When people talk about the Danish national handball team, they usually speak in superlatives. The opponent of the German handball players in the European Championship semi-finals in Cologne (8.30 p.m., live on ZDF) has recently become world champion three times in a row; in 2016 he was Olympic champion. However, the last European title was a long time ago. The last time the Scandinavians took the crown of Europe was in 2012.
They are the big favorites at the tournament in Germany. National coach Nikolaj Jakobsen’s team is number one in the world rankings and has two world-class players in almost every position. Eleven national players alone earn their money in the Bundesliga, most of them at SG Flensburg-Handewitt right on the Danish border. Apart from France, no team has a similarly strong squad. The German handball players around playmaker Juri Knorr are clear outsiders in the duel. “We have to play our best game in the tournament and they can’t play their best game,” he said, describing the starting position.
Also read:
Who’s afraid of the bad wolf?
Juri Knorr – the bearer of hope in the German team
“Young wild people” and veterans – these are the German handball players
What makes captain Johannes Golla so important for German handball players