Handball European Championships
Danes and Sweden reach the semi-finals with defeats
Denmark’s Mikkel Hansen (3rd from left), goalkeeper Niklas Landin (M) and other players say goodbye to the spectators after the game. photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
Denmark is hit at the end of the main round of the European Handball Championship. The world champion’s second set isn’t enough against Slovenia. Defending champion Sweden also goes into the semi-finals with a defeat.
At the end of the main round of the European Handball Championship Denmark suffered its first defeat. The three-time world champion lost against Slovenia 25:28 (14:17) in Hamburg. However, this has no consequences for the outstanding team in the tournament so far: The Danes had already qualified for the semi-finals on Friday (8.30 p.m.) in Cologne as winners of main round group II.
That’s precisely why national coach Nikolaj Jacobsen let the players from the second row play and spared many of the stars. But the second set was disappointing against the Slovenians. The decision was made in the final phase when the outsiders pulled away from 22:22 (48th) to 24:22 (54th) and the Danes were no longer able to counterattack.
France now faces Sweden
With the win, the Slovenians moved past Portugal into third place in the table. They will play the game for fifth place on Friday (3 p.m.) against the third team in Main Round Group I in Cologne. The Portuguese had wasted their chance at the start of the final day in the Hanseatic city by scoring 33:33 (15:17) against the Dutch, who had previously had no points.
Denmark will play its semi-final against the runners-up in Group I. A possible opponent for the top favorite is the German team, which can secure second place behind Olympic champion France with a win against Croatia on Wednesday (8.30 p.m./ARD and Dyn) in Cologne.
The first semi-final pairing on Friday (5.45 p.m.) has already been determined: The French will meet as winners of Group I and defending champions Sweden will meet as runners-up in Group II. The Swedes said goodbye to the main round in Hamburg with a clear 23:33 (12:15) defeat in the Scandinavian duel against Norway.