For Gronkjaer it represented a fairytale comeback after missing the first week because of the death of his mother from cancer.

While Plamen Markov's team join Russia in heading home after the completion of the group stage matches next week Denmark now face Sweden in a mouthwatering Group C clash next Tuesday with live hopes of booking their ticket into the last eight.

Bulgaria lived up to Markov's pledge of playing boring defensive football and barely managed to break sweat even when they were chasing the game, they were more adept at picking up yellow cards - six in all while playmaker Stilian Petrov was sewnt off for a second bookable offence.

The 1992 champions were rewarded for their virtually total first half domination at Braga's troglyditic 30,000-seater stadio Municipal cut out of the mountainside overlooking the city with Tomasson's goal a minute before the break.

It was a neatly worked move originating from a delicate pass from Everton's Thomas Graveson, who was returning from suspension, into the penalty area to Martin Jorgensen, who picked out Tomasson and the AC Milan ace sidefooted the ball into an open goal.

The Bulgarians must be fed up with the sight of the AC Milan attacker who put two past them in their last encounter in a 2002 World Cup qualifier.

While Denmark kept the Bulgarian defence busy up at the other end it was like a ghost town with Danish keeper Thomas Sorensen not having to make a single save in the first half an hour.

But ironically the Danish goal had come just after one of only two Bulgarian attacks - Martin Petrov and his fellow Bundesliga teammate Dimitar Berbatov joining forces for a clever 1-2, with Berbatov's back-heeled pass setting Petrov up but the Vfl Wolfsburg striker's shot lacked the legs to trouble Sorensen.

The Aston Villa keeper had a minute before dropped a simple cross but Marian Hristov's resulting header went wide.

Danish coach Morten Olsen was forced to make an early substitution when he had to bring on the Birmingham City-bound Jesper Gronkjaer Dennis Rommedahl in the 24th minute, the PSV Eindhoven winger hobbling off nursing a left thigh injury.

Olsen's opposite number introduced striker Zdravko Lazarov for defender Vladamir Ivanov with 30 minutes remaining in an attempt to keep Bulgaria's Euro hopes alive.

And the country that made it into the last four in the 1994 World Cup began to put together some attacking moves midway through the second half with notably Zoran Jankovich going close.

Gronkjaer capped a good afternoon's work with Denmark's second in stoppage time after a neat 1-2 between him and Tomasson.