Copenhagen, Oct 12 (IANS): The Danish football team qualified for the 2012 European Championship Finals with a convincing 2-1 victory over visiting Portugal.

The first goal was scored by Danish Michael Krohn-Dehli after 13 minutes of play in the first half.

After a tense game through the first half and some chances the Portuguese squandered, the hosts increased their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Nicklas Bendtner in the second half, leaving the Portuguese team desperate and vulnerable to further attacks, Xinhua reported.

A last minute scoring by Portugal increased the tension, but the Danish victory was inevitable in front of over 37,000 cheering spectators at the soccer field, Parken stadium here Tuesday.

"We had a great game, we all believed that we could win -- and that is what we did. It was like a dream to play this game in front of our Danish fans," said Bendtner.

According to game statistics, the first half of the game was played in a surprising way as the Danes took over the traditional Portuguese style with fast shifts and high defences, while the first goal put pressure on the Portuguese team, making their defences fall apart.