Danish press targets Beckham

In normal times the Danish are regarded as the cool, calm and rather reserved people of Europe. But now, on the eve of tomorrow's World Cup clash with England, they are displaying some undeniable signs of their Viking roots.

And there's no doubting who is their football fans' public enemy number one: David Beckham.

Denmark's largest tabloid, Ekstra Bladet, yesterday took the almost unprecedented step of calling for what could be considered dirty play. Above a picture of Beckham shouted the rhyming headline "Knaek ham" - "Break him".

And in another tabloid, BT, an open letter to Victoria Beckham from the sports editor advised: "Dear Posh - David's travelling home on Saturday."

For a small nation, Denmark is going into tomorrow's crunch game with an amazing sense of confidence. Danish football analyst Birger Peitersen believes English arrogance will see Denmark through to the next round of the World Cup: the Danes will be underestimated, he says, because England cannot see themselves losing to a team "they consider to be reserve players from Bolton".

The possible absence of leading striker Jon Dahl Tomasson, currently struggling with a groin problem, does not seem to bother fans. The feeling across the country is: "We've beaten two former World Cup winners [Uruguay and France], bring on number three."

Combined with a feeling that England are a tired team that have failed to live up to expectations, confidence in the Viking Kingdom is sky-high.

One poll showed 83 per cent expect Denmark to beat England. Three out of four answered "no" when asked whether they would have preferred Denmark to play Sweden on Saturday.

Writing in his paper, sports correspondent Allan Pedersen of Ekstra Bladet says: "We're guaranteed a fast, furious and alternating game with room for individual skills. A titbit is lined up, and we'll win it, because we have the most versatile cards to play. And we can play the full 90 minutes without making any blunders. The English can't."

Having watched the morning group games against Senegal and France at offices, factories and schools, Danes are gearing up for a massive afternoon at pubs and parks, with big screens planned for numerous locations. Demand for supporter attire is booming - Denmark shirts sold out long ago.

Odds for the game are not out yet from the Danish national betting company, but if those from Tuesday's match against France are anything to go by, punters are not in for a financial feast should England lose. The Denmark win against the World Champions netted 3.7 times the stake.

So the streets of Copenhagen will be deserted come Saturday afternoon, until the country explodes in joy as David Beckham gets ready to pack his suitcase.

At least that's what most Danes will tell you.

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