Denmark safely in the EM semi-finals
Iceland still dreams of the handball coup
01/24/2022 10:44 p.m
World champion Denmark is the first team to reach the semi-finals of the European Handball Championship. Olympic champions France are also on course for the semi-finals. In the same group, Iceland had previously missed making a big step towards the knockout rounds.
Denmark is there, France shortly before – but Iceland can still hope: The race for the semi-final places at the European Handball Championship is not over yet in group 1 of the main round. World champion Denmark defeated the Netherlands 35:23 (21:12) in Budapest and is now safely in the semi-finals with eight points.
Behind, however, it remains open, the two best teams in the group of six qualify for the semi-finals. Olympic champion France easily prevailed against Montenegro in the evening with 36:27 (16:12) and is in second place with six points. Iceland, on the other hand, lost to Croatia 22:23 (12:10) and is still on four points, but still has chances.
The Icelanders owe this to their coup on Saturday: They surprisingly won the direct duel with record world champions France (29:21), so if they draw level on points on the last day of the game, that would be enough for second place. France have to play against the strong Danes at the end on Wednesday, Iceland plays against Montenegro.
Denmark’s backcourt star Mikkel Hansen was one of the best throwers of the match with seven goals, only his team-mate Mathias Gidsel (who will play for the Berlin team in the future) presented himself even better with nine goals. For the Netherlands, Dani Baijens of German second division side ASV Hamm-Westfalen stood out with six goals. The best Frenchman was not top star Nikola Karabatic (4), but backcourt player Dika Mem (7). Montenegro’s most successful thrower was Milos Vujovic (7) from Füchse Berlin. One of the most conspicuous Icelanders was Omar Ingi Magnusson from SC Magdeburg with five goals, on the other hand Ivan Martinovic from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf got the same result.