19 October 1908 - There Was Something Rotten Here, But It Wasn't Denmark

On 19 October 1908, Denmark played their first official international, beating France 9-0 in the opening match of the Summer Olympics.

The Danish Football Association formed in 1899, but waited several years before forming their first international squad. In 1906, an unofficial Denmark team composed of players from the Copenhagen Football Association participated in--and won--the 1906 Intercalated Games (an informal version of the Summer Olympics) by beating an Athens team 9-0. They followed up by registering their first official side for the 1908 Summer Olympics.

There were two matches scheduled for the tournament's opening day, but Hungary withdrew from their game against the Netherlands for financial reasons. As a result, Denmark and France contested the first official Olympic international.

Playing before a crowd of 2,000 at London's White City Stadium, Nils Middelboe (pictured) scored the first official Olympic goal when he put Denmark up in the 10th minute. He scored another in the 49th minute, while the Danes also got goals from Vilhelm Wolfhagen (15', 17', 67', 72'), Harald Bohr (25', 47'), and Sophus Nielsen (78') en route to a 9-0 victory. (The French team was their "B" side; their "A" side met Denmark three days later and suffered an even greater defeat, losing 17-1 with a staggering 10 goals from Nielsen.)

Denmark reached the tournament final, but lost to Great Britain 2-0.

20 October 1908 - Whoever They Were, They Got Off To A Great Start

On 20 October 1908, Great Britain played their first match and got their biggest win, beating Sweden 12-1 at the London Olympics.

Some dispute exists as to whether the team was truly representative of Great Britain, as it consisted of players exclusively from England (and all were members of the English amateur national team). On the other hand, they wore Union Jacks on their shirts, suggesting that, whatever sporting allegiances they usually held, they were at the Olympics to play for all of Great Britain.

They opened their campaign with a match against Sweden at White City, played in front of a relatively modest crowd of 2,000 (four times that many showed up there for the final). The British team dominated, with goals from Clyde Purnell (4), Harold Stapley (2), Vivian Woodward (2), Robert Hawkes (2), Arthur Berry, and Frederick Chapman, while Sweden's only goal came from Gustaf Bergström. The scoreline remains the team record.

Great Britain followed the win with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands. That put them into the gold medal match against Denmark, which they also won, 2-0.

19 October 1908 - There Was Something Rotten Here, But It Wasn't Denmark

On 19 October 1908, Denmark played their first official international, beating France 9-0 in the opening match of the Summer Olympics.

The Danish Football Association formed in 1899, but waited several years before forming their first international squad. In 1906, an unofficial Denmark team composed of players from the Copenhagen Football Association participated in--and won--the 1906 Intercalated Games (an informal version of the Summer Olympics) by beating an Athens team 9-0. They followed up by registering their first official side for the 1908 Summer Olympics.

There were two matches scheduled for the tournament's opening day, but Hungary withdrew from their game against the Netherlands for financial reasons. As a result, Denmark and France contested the first official Olympic international.

Playing before a crowd of 2,000 at London's White City Stadium, Nils Middelboe (pictured) scored the first official Olympic goal when he put Denmark up in the 10th minute. He scored another in the 49th minute, while the Danes also got goals from Vilhelm Wolfhagen (15', 17', 67', 72'), Harald Bohr (25', 47'), and Sophus Nielsen (78') en route to a 9-0 victory. (The French team was their "B" side; their "A" side met Denmark three days later and suffered an even greater defeat, losing 17-1 with a staggering 10 goals from Nielsen.)

Denmark reached the tournament final, but lost to Great Britain 2-0.