Denmark strike back in intense clash of the giants

GROUP I

France vs Denmark 29:32 (12:11)

H2H: 15-0-12
Top scorers: Aymeric Minne 7/9 (FRA); Mathias Gidsel 9/14 (DEN)
Goalkeeper saves: Charles Bolzinger 7/27, Rémi Desbonnet 1/12 (FRA); Emil Nielsen 11/39, Kevin Møller 0/1 (DEN)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Emil Nielsen (DEN)

• as in their defeat against Portugal on Tuesday, Denmark initially struggled in attack, as the French defence and goalkeeper Charles Bolzinger were well-adapted, despite seven goals from Simon Pytlick and Mathias Gidsel in the first half
• causing an unexpectedly high number of mistakes, the hosts could not profit from Emil Nielsen’s saves; they chased France from the 16th to 38th minutes, although the biggest gap before half-time was only two goals
• with the start of the second half, the Danes played with more precision and efficiency, while Emil Nielsen improved to snatch back the lead at 17:16
• France tried hard to use their speed, but the Danish reverse shift was working well and quick; however, the hosts again missed a lot of clear chances, and found themselves again trailing, 21:23, in the 48th minute
• this was the wake-up call for Emil Jakobsen, who then scored five of the six upcoming goals for Denmark, including the one for the 27:26 lead, making him the key player for the comeback

Denmark take a double revenge

France were the first-ever team to beat Denmark in the Jyske Bank Boxen, in the final of the EHF EURO 2014. On that night 12 years ago they shattered the hopes of the hosts with a 41:32 win for their third of four trophies.

Until Tuesday night, this remained the only Danish defeat in their “home of handball”, before they lost to Portugal 29:31.

Two days later, it was another do-or-die match against France. The balance was clear: Denmark had lost six of seven previous EHF EURO matches, except the 2022 bronze medal match in Budapest. And they were with their backs against the wall in the 100th international match of goalkeeper Kevin Møller. The last time Denmark conceded two defeats in a row was in 2022, when they first lost the last main round match against France, and the semi-final against Spain.

On Thursday, history was not repeated, but one fact remains the same: the two sides have never once drawn in 27 official matches. And Denmark restricted France to their lowest score at this EHF EURO so far, just 29 goals.

Photos © kolektiff images