Top Goal Scorers For Denmark Football Team All-Time: Denmark has a strong history in soccer and has produced some great goal-scorers. From players like Jon Dahl Tomasson to Pernille Harder, Danish forwards have always been really good.
The Danish national soccer team has played in the World Championships six times and the European Championships nine times. They even became European champions in 1992. Right now, in 2023, Denmark is ranked 18th in the FIFA World Rankings.
Now, let’s talk about the players who scored the most goals for the Denmark soccer team.
1. Poul Nielsen
- Career Span: 1910–1925
- Matches: 38
- Goals: 52
- Average: 1.368
Poul Nielsen is the top goal scorer for the Denmark football team of all time. He started playing soccer for KB and made his national team debut on May 5, 1912, becoming the youngest player at that time. He played in the 1912 Olympic Games and scored his first goal against the Netherlands. After that, he became a regular player, scoring 22 goals in the next 9 games.
Nielsen’s international career ended in 1925, and he scored a total of 52 goals for Denmark. He scored 26 goals against Norway and 15 against Sweden. Notably, he was the first player to score four goals in one game against Germany in 1913. This record was later equaled by Jon Dahl Tomasson in 2010.
Poul Nielsen passed away on August 9, 1962, in Copenhagen at the age of 70.
2. Jon Dahl Tomasson
- Career Span: 1997–2010
- Matches: 112
- Goals: 52
- Average: 0.464
Jon Dahl Tomasson is the second-highest goal scorer for the Denmark football team. He made his debut on March 29, 1997, in a match against Croatia. Although he didn’t play for a while after that, he came back strong in 1998. Tomasson played in the 2002 World Cup and scored four goals, but Denmark was knocked out in the round of 16 by England.
He also played in the 2004 European Championship where Denmark reached the quarter-finals. In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, he scored five goals, but Denmark didn’t qualify for the tournament. Tomasson continued to contribute to the team, playing in the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
His final international match was in August 2010, where he scored his last goal against Japan, making him the record goal scorer for Denmark alongside Poul Nielsen, both with 52 goals.
3. Pauli Jørgensen
- Career Span: 1925–1939
- Matches: 47
- Goals: 44
- Average: 0.936
Pauli Jørgensen is the third-highest goal scorer for the Denmark football team. He started his career with Boldklubben 1908 in 1916 but later moved to BK Frem København in 1918. Jørgensen played 283 games for Boldklubben Frem and won the Danish championship four times with the club.
He scored 44 goals in 47 games for the Danish national team, making him the third-highest scorer of all time.
After retiring as a player in 1942, Jørgensen became a coach. He managed BK Frem København and won the Danish championship in 1944. He also coached in Norway for Ski-og Ballklubben Drafn. Jørgensen was recognized for his contributions to Danish football and passed away on October 30, 1993.
4. Ole Madsen
- Career Span: 1958–1969
- Matches: 50
- Goals: 42
- Average: 0.84
Ole Madsen, born on December 21, 1934, in Copenhagen and passed away on March 26, 2006, in Brønshøj, was a renowned Danish footballer.
He is ranked 4th in the all-time top goal scorers for the Denmark national football team, having scored 42 goals in 50 games.
In the 1964 European Football Championship, Madsen made a significant mark by becoming the top scorer with seven goals. His outstanding performance led to him being named the football player of the year in Denmark the same year.
5. Christian Eriksen
- Career Span: 2010–present
- Matches: 123
- Goals: 40
- Average: 0.325
Christian Eriksen is a talented football player. He’s known for playing exceptionally well and scoring goals for his country’s team. He started his career in the Danish U17 national team and scored ten goals in 27 matches between 2007 and 2009.
He got his big chance to play for the senior national team in 2010. At just 18 years old, he became the youngest player to appear in the World Cup. In 2021, during a match in the European Championships, Eriksen suddenly collapsed on the field. He received immediate medical attention, and the match was paused for almost two hours. After this incident, he had a defibrillator implanted in his heart for safety.
Despite this setback, Eriksen made a comeback in 2022. He was in good shape and played well in friendly matches against the Netherlands and Serbia. He even scored a goal in one of the matches, showing that he was back in form. He is the fifth-highest all-time goalscorer for the Denmark men’s national football team, with 40 goals in 123 appearances.
