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In a final that looked far tighter than the margin suggests, Denmark had to dig deep through a tense first half and a stubborn German resistance led by a brilliant goalkeeper performance. But when the decisive minutes arrived, the Scandinavians found their rhythm, turned defence into fast goals, and pulled away late to lift the trophy.
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Jacobsen: “If winning all these titles does not make you feel great, you don’t deserve to be here.”
Danish head coach Nikolaj Jacobsen admitted the weight of expectations and the challenges Denmark had to overcome throughout the tournament — including losing key line players and having to re-shape their solutions on the fly.
“Tonight’s was a tough one. If winning all these titles does not make you feel great, you don’t deserve to be here. It was a tough tournament for us. There were a lot of expectations beforehand. It was difficult to meet these expectations in the beginning. We lost some line players along the way. We had to find new solutions.
Today was a really tough match. We had a chance after 15 minutes to increase the advantage, but Andreas Wolff was amazing in the goal. Thankfully, we managed to finally score some goals. I think the seven-goal difference at the end does not show this final was a really tough match — it was not until the four or five last minutes that it was decided.”
The Landin factor — and the “six titles in the past 10 years” core
Jacobsen also highlighted how important Magnus Landin remains to Denmark’s balance, especially in managing minutes and keeping the attacking structure stable.
“Magnus plays a really big role. He has been part of the team since the beginning of my career as a national coach. He really has been along my side, like some other players — Mads Mensah for example. Magnus has a huge impact on the court.
Magnus is very useful, because we can rest Simon Pytlick thanks to him. Simon is an important player for our offence, even though he is also a good defender. He is one of the players that do not get enough credit. I am really glad for him he got all these titles — he has won the six titles Denmark won in the past 10 years.”
Gidsel: “Now we have all three trophies… this trophy was missing.”
For Denmark, the moment also carried a special weight for their leader on court, Mathias Gidsel, who celebrated his first European crown — and did it with individual accolades to match.
“We are so happy. We had been under a huge pressure. Everybody always expects gold medals when we play. Now we have all three trophies. We played an incredible tournament. We coped with a lot of problems. Maybe we were a bit shaky compared to other events. But finally, we were on the podium. This is what counts. I am happy and proud of my team, of all the fans and all around the team. This was a true team success.”
Even after starring, he kept the focus on the collective:
“I could not score any goal without the help of the others. We are a team. But of course, I am happy that I could help my team. But still, we win together.”
And on leaving the tournament as MVP and top scorer:
“The gold medal is what counts most. This is what we were fighting for — this trophy was missing. But of course, I am happy with all those individual awards. They prove that I helped my team on a high level. I think I need a new room for the trophies soon at my parents’ house.”
Gidsel also reacted with a smile when told about his new single-tournament scoring record:
“I did not know that, but this is also great. When I am old, I have to prove to my kids and grandchildren that I was a successful handball player — and a record like this and the medals are a good proof.”
Mensah: “Our defence was really strong… today it was more Wolff against Denmark.”
Veteran Mads Mensah pointed straight to Denmark’s defensive organisation and flexibility — and singled out the work of players who don’t always share the floor together.
“Today, our defence was really strong. Mads Hoxer and Thomas Arnoldsen did a great job, though there are regularly not playing together. We could challenge Germy with a quite offensive defence, this fit quite well.
Germany have developed in the past years, but today, it was more Wolff against Denmark, not Germany. The result is maybe a bit high, but in the second half, we really played well. It was quite obvious that we would win the match.”
And while Denmark ended a long European wait to get back on top — and now hold all three major trophies simultaneously — Mensah kept it simple:
“To be honest, I don’t care about those numbers. It was only important to win this trophy, the rest is funny and nice, but not important.”
Jacobsen on Germany: “They just have to climb the last step.”
Despite denying Germany the title, Jacobsen was clear about the direction of the German team — and what comes next.
“Germany has had a lot of amazing achievements lately. They are now part of the favourites for every tournament. Last year, they lost in the [World Championship] quarter-finals, but they were already in the final at the Olympics and the last EURO we beat them in the semi-finals. Now, they just have to climb the last step for the title.
But I am not going to tell them how to win finals. They will be playing the next competition at home, so they definitely will be among the favourites.”
