE)
D Thomas Helveg, AC Milan (ITA)
D Martin Laursen, AC Milan (ITA)
D Martin Jorgensen, Udinese (ITA)
M Jesper Gronkjaer, Chelsea (ENG)
M Thomas Gravesen, Everton (ENG)
M Dennis Rommedahl, PSV Eindhoven (NED)
M Stig Tofting, Bolton (ENG)
F Jon Dahl Thomassen, Feyenoord (NED)
F Ebbe Sand, Schalke 04 (GER)

POST-LAUDRUP GENERATION READY TO SHOW TEETH

Before Euro 2000, you might have said that Denmark had a habit of turning up at major football tournaments and performing better than expected. Unfortunately for the Danes, in Euro 2000, admittedly in a tough group, they were simply blown away.

Nevertheless, the 1992 European Champions and 1998 World Cup quarter-finalists have picked themselves up after that disappointment and they qualified for Korea/Japan impressively.

Drawn with the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Iceland, Northern Ireland and Malta in the trickier-than-it-looked UEFA Group 3, the Danes achieved six wins and four draws from their 10 matches. Crucially, Denmark managed a win and a draw against both main group rivals - the Czechs and Bulgaria.

No prizes for guessing which player the Danish fans will be looking to for inspiration - their fabulous forward Ebbe Sand. The Schalke striker scored an impressive nine goals in the qualifiers.

In Feyenoord's Jon Dahl Tomasson, Sand has a handy partner up front. Indeed it was a brace by Tomasson in Denmark's qualifier in Bulgaria which proved decisive. The Danes' 2-0 win in Sofia virtually assured them of a ticket to the Far East.

The key players in Denmark's midfield will include hard man Thomas Gravesen and the speedy Dennis Rommedahl who, like Tomasson, plays his professional football in the Netherlands. Rommedahl has shown real ability to create and finish and his performances in Korea/Japan could be pivotal to Denmark's hopes. The Danes will also be hoping that Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer has fully recovered from injury.

AC Milan star Thomas Helveg will also feature prominently for the Danes. Coach Morten Olsen may play him in either defence or midfield.

Another ace in the Danish pack will be their first choice goalkeeper - and no it's not Peter Schmeichel. The Aston Villa custodian retired from international football during the 2002 qualifying campaign.

His replacement is Thomas Sorenson, who?s also in the English Premiership with Sunderland, and Sorenson is proving himself to be just as great a barrier for opposing teams.

Coach Morten Olsen is, of course, already a hero of Danish football. His long international career as a player included membership of Denmark's dazzling World Cup team of 1986. Since his retirement as a player, Olsen has coached clubs in the Netherlands and Germany and he took the Danish national job before the commencement of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

If Denmark makes it as far as the quarter-finals - as it did four years ago - it will be no mean feat. Despite the fact that they have a well-balanced team which was unbeaten in qualifying, the Danes had no luck in last December's draw. It placed them in Group A with France, Uruguay and Senegal.

While there should be no excuses for not advancing to the Round of 16, their next opponent would be a team from Group F. Yes, you know who's in that group - Argentina, England, Nigeria and Sweden.

Denmark's opening match against Uruguay could prove to be its most important in the group phase. Group A has a clear favorite (France) and a clear outsider (Senegal) and while no one is immune from World Cup upsets, it's a fair bet that the all-important second place will come down to a battle between Denmark and Uruguay.

Fortunately for Olsen, he will have a fair amount of creativity at his disposal if all his midfielders are fit and in form for the finals. He will need to have the right combination firing immediately as the Uruguayans boast an imposing defensive record.

Can Ebbe Sand continue his marvellous qualifying form? Could Dennis Rommedahl star? Can Thomas Sorenson make the crucial saves?

If it all comes together for this team, you never know, they might surprise us again. But for Denmark, it's a difficult path to the latter stages of the tournament.

Courtesy of our friends at World Cup Archive