6. Preben Elkjær
- Career Span: 1977–1988
- Matches: 69
- Goals: 38
- Average: 0.551
Preben Elkjær is one of Denmark’s top goal scorers, ranking 6th in the all-time list. He played his first international match against Finland on June 22, 1977, starting in the game. However, he didn’t play much until May 1978 due to being a substitute player in Cologne. After moving to Belgium, he became a regular in the national team.
In 1984, under coach Sepp Piontek, Denmark qualified for the European Championships in France. They performed well, reaching the semi-finals. Elkjær contributed with two goals in the preliminary round, but in the semi-final shootout against Spain, he missed a crucial penalty that led to Denmark’s elimination. Despite this, he was recognized for his excellent performance and was voted the third-best European footballer of 1984, behind Platini and Tigana.
In the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Denmark reached the round of 16. Elkjær played a key role, scoring four goals in the preliminary round. However, they were defeated by Spain 5-1 in the round of 16. His impressive performance earned him the title of the third-best player in the tournament, following Diego Maradona and Toni Schumacher.
Elkjær also participated in the 1988 European Championships in Germany. However, Denmark was eliminated after the group phase, including a 0-2 defeat against Germany in his 69th and final international match. After the tournament, he retired from the national team.
7. Michael Laudrup
- Career Span: 1982–1998
- Matches: 104
- Goals: 37
- Average: 0.356
Michael Laudrup is ranked 7th in the all-time top goal scorers for the Denmark national football team. He played 104 international matches for Denmark from 1982 to 1998. Remarkably, he made his debut and scored his first goal against Norway on his 18th birthday, marking the beginning of his successful international career, where he scored a total of 37 goals.
Despite his talent, Laudrup missed the 1992 European Championship due to a disagreement with the national coach, Richard Møller Nielsen. This turned out to be a significant year for Denmark as they won the European Championship, their most important international title, without him.
In 1995, Laudrup achieved success by winning the Confederations Cup. He played a crucial role in the final against Argentina, scoring the opening goal in the 2-0 victory. However, his international career came to an end after Denmark’s loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup.
8. Nicklas Bendtner
- Career Span: 2006–2017
- Matches: 81
- Goals: 30
- Average: 0.37
Nicklas Bendtner, ranked 8th in Denmark’s all-time top goal scorers, made his debut for the senior Danish national team on August 16, 2006, in a match against Poland. Before that, he had played in the 2006 European Championships in Portugal with the Danish U-21 team, though they were knocked out in the group stage. During the qualification rounds for the 2010 World Cup, Bendtner played in nine out of ten games, scoring three goals. He was the team’s second top scorer, trailing behind Søren Larsen. One of his notable goals was against Portugal in September 2009, which was later voted as Denmark’s goal of the year.
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bendtner played all three games for Denmark, scoring one goal. However, Denmark was eliminated in the preliminary round. Similarly, in the 2012 European Championships, Bendtner scored two goals in three games, but the team was again knocked out in the group stage.
Although Bendtner was named in the preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he couldn’t make it to the final squad due to an injury.
9. Henning Enoksen
- Career Span: 1958–1966
- Matches: 54
- Goals: 29
- Average: 0.537
Henning Enoksen, ranked 9th in Denmark’s all-time top goal scorers, had an impressive international career between 1958 and 1966, scoring 29 goals in 54 games for Denmark. One of his major achievements was winning the silver medal in the football tournament at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Throughout his career, he played for various clubs including Silkeborg IF, Vejle Boldklub, and Aarhus GF.
Following his playing days, Enoksen transitioned into coaching and notably worked with Danish youth teams. He also had a stint as the coach of the Icelandic national football team from July to August 1973. However, during his tenure, Iceland faced challenging times, losing all six games, including a notable 8-1 defeat against the Netherlands in the qualifiers for the 1974 World Cup.
Sadly, Enoksen passed away on September 25, 2016, just one day before his 81st birthday, leaving behind a legacy in Danish football.
10. Ebbe Sand
- Career Span: 1998–2004
- Matches: 66
- Goals: 22
- Average: 0.333
Ebbe Sand, ranked 10th in Denmark’s all-time top goal scorers, had a notable career, playing 66 times for the national team and scoring 22 goals. One of his standout moments was at the 1998 World Cup in France, where he scored the fastest goal of the tournament, just 16 seconds after coming on as a substitute.
Sand was a part of the Danish team in several major tournaments, including the 1998 World Championships in France, the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and the 2000 European Championships in the Netherlands and Belgium.
He also played in the 2004 European Championships in Portugal. However, after Denmark was eliminated from the 2004 European Championships, Sand decided to retire from the national team, ending his international career.
