The German handball players demanded everything from the big favorites from Denmark in a thrilling semi-final and showed a strong performance, especially in the first half. In the end it wasn’t quite enough. Tournament host Germany lost to the reigning world champions 29:26 (14:12).
The Germans missed the final and will play against the Swedes in the game for third place on Sunday (January 28, 2024, 3 p.m., live on ARD). Nevertheless, the disappointment should be limited, because the underdog once again gave the 20,000 spectators in the handball temple Cologne Arena a strong performance and kept the game open for a long time. The fans said goodbye to the German team with a big round of applause.
Denmark, on the other hand, can continue to dream of their first European title in 12 years. Sunday is the final against France (5:45 p.m., live on ARD).
“We need the best performance in recent decades,” national coach Alfred Gislason demanded of his men, and they delivered. Germany had the best first half of the tournament and played to the limit.
Respect quickly discarded
There was no sign of respect for the reigning world champion – also because the German fans in Cologne were in top form and frenetically cheered every successful defensive action.
This initially left its mark on the big favorite, who had previously played in Hamburg and had to cope with the breathtaking atmosphere in Cologne for the first time.
Uscins is growing beyond itself
The Germans took the momentum from the wide Cologne area better and one man grew beyond himself. Youngster Renars Uscins has only made short appearances in the tournament so far. This time Gislason trusted him from the start. A decision that was born out of necessity, as veteran Kai Häfner had to leave the team on the day of the game for personal reasons.
Uscins did his job as convincingly as if he had never done anything else. He scored four times cleanly from the backcourt and was ultimately named player of the game.
Wolff holds up again incredibly
Because the German inner block was again working under high pressure, the Germans had built up a 14:11 lead shortly before the break – the Cologne Arena shook.
By now it must have become clear to the Danes that it would be a tough nut to crack against this strong German team.
And the Danes had obviously come up with a better match plan during the break.
Nikolaj Jacobsen’s team came out of the locker room with more power – and with Emil Nielsen in goal instead of Niklas Landin. Thanks to his saves, Denmark quickly turned the two-goal deficit into a 16:15 lead. But the Germans stuck with it, also because goalkeeper Andreas Wolff was back in world-class form and, above all, caused the Danish backcourt shooter Simon Pytlik to despair.
Too easy mistakes in attacking play
The Danes got better and better with the atmosphere and held their narrow lead until the middle of the second half. At 19:17, Denmark took the lead for the first time with two goals through Emil Jacobsen (42nd).
The DHB team made familiar mistakes, especially on offense; Nielsen ended up making eight saves in 30 minutes. So there was no point in continuing to stand up to the Danes. Gidsel, Lauge and Co., on the other hand, made ice-cold use of their opportunities and turned to victory by scores of 21:18 and 26:22.