The 10 greatest underdog teams in football history

#2 Denmark, Euro 1992

Denmark shouldn't have even been at Euro 1992 - let alone winning it!

Denmark’s victory at Euro 1992, held in neighbouring Sweden, was one of the greatest underdog stories ever not only because nobody expected the side to win, but even more so because they weren’t even supposed to be at the tournament.

They’d actually failed to qualify, but war-torn Yugoslavia were removed from the competition following UN sanctions, and so the Danes – the runners-up in their qualifying group – were sent in their place.

A 0-0 draw with England and a 1-0 loss to Sweden in the group stage had the Danes on the verge of an early flight home, but a 2-1 upset over France was enough to take them through the group and put them into the semi-finals.

There they faced reigning champions Netherlands and inexplicably managed to beat them on penalties after a 2-2 draw – with the legendary Dutch striker Marco Van Basten being the man to miss.

Germany – the winners of the 1990 World Cup – faced them in the final, sporting some of the world’s finest players – Klinsmann, Voller, Riedle, et al – while the Danes only had a handful of players outside of their own domestic league.

But riding a crazy wave of momentum, Denmark pulled off a 2-0 victory, allowing the likes of Peter Schmeichel to hold the famous trophy as part of one of football’s greatest underdog teams.