Nicklas Bendtner - International Career

International Career

Bendtner started his national team career by scoring three goals in three starts for the Denmark under-16 national team in February 2004. He then scored six goals in 15 games for the Denmark under-17 national team, and was named 2004 Danish Under-17 Player of the Year.

Bendtner was the youngest player selected for the Danish under-21 national squad for the 2006 European Under-21 Championships. He replaced Morten Rasmussen in the Danish starting line-up. He made his under-21 debut on 17 May 2006, at the age of 18, scoring both goals in a Danish 2–0 victory over Spain in a friendly match. When Bendtner was substituted with Rasmussen during the game against the Netherlands, Bendtner told the press he found Rasmussen a lesser player. Bendtner was reprimanded, but played the rest of the tournament before Denmark were eliminated.

On 16 August 2006, Bendtner made his first senior appearance for Denmark, still only 18 years old, making him the seventh youngest player on the Danish senior national team ever. He was in the starting lineup for his debut game, a friendly match against Poland. He scored a goal after 30 minutes, helping Denmark to a 2–0 win. On 1 September 2006, he played his second national team game, and came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Portugal. He scored the final goal in a 4–2 win for Denmark. Although he still qualified to play for the U21s, Bendtner soon earned a spot in the starting line on the Danish national team scoring, two goals in UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Bendtner scored an 84th-minute 1–1 equaliser against Portugal, a match Denmark went on to win 3–2. He scored again against Portugal in the reverse fixture which ended 1–1. He then scored a header four days later against Albania. He assisted Jakob Poulsen's goal in Denmark's 1–0 win over Sweden, which meant they qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He ended the campaign with three goals. For his contribution, he was voted Danish Player of the Year and his goal against Portugal won the Goal of the Year award. Denmark coach Morten Olsen selected Bendtner for the 2010 World Cup squad in South Africa. Bendtner scored the equaliser in Denmark's World Cup group stage 2–1 win against Cameroon.

On 12 May 2011, Bendtner turned down the opportunity of representing his national team at the under-21 level at the European Championship, citing family reasons.

He scored two goals in a 2–0 win against Norway on 6 September 2011. On 7 October, Bendtner failed to score in a 4–1 win against Cyprus after several good chances. But four days later, he scored in the 63rd minute against Portugal to ensure Denmark qualified for Euro 2012. On 11 November, he scored against rivals Sweden in an international friendly. Four days later, Bendtner scored in the second half against Finland, racing away from the defence before finishing hard and low to put Denmark 2–1 up.

Bendtner was selected in the Denmark squad for Euro 2012. A Sports Illustrated preview described him as "tall and powerful, capable of acting as a target man, yet also has the technical gifts to play deeper or on the flank." On 13 June, he scored twice in Denmark's narrow 3–2 defeat to Portugal in the second group match. Bendtner revealed the logo of a firm of bookmakers on his underpants after scoring his second goal, for which UEFA banned him for one 2014 World Cup qualifying match and fined him €100,000. The company later gave Bendtner the money to pay the fine; this was a separate payment from the money he was initially paid. On 12 October 2012, he scored against Bulgaria in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match