While Roy Hodgson has announced a 30 men squad for the friendly in March, the Danish manager has settled with 22. Among the 22 players, 11 may be unknown for the English fans as they normally play in the Danish Superliga. However, no need to worry; Lord Bendtner is ready for Wembley.

Former Charlton goalkeeper Stephan Andersen and Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel has been selected for the match along with FC Midtjylland's Jonas Lössl. 

In the defends Denmark has Andreas Bjelland, Liverpool's Daniel Agger, former Everton back Lars Jacobsen as well as Midtjylland's Jesper Juelsgaard, Esbjerg's Peter Ankersen and finally Simon Kjær of Lille.  

The biggest name on the Danish midfield is Christian Eriksen and he will be accompanied by either experienced Mainz midfielder Niki Zimling and Fulham loanee William Kvist. The other midfielders for the match are Casper Sloth and Danny Olsen, both AGF, Kasper Kusk, Aalborg BK, Thomas Delaney of FC Copenhagen, Thomas Kahlenberg, Brøndby, Emil Larsen of Odense and Martin Braithwaite of Toulouse and Michael Krohn-Dehli of Celta Vigo.

In the attack former Celtic striker Morten Duncan Rasmussen will battle with Nicklas Bendtner for a place in the starting line up. 

The match is played on the 5th of March.

Britney Spears' Oops I did it again seems to be the soundtrack of Nicklas Bendtner's life. Once again, the former talent made it through to the headlines - and once again it was negative.

Saturday night, Bendtner decided to get behind the wheel after a wet night in Copenhagen and drive home. Unfortunately for Bendtner, the Police was there to stop him and add just another controversial event to his already long list.

The offence has been met with disgrace by the football fans of Denmark as drunk driving is some of the most unacceptable in Denmark. Furthermore, the Danish FA (DBU) has decided to give Bendtner a six months break from national duties. A mild punishment as the striker is currently injured and only will miss two matches. After the six months, Bendtner will then have a word with DBU and find out if he has a future on the national team.

Further more, his career in Juventus seems to have reach an end as the Vice-Director Fabio Paratici has ordered Nicklas Bendtner back in Torino to explain himself. According to the club, Bendtner was in Denmark to rehabilitate from his injury, and not supposed to be partying in Copenhagen.

Should Bendtner be sacked in Juventus he will return to Arsenal, where they probably won't welcome him with open arms. Arsene Wenger is known for his strict discipline and has earlier punished a player as Jermain Pennant for drunk driving. On top of that, Bendtner is not even close to be a part of the team and might be sold in the summer window.

This raises a new question; who will have a player with his reputation? First of all, Bendtner is still aiming to be the worlds best striker, and therefore, will only represent a top team. However, with his long list of bad behaviour no top team will hire a player like him. Nicklas Bendtner will have to settle with a mid- or bottom table team. Second, if Bendtner keep living the life he does, he will never fulfill the potential that he as a matter of fact has. It is hard to see him make it in a top four club in the Premier League, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga or Spanish Primera Divisíon. However, with the right mid-table club he can be a star.

If Bendtner wants to make it as a star in any team, he will have to put this behind him. In 2011, he wrote a letter to the Danish fans stating that he would change. However, in 2013 nothing has. Bendtner looks more and more as a joke rather than a talent.

The offensive midfielder was part of the FC Nordsjælland team that won the Danish Superliga last season. Mikkelsen was awarded  a position in the EURO 2012 squad, where he had some impressive performances. With Rommedahl in his last years of his career, Tobias Mikkelsen has showed Morten Olsen that he is a man for the future on the Danish national team. The winger is currently in his last days of his contract with FCN. However, the club is determined to keep Mikkelsen for his seasons Champions League adventure.

