Danes on way as best runners-up

DENMARK have emerged as the leading second-placed team that will qualify automatically for the final stages of Euro 2012.

While the Republic of Ireland’s hopes of topping Group B to clinch a place in the finals increased following Tuesday’s results, there is little prospect of Giovanni Trapattoni’s team securing the best runner-up spot if they finish second in their group.

When calculating the mini-league whose winner will book a direct ticket to the finals, second-placed teams in Groups A-F must discount their results against the sixth-ranked team in their section.

This is to ensure a level playing field with Groups G, H and I, which contain only five teams each.

Excluding Ireland’s home win against Andorra, therefore, Trap’s team have 12 points.

Their result against the same opponents next month will also be discounted for the purposes of the second-place table, leaving the match against Armenia in Dublin as Ireland’s last chance to improve their tally.

Denmark already boast 13 points and have two matches to play. But the pieces in this moving jigsaw will keep changing until final whistles are blown across Europe on October 11.

For the play-off draw, the four highest-ranked teams based on UEFA co-efficients will be seeded. Ireland are currently among the top four.