goal for the national team. Entering as a substitute, he ran into the blind spot of the defense, had the ball lobbed to him over the heads of the defenders by Michael Laudrup, before he headed the ball to his right, past the Nigerian Taribo West, and slotted the ball home in the lower left corner. It only took 16 seconds from his substitution to his goal, a World Cup record that still stands. Following his break through on the international stage, he was named Danish Player of the Year. In 1998, Sand was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He had the cancer removed and was back in action just a few weeks after the operation. Club career abroad Following the 1998 World Cup, Sand played one more season for Brøndby, in which he scored another 19 goals. He was then transferred to German club Schalke for 10 million DEM in 1999, at that time the most expensive sale by a Danish club. Sand's first season in Germany was successful, as he scored 14 goals, although Schalke only finished 13th in the Bundesliga that year. After scoring four goals in the qualification matches, he played twice for Denmark at the Euro 2000 tournament, before he was benched in the last game of a lacklustre Danish performance. The 2000–01 season was much more successful for Sand. Schalke finished second in the Bundesliga, after a goal from Bayern Munich four minutes into the added time, ruining Schalke's championship dreams. Despite this they qualified for the UEFA Champions League. They also won the DFB-Pokal. Sand scored 22 goals and tied with Sergej Barbarez for the title of lead topscorer in Germany, and he once again won the Danish Player of the Year award in 2001. Schalke won the DFB-Pokal again in 2002 and finished fifth in the league, with Sand tallying 11 goals. For the national team, he scored an impressive nine goals in ten qualification games for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but he failed to impress at the final tournament, and was benched the last group match, although he did play three times. His following years at Schalke would be less successful, as he only scored six and eight goals in the next two seasons, respectively. For Denmark's run in the Euro 2004, Sand missed Denmark's final game due to injury, and he decided to retire from international football. He cited a