Denmark’s World Cup bid takes on new meaning after Trump’s Greenland fixation

By Emile Nuh, CNN

(CNN) — Denmark’s national soccer team takes on North Macedonia in Copenhagen on Thursday, aiming to move within one game of qualification for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

But given the US’ status as a co-host and American President Donald Trump throwing the idea of an annexation of Greenland back into the global geopolitical discourse as recently as January, it won’t just be six million Danes watching.

Over 2,000 miles away, the lion’s share of 57,000 Greenlanders will also be watching the game with bated breath, drawn not only by the stakes on the pitch, but by what Denmark’s journey to a US-hosted World Cup represents off it.

“Greenlandic people cheer for Denmark,” Greenland men’s national team captain Patrick Frederiksen told CNN Sports. “In football, handball (and) kind of every sport because we are part of the Danish kingdom, so we are one with Denmark.

“When Denmark is playing, some Greenlandic players are cheering for them because it’s something we’ve grown up with. Some are even excited to see Denmark (potentially) qualify for the World Cup.”

However, like all sports, soccer is an emotional, results-driven business, so fan support sometimes follows the scoreboard. “There’s a funny saying here: When Denmark wins, we win. But if Denmark loses, they lose,” chuckled Knud Olsen Egede, a lifelong Greenland fan.

As well as being a close follower of the Greenlandic soccer team, Egede runs the youth team at Boldklubben af 1967 (B-67). B-67 is the most successful team in Greenlandic soccer history with 16 national titles.

But when it comes to international soccer, he told CNN, “We’ve got no strings attached to them (Denmark) when they lose, but if they win, we are supporting the team.”

Egede’s remarks were said in jest but spoke to a deeper truth: The Greenlandic connection to Denmark is real, yet conditional.

And as has historically been the case between the two, it has not always been voluntary.

Support through gritted teeth

What must be understood is that Greenland is an island out on its own in terms of its aspirations to qualify for a World Cup – let alone even competing in one. At the very moment the island has been fighting for geopolitical recognition, it has faced a similar battle on the global soccer stage.

It was just under a year ago that the Greenlandic Football Association (KAK) saw its application to join Concacaf – the confederation which governs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean – unanimously rejected in June 2025.

This led to stern criticism from KAK president Kenneth Kleist. “This is not a victory for football democracy,” he said at the time to The Athletic.

“It does not make football accessible to everyone globally, and it shows that smaller nations are facing extreme difficulties in getting permission to play under their own flag.”

CNN Sports reached out to KAK regarding plans to appeal Concacaf’s decision, to which the national soccer body advised that it did not wish to comment on its international status at this time.

Greenland’s FA is also unable to join UEFA, as the European governing body generally only admits countries recognized by the United Nations. And despite being a self-governing autonomous territory, Greenland is not recognized as a sovereign state by the UN as it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Thus, as KAK is not a member of Concacaf, UEFA or any other soccer federation, it is unable to play competitive international fixtures.

Therefore, when Denmark takes to the pitch on Thursday night, it does so not only as a European nation of six million, but as the international representative of a kingdom that includes a territory still fighting for a voice in the same arena.

An imperfect relationship

One paradoxical aspect of the Danish-Greenlandic relationship is the constitutional arrangement that prevents Greenland from competing in international soccer is also what anchors it politically.

The island is a NATO member through its affiliation with Denmark, and NATO’s cornerstone is Article 5, which states, “An armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.”

Denmark thus acts as a geopolitical shield for Greenland, something vitally important at a time when the geopolitical climate is as harsh as that on the island itself.

It was just under three months ago, on January 3, that the US seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from his Caracas compound in the dead of the night.

Then not even two months had elapsed before the United States launched joint airstrikes with Israel on Iran on February 28, which resulted in the assassination of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and launched the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In between, there was a major concern that the US would use some force on an allied nation to acquire its territory. As recently as January 19, Trump would not rule out using military force to seize the island, leading to a joint effort from several European NATO countries to send troops to Greenland. He eventually dropped the topic entirely after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Until Trump started talking about acquiring Greenland, very few Danes thought very much about the ties to Greenland,” Peter Harmsen told CNN Sports, author of the 2025 book, “Greenland at War.”

“But now, at least part of the Danish population has realized they risk losing something valuable. If anything, (the relationship) has probably been strengthened by the pressure from Trump’s America.”

Greenland’s own prime minister has been equally as direct.

At a joint news conference in Copenhagen on January 13 between himself and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Jens-Frederik Nielsen made the island’s position clear: “Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA.

“Greenland does not want to be governed by the USA. Greenland will not be part of the USA. We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark

“Now, we are faced with a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark.”

In other words, external pressure has reinforced internal alignment.

“It’s hard to think of two people who are fundamentally more different than Danes and Greenlanders,” Harmsen explained. “That they may nevertheless stick together because of outside pressure almost has a poetic quality to it.”

Visible, but not seen

For Greenlanders, supporting Denmark is both natural and complicated. It reflects shared history, structures, and ties, but also serves as a reminder of absence.

“We haven’t seen (many) Greenlandic players in the Danish national team, so we feel separate in that sense,” said Greenlandic captain Frederiksen.

“They don’t look our way (and) scout for players in Greenland, so we need to be accepted as an independent country in football.”

That duality runs through the relationship itself. Close, yet distinct. Connected, yet fundamentally distant.

The posturing around Greenland often overlooks the feelings of the island’s 57,000 people and what they seek – recognition and the chance to stand on equal footing.

“It would be a childhood dream coming true,” said Frederiksen, on what it would mean for Greenland to play its own official international matches or eventually in the World Cup.

“We have always dreamed of participating in a big tournament representing Greenland. And watching Greenland on television as we watch Denmark. It (would) mean everything.”

Egede shared similar sentiments.

“Just talking about it right now, I’m getting a bit emotional,” he candidly explained. “We want to be our own nation – and that’s the short message.”

For now, Greenland watches. But one day, it hopes to be seen – both on and off the soccer pitch.

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