Like Tobias Mikkelsen, Jores Okore has just won the Danish Superliga last season. The Ivory-coast Danish born defender had his debut for FCN this season, with 36 caps and one goal. In 2011, Okore played his first U21 match for Denmark. However, Danish national coach Morten Olsen has kept an eye on Okore from the start of the season and gave him a surprising spot in the EURO squad. At this moment, the 19 year old defender is only considered as a talented back up for Agger and Kjær. However, it is only a matter of time before Okore plays in a football club outside Denmark, which could send him in the Danish starting line.

Another future defender for Denmark is Jannik Vestergaard. The 19 year old Hoffenheim player, has a German mother and can, therefore, play for the German national team. However, Vestergaard has decided to play for the Danish youth national teams. Before the EURO, the defender was invited to train with the Danish national squad. This can be a signal, that Vestergaard is close to have his debut for the team. Many of the Danish fans, had hoped that Morten Olsen would give him a spot in the EURO squad, as he is seen as one of the best Danish talents. Further more, Vestergaard has proved that he, unlikely for defenders, has a nose for scoring goals. 

Nicloai Boilesen was a safe name in the Danish EURO squad – Until he has his struck by another injury. The left back has so far played two matches for the Danish national team but has several caps for the national youth teams. Not only is he the future in Ajax Amsterdam, but also for the Danish national team and despite his young age he will be a regular player for Morten Olsen. Especially, with Denmarks problems on the left back.

The Aalborg-striker ended as number three on the Danish Superliga top scorer list - The most scoring Danish player in the league last season. The media were fast to announce him as a joker for the EURO squad, but instead he was selected for the U21 Danish team. The players agent has just revealed that Helenius is on the shortlist in Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich. Aalborg is under an economic pressure and might be forced to sell their star player, but they will do whatever they can to keep him for another season. Take a look on Great Dane Football Blog's profile of Helenius.

The Danish FA (DBU) was all over the Danish Media yesterday, after they banned the players from using Social Medias during the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

The reason for banning Twitter and Facebook during the Euro 2012 is to keep the communication with the media within the planned press conferences and to keep the players focus on the tournament.

Lars Berendt, Chief of Communication in DBU, said to sporten.tv2.dk that:

However, it does not sound like there is an agreement between the FA and the players, as Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen, last night said to the same website, that he did not agree with DBU. The decision was also met with wonder from the press and the Danish Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk, who demanded an explanation from DBU.

To make things even worse for the Danish FA, Lars Berendt yesterday told that the Twitter-ban had existed for a while, and “the players have never used their private Twitter-accounts or Facebook, when they have been gathered with the national team”. However, this was proved wrong by a Danish newspaper today, when they found old tweets from Thomas Sørensen and Evian midfielder Christian Poulsen, posted before and after a match against Norway.

The ban, now known as “Twitter-gate” in Denmark, has been met by skepticism from Danish fans on the Social Media.  Danish Sports commentator Andreas Kraul, from Danish Radio tweeted:

The answer was partly answered this morning, when Berendt on national television told that the players would be able to live chat through an DBU app and that the players would earn money on this. It sounds like the Danish FA has made some commercial deals and is afraid of losing them, if the players use their private twitter.

Keep an eye on: Patrick Olsen

The young Brøndby IF midfielder Patrick Olsen is still waiting for his break through in the Danish Superliga, however, his talent has been discovered by other clubs from abroad. The Italian Serie B-club Atalanta had Olsen, then aged 16, on a trial in 2010.

"He is a fantastic technical and tactical player. He is very good at reading the game and what I like in particular is his ability to keep calm when he is under pressure."

                                          - Per Andersen, Danish U18 & U19 national coach

Patrick Olsen scored his only goal for the Danish U16 national team in his debut against Ireland in 2009. The year after he was one of the players to bring Denmark U17 to the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Qualifications Elite Round. The Brøndby player had not success with the national team but also with the club as they won bronze in the national league.

