The DHB team had to admit defeat against top favorite Denmark in the European Championship semi-finals. But a fighting performance shows the way to a promising future.
In the end, Nikolaj Jacobsen had to take a long breather. “It was an incredibly hard game for us,” was all the successful coach of the Danish national team said after the 29:26 victory over the German hosts in the semi-finals of the European Handball Championship – and you could see on his face that he thought so too said.
Previously, a bravely fighting German national team had demanded everything from the Danes in front of a frenetically cheering audience in the sold-out Lanxess Arena in Cologne. Those Danes who won the last three world championships and have dominated world handball for years. Even if it wasn’t enough to reach the final in the end, the German handball fans probably had hope. The performance against Denmark made it clear what this team could do in the future.
The first half gives hope for miracles
Especially in the first half, the miracle seemed within reach. An aggressive German defense posed big problems for the Danes and another good goalkeeper Andreas Wolff parried much of what came through. “At the beginning of the first half we had real problems with the German defense,” Jacobsen also analyzed. “We couldn’t win our one-on-one duels. They were really good,” said the Dane coach. At the same time, the German offensive kept finding gaps and was unimpressed even by world-class goalkeeper Niklas Landin. The result was a 14:12 halftime lead.
But in the second half the Danes showed off all their experience and quality. They used a tactical trick and played a lot of seven-on-six. This is an attacking formation in which the goalkeeper leaves the field and an additional field player comes in. The tactic has its risks, as losing the ball can easily lead to goals being conceded. But Denmark played it flawlessly. With the additional man, the Danes prevented the Germans from continuing to be so aggressive.
“Don’t know if they even made a mistake”
“The Danes were incredibly effective again with their seven-on-six,” said Julian Köster, impressed after the game. “I don’t even know if they ever made a mistake.” And Lukas Mertens also saw the tactical trick as the key: “I am of the opinion that it was actually due to the seventh field player in the second half,” he said. “The Danes really played it perfectly, with pinpoint accuracy.”
Danes coach Jacobsen felt the seven-on-six helped calm the game down. “We have taken the aggressiveness out of the German defense,” he said. After that, the team no longer found the same aggressiveness at six-on-six.
Changing the goalkeeper pays off
A second crucial factor: In the second half, the Danes brought on Emil Nielsen for Niklas Landin in goal – and the new guy between the posts had an outstanding day. He was able to defuse a total of 42 percent of the German throws and thus played a significant role in the victory.
“There was a small phase in the second half where we threw away too many balls or failed too often because of the goalkeeper,” said Jannik Kohlbacher. “That broke our necks in the end.” Nielsen’s eight saves were simply “a tad too high.”
Gíslason also analyzed: “What changed the game was that, after Landin was already good in the first half, Nielsen came in and had a great day.” The move also showed the quality across the board of the Danish squad. “They are both world class,” said Gíslason about the Danish goalkeepers. Mertens simply said, impressed: “They were able to replace Landin, that says it all.”
Pride and disappointment
In view of this superiority, pride was mixed with disappointment among players and coaches. Köster described the disappointment as “huge”, but also said: “It was clear that we should have had a great day today and that Denmark was the big favorite. I think we are putting up an incredibly strong fight here, even going along with them a lead at halftime and are close to doing something big here.”