When he won the 1992 European Championship with the Danish national team, his reputation was on the rise. Povlsen played all five Denmark matches in the tournament, and scored once in the semi-final penalty shootout against Netherlands, after an intense battle of nerves with Dutch keeper Hans van Breukelen, Povlsen's former PSV teammate. He was a constant part of the Denmark national football team from his debut in 1987 until he retired. He scored 21 goals in his 62 international appearances for Denmark, and played at the 1988 European Championship (Euro 1988) as well as Euro 1992, a tournament which Denmark won. A knee injury ended his career in March 1995.