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Denmark’s handball players are the second finalists after defeating Iceland 31:28.
On Sunday, they will face Germany in a repeat of the final from the 2024 Summer Olympics, and also another chance for the Scandinavian side to claim the long-awaited European gold—its first since 2012, when they were crowned champions in Serbia.
On the other side, Croatia will meet Denmark for the bronze medal. It will be an opportunity to repeat the success from 2010, when the “Fishermen” won bronze at the European Championship in Austria, defeating Poland.
Iceland approached the semi-final seriously and selected their shots with great discipline early on, taking a 6:3 lead in the 7th minute.
They held that advantage until the 15th minute, when Simon Pytlick levelled the score at 8:8 after a strong Danish run. The same player then gave Denmark their first lead in the 19th minute (9:8).
Iceland went almost seven minutes without scoring before Orri Thorkelsson converted a penalty to make it 9:9. Still, Denmark went into the break happier, leading by the minimum—14:13.
In the second half, Iceland again looked like the team from the opening minutes—dangerous in attack and exceptionally tough in defence, denying Denmark easy goals.
They regained the lead in the 33rd minute (15:14) and kept the reigning world and Olympic champions behind until the 42nd. That’s when Denmark produced a 3:0 run to turn it around to 21:19 and gradually take control.
Denmark entered the last ten minutes with a three-goal cushion (26:23), and then came what felt like the decisive moment. Kevin Møller first saved a shot from Odin Rikhardsson, and after a timeout by Nikolaj Jacobsen Denmark struck to go +4 for the first time (27:23)—a gap that proved too big for Iceland to overcome. They never recovered from that deficit.
Denmark’s top scorer was Mathias Gidsel with seven goals, while for Iceland Janus Daði Smárason scored eight.
Denmark – Iceland 31:28 (14:13)
Denmark: Nielsen (4 saves), K. Møller (2 saves); Kirkelökke, Landin 4, Jakobsen 2, Lauge 1, Saugstrup 2, Gidsel 7, Mensah, Hansen 6, Andersson, Hald 1, Hoxer 1, Arnoldsen 2, Pytlick 5, L. Møller
Iceland: Hallgrimsson (6 saves), Gustavsson; Rikhardsson 1, Smarason 8, V. Kristjansson 1, Elisson, G. Kristjansson 2, Gislason, Magnusson 6, Gunnarsson, Vidarsson 3, Thorkelsson 7, Arnarsson, Einarsson, Thrastarson, Olafsson