The Danish U17 national team made it to the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship which Patrick Olsen was not only selected for; He also played him self on the UEFA All Star team:

"Brøndby IF prospect Olsen played an understated yet pivotal role for Denmark, always showing great calmness on the ball alongside Christian Nørgaard." - UEFA.com

The strong midfielder was also selected for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2011 where the dutch club Ajax Amsterdam was scouting him.

After only 2 caps for the U18 national team, Patrick Olsen, was promoted to the U19 team aged 17. Per Andersen said about the promotion:

"Patrick is from 1994 and plays on the national team for players from 1993. He has been promoted a year before schedules which means that right now he is competing with a few other midfielders. He is a player who is a part of the team to gather some experience but also because he has a great talent."

Olsen have also been a part of the Brøndby IF's reserves and is training with the Superliga squad. A break through may be the next for him, and Per Andersen believes that the young player has the potential to play on a higher level.

"He has the potential to play in The Premier League. Mostly because he is a winner-type and a mental strong player. It is hard to say if he will make it, but the potential is there."

                                   - Per Andersen,  Danish U18 &  U19 national coach
           
       
       
       

Special thanks to Per Andersen, DBU.

Keep an eye on: Morten Brander Knudsen

Fcm.dk

              Name: Morten Brander Knudsen
               Age: 16 (28-4-1995)

          Position: Center Midfield
              Club: FC Midtjylland,
                    Danish Superliga
    Official debut: Still to come
International caps: Denmark U17: 8 match(es)
                                 1 goal(s)
                    Denmark U16: 5 match(es)
                                 1 goal(s)
             Value: Unknown

Morten Brander Knudsen started playing football in the Danish club Hellerup IK aged six and was on a trial with Chelsea FC before joining the FC Midtjylland football academy in the summer 2010, aged 15.  Later that summer he had his debut for the Danish U16 national team in the 0-1 loss against Italy in the Citta di Latina tournament. At the end of the Citta di Latina Morten Knudsen was honoured as the tournament’s most valuable player.

“I’m a box-to-box player. I’m capable of kicking with both legs and have a good drive with the ball.”

                                 – Morten Brander Knudsen to FCM.dk

The great performance both in FC Midtjylland as well as for the national team was followed up by a trial-offer from Stoke City FC, where Knudsen was seen as a future academy-player. However, the Director of Sports in FCM Jens Ørgaard declined.

Morten Knudsen was chosen to play for the Danish U17-team in the Scandinavian InterNordic Cup by national coach Thomas Frank, where he had his debut in the 3-3 draw against Finland. Later that year he was reselected to play in the Syrenka Cup in Poland, where he scored his first ever international goal against Belarus. The performance on club as well as national level also gave him a spot in the squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Qualifications which Denmark won and advanced to the elite round. Danish U17 national coach said:

“He plays - what we call a number 8 sometimes a number 6 – one of the two back players in our triangle midfield. Morten has some very good competences and a really fine quality of passing both short and long, which is one of his strengths in the game. He is also very good at keeping a flow in the game.”

But the most exciting and interesting competence for the national coach is Mortens drive with the ball which makes him capable of going past his direct opponent. Frank also put weights on Knudsen’s “fantastic kick with both right and left foot.”

The Italian sports paper Gazetta dello Sport reported in December 2011 that Morten Knudsen had signed with FC Internazionale Milano after he had been on a trial with the club. The story was untrue according to FC Midtjylland, however, the club revealed to the Danish sports paper Tipsbladet that the club was in dialogue with Inter.

Italy looks like the next stop for the young player but asked if he could see Morten Brander Knudsen in The Premier League, Thomas Frank predicted:

“It is an immense step... It is the best league in the world where class players are bought for the exact position, but I believe that he has the physique to play in The Premier League, he has the speed and not the least some amazing skills with his feet – A Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard type of player.”

Brander Knudsen has been elected for the U17 friendlies against Switzerland and has been promoted to the FC Midtjylland Superliga squad doing the winter preseason.