In 1987 Yugoslavia beat West Germany in the final of the FIFA World Youth Championship, now known as the Under-20 World Cup. A team featuring Zvonimir Boban, Igor Stimac, Predrag Mijatovic, Davor Suker and Robert Prosinecki saw off host nation Chile (4-2), Australia (4-0), Togo (4-1), Brazil (2-1) and East Germany (2-1) prior to their triumph in the showpiece event, which ended in a penalty shoot-out victory following a 1-1 draw in the 120 minutes.
With a youth title behind them, it was hoped that Yugoslavia could go on and win a major tournament at senior level for the first time. They were, in truth, rather unfortunate to lose to Argentina in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup – despite going down to 10 men after half an hour, the Yugoslavs only lost on spot-kicks – but some impressive performances in qualification saw them comfortably advance to Euro 1992, where they were expected to compete for the trophy.
But it was not to be. After the outbreak of civil war, the country was banned from competing at the Championship just 10 days before it was due to begin in Sweden. Denmark, who had finished second to Yugoslavia in their qualification group, were last-minute call-ups to take their place in Group 1.
Unsurprisingly, not much was expected of Richard Møller Nielsen’s side, particularly when Barcelona attacking midfielder Michael Laudrup refused to return to the national team setup having quit in 1990. The Danes did manage to get a squad of 20 players ready in time, though, and they were in good enough shape to hold England to a goalless draw in their opening encounter. That was a highly creditable result given the circumstances, but a 1-0 defeat by Sweden three days later left Denmark vulnerable.
They were, however, not done yet. England’s loss to the Swedes meant it was winner-takes-all when Denmark met France on 17 June; goals from Henrik Larsen and Lars Elstrup ensured it was the former who emerged victorious, as Nielsen’s charges progressed to the knockout phase against the odds. “We played without nerves because we thought we'd be going home,” midfielder Kim Vilfort later explained.
Larsen was again on target in the semi-finals, netting twice as Denmark drew 2-2 with the Netherlands after extra time. Marco van Basten, Holland’s hero four years previously, missed the decisive spot-kick in the shoot-out, giving Kim Christofte the chance to send the Red-Whites through to the final with the 10th effort of the evening. He did not disappoint.
It was a superb achievement for Denmark to make it that far, but Germany – who included Rudi Völler, Matthias Sammer and Jurgen Klinsmann among their number – were heavy favourites to come out on top in Gothenburg. That notion was only reinforced when they made a strong start to the match, but it was Denmark who took the lead in the 18th minute through John Jensen, who smashed a shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the penalty box.
Peter Schmeichel pulled off a terrific save from Klinsmann moments later – just one of several brilliant stops he made to repel Germany’s attacking contingent. The 37,800-strong crowd had to wait until shortly after half-time for the second strike of the evening, as Vilfort fired a left-footed shot home via a flick off the post. Their opponents huffed and puffed, but the glory improbably belonged to Denmark.
