Schmeichel started playing organised football in Portugal in 2000, while his father was part of Sporting CP. He played one💸 season in the Estoril youth academy, in which he managed to win a championship.[9] Commenting on his early footballing years,💸 Schmeichel remarked: "Before [Estoril], it wasn't that serious. I have to admit that when I was very small, football did💸 not interest me that much. It was mostly in short periods that it was fun, and then I had enough.💸 So it only started to take shape when I was 12-13 years old".[9]

Schmeichel's form in the first half of the💸 2012–13 season surpassed that of the previous season, keeping 12 clean sheets in 28 games, the most in the league💸 as the Foxes sat second in the table, such performances earning him links with La Liga giants Real Madrid and💸 also leading to his first senior Denmark cap. A particular highlight was a spectacular save against Blackburn Rovers in February.💸 On 16 April 2013, he made his 100th Leicester appearance in a 3–2 win over Bolton Wanderers. Schmeichel's performances earned💸 him a place in the 2012–13 Championship PFA Team of the Year, alongside club captain Wes Morgan.

Following his strong showings💸 for Manchester City in the early 2007–08 season, it was reported on 23 August 2007 that The Football Association (FA)💸 were investigating Schmeichel's international status, to see if there was any chance of him foregoing his Danish international status in💸 order to play for England.[110] Schmeichel, however, stated that he would only ever play for Denmark.[111]

Schmeichel was called up to💸 the Danish senior team on 13 May 2011 for the first time for the match against Iceland, but remained an💸 unused substitute.[112] On 29 May 2012, he was called up for UEFA Euro 2012 as a third goalkeeper after it💸 became clear that Thomas Sørensen would miss the tournament due to an injury sustained against Brazil.[113] Schmeichel made his senior💸 debut in a 3–0 friendly match defeat to Macedonia at the Philip II Arena on 6 February 2013.[114]

Appearances and goals💸 by national team and year National team Year Apps Goals Denmark 2013 2 0 2014 7 0 2024 9 0💸 2024 6 0 2024 7 0 2024 12 0 2024 10 0 2024 7 0 2024 18 0 2024 11💸 0 2024 10 0 Total 99 0