A Pernille Harder superfan travelled more than 7000 miles to watch the forward play for Denmark against Germany at Euro 2022. The fan, who was spotted in attendance at the Brentford Community Stadium, held up a banner stating that sheâd travelled all the way from South America to West London for one reason only. The sign read: âP.Harder. From England to Argentina. Only to watch you play.â While the nationality of the fan is unknown, it seems the Danish forward has fans from all over, not just Scandinavia. Unfortunately, for the fan in question, Denmark got their Euros campaign off to the worst possible start ââ succumbing to a 4-0 defeat against Germany.
Who is Harder?
Harder is a universally-renowned player in the womenâs game, who became the worldâs most expensive female player when she signed for Chelsea from Wolfsburg in 2020.
A two-time UEFA Womenâs Player of the Year, the 29-year-old has made over 130 appearances for Denmark and scored almost 70 goals so far.
Harder also captained Denmark to the final of Euro 2017, though the side ultimately lost to the Netherlands.
The Danish star is known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy and is in a relationship with fellow Chelsea star Magdalena Eriksson.Â
Germany thrash Denmark
Denmark reached the final of Euro 2017 but were comprehensively outclassed by a German side that has gone largely under the radar in the build-up to the competition.Â
Harder was largely anonymous and struggled to find her way into the game in the face of Germanyâs relentless pressing.Â
Bayern Munichâs Lina Magull ran the show and opened the scoring with a thunderous effort before half-time.
After the break, Lea Schuller headed home a second, before Lena Lattwein made it 3-0.Â
Alexandra Popp added a fourth ââ scoring her first-ever European Championship goal, 12 years after making her international debut.Â
Denmarkâs misery was compounded when Kathrine Kuhl was sent off for a second yellow card just moments before the final whistle sounded.
It was a statement win by Germany and one that sets them up perfectly for a mouth-watering clash with rivals Spain next week.
The eight-time European champions, who won the competition six times in a row between 1995 and 2013, look like genuine contenders once again and head-coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said: "We played an outstanding game. We were incredibly dominant and aggressive."
Meanwhile, Denmark will likely have to get a result against Spain to have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals.