On Monday night when Henrik Dalsgaard was selected to play for Denmark against Republic of Ireland in Dublin, he earned his 25th cap for his country. More importantly, it was the 21st he has won since he joined Brentford in the summer of 2017. No player has played more full international matches while with The Bees.
Henrik joined The Bees from Belgian side Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem before the start of the 2017/18 season. In two-and-a-quarter seasons in West London he has played 92 games and scored three goals. But it is on the international stage that he has made his way in to the record books.
When Henrik joined, he was starting to establish himself in the Danish side. He played for a Danish League XI in a non-cap match in early 2013, having earned 11 Under-21 caps, but had to wait until 2016 to make his full international debut. Denmark failed to qualify for the UEFA 2016 European Championships in France and Henrik won three caps in March and June 2016 and one more the following summer, before making the switch to West London.
Since summer 2017 Henrik has been almost ever-present for his country. He has missed some games through injury but has been selected for nearly every competitive fixture he has been available for. In doing so, he became the first Brentford player to feature in a World Cup match, playing for Denmark in Russia last summer.
A full list of Henrik’s internationals while at Brentford can be seen below:
1 September 2017 – Denmark 4 Poland 0 – Henrik’s first competitive cap
4 September 2017 – Armenia 1 Denmark 4
5 October 2017 – Montenegro 0 Denmark 1
8 October 2017 – Denmark 1 Romania 1 – Denmark reach the Play-Offs to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Henrik misses the Play-Off games against Ireland and Denmark reach the finals without him.
22 March 2018 – Denmark 1 Panama 0
2 June 2018 – Sweden 0 Denmark 0 – Henrik’s tenth cap.
9 June 2018 – Denmark 2 Mexico 0
16 June 2018 – Denmark 1 Peru 0 – Denmark start their World Cup campaign. Henrik becomes the first Brentford player to feature in a World Cup game.
21 June 2018 – Denmark 1 Australia 1
26 June 2018 – Denmark 0 France 0 – Denmark confirm second place in Group C and reach the last 16. They are the only team to stop France winning in the tournament.
1 July 2018 – Croatia 1 France 1 – Denmark lose on penalties and exit World Cup.
9 September 2018 – Denmark 2 Wales 0
13 October 2018 – Republic of Ireland 0 Denmark 0
11 November 2018 – Wales 1 Denmark 2 – Denmark win their UEFA Nations League Group and earn promotion to League A.
21 March 2019 – Kosovo 2 Denmark 2
26 March 2019 – Denmark 3 Switzerland 3 – Henrik scores a late equaliser in Denmark’s first Euro 2020 qualification match, his only international goal to date. He also earns his 20th cap.
7 June 2019 – Denmark 1 Republic of Ireland 1
8 September 2019 – Georgia 0 Denmark 0
12 October 2019 – Denmark 1 Switzerland 0
15 October 2019 – Denmark 4 Luxembourg 0
18 November 2019 – Republic of Ireland 1 Denmark 1 – Henrik wins his 25th cap and breaks Brentford record. Denmark qualify for Euro 2020.
The record Henrik broke was previously held by John Buttigieg. John signed for Brentford on 2 November 1988 after protracted negotiations. He spent just under three years with The Bees, leaving at the end of the 1990/91 season. In that period, John made 20 international appearances. It had been thought this record was 22 caps while a Brentford player, but this was confirmed as 20 last year.
After John, the next most capped player while at The Bees is also in the current squad. Kamohelo Mokotjo has earned 15 caps for South Africa since joining Brentford while Julian Jeanvier is also high on the list, having earned six for Guinea. Only two other players – Idris Hopkins, 12 for Wales, and Hermann Hreiðarsson, 12 for Iceland – have earned more than ten caps while at Brentford.