Gareth Southgate’s brave Three Lions are gearing up to add another heroic victory to the long list England has notched up over Denmark.
We’re not just talking about England football’s 13 wins out of 22 clashes compared to the Dane’s four either – English wins over their Nordic neighbours date all the way back to the ninth century. British victories began in earnest at the battle of Ashdown in 871AD at a disputed location thought by many historians to be in Berkshire.
Legends of the era Alfred the Great and Viking king Halfdan Ragnarsson were on the scene, and although both men survived, many of the Viking’s fellow leaders were slain.
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Another thumping defeat of the Danes came seven years later at the Battle of Edington, in present-day Wiltshire.
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Again King Alfred lined up the men of Wessex against a Viking army, this time led by King Guthrum of East Anglia. Between 2,000 and 6,000 saxon soldiers are thought to have fought and defeated 4,000 Vikings, killing around 2,000, sending the Danes into disarray, and splitting their unity.
Not focusing too much on the numerous victories Vikings secured over English forces over the next few hundred years, another bumper battle for the (future) Brits came in 1066 at the infamous Battle of Stamford Bridge – no, not the one against Tottenham.
This one saw the now-united Kingdom of England under Harold Goodwinson and King of Norway Harald Hardrada (who had also laid claim to the Danish throne four years before, so it counts) clash in 1066.
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It was a horrific bloodbath with massive losses on both sides. The English lined up with 10,500 to 15,000 footmen and 2,000 cavalry against 9,000 to 11,000 Vikings for the showdown in East Riding, Yorkshire.
Things looked bad for the English when they were held up on the bridge itself by a single Viking with a massive axe who, according to the chronicles, cut down some 40 Englishmen before one floated under the bridge and shoved a spear up between the planks – you can only imagine where that ended up.
Once across the bridge, Hardrada got an arrow to the throat and after a ferocious battle, the Viking line started to fracture. In the end, 5,000 English lay dead, as did between 6,000 and 8,000 Vikings.
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Since these troubled times, English victories over the Danes have continued (again, ignoring the various means and ways Denmark has bested England from football matches and athletics to inventing LEGO to their design of pastries). Although thankfully, progress means such battles have been settled in the arenas of sport, rather than bloodsoaked battlefields.
When England and Denmark first came up against one another on a football pitch in 1948 for a World Cup qualifier, the tone was set for things to come. The Three Lions bagged a consummate 5-2 home victory, followed by a smashing 4-1 thumping on the return leg.
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The Danes are well known for being strong sporting all-rounders – their unofficial national sports are listed by various sources as running, football and handball – and have had excellent athletes in everything from cycling to sailing. But, at the last Olympics, at Tokyo 2020, Team GB (admittedly not just England) gave the Danes yet another walloping.
Team GB secured 22 golds, 18 silvers and 22 bronze medals compared to the Danish record of 3, 4 and 4. Among them was Keely Hodgkinson’s silver in the 800m, which is running, by the way.
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