This was some way to set a marker. Germany’s coach, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, had wondered whether they might catch opponents off guard this summer after a couple of modest showings at major tournaments, as wild a notion as that might seem given they have already won eight European Championships. Their rivals can now consider themselves duly warned: this was an urgent, insistent, top-quality performance that demolished a fancied Denmark side and merited an even higher margin of victory. Given the calibre of their display and the opposition it overwhelmed, Germany must surely be regarded as the early favourites.
Even though two of their goals, through the substitutes Lena Lattwein and Alexandra Popp, arrived in the closing stages this was no artificial scoreline. From the opening whistle Germany had torn the Danes apart down the flanks and it was a minor miracle that they had only scored once by half-time. They were more clinical thereafter and what a tormenting night this was for Denmark, who rarely managed to involve Pernille Harder in a spluttering attack and threatened sporadically at best. Kathrine Møller Kühl’s dismissal in added time made matters even worse.
