“When we do that, when we play really good handball, it’s difficult to beat us,” said Denmark’s left wing Magnus Landin before the start of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026.

Denmark have been the dominating force of men’s handball over the past years, winning four consecutive editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship and the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

But one title has been evading them since 2012 – the continental one. Denmark’s relationship with the EHF EURO has been rocky at best – alternating medals (silver in 2014 and 2024 and bronze in 2022) with early exits, such as the 13th place in 2020.

Were Denmark to win the gold medal at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, they would have become the second team in history – after France – to hold all three major international titles – the World Championship, the Olympic Games and the continental one – at the same time.

For Landin – a four time World Champion and an Olympic champion – as well as for other greats in the squad, like the 2023 and 2024 IHF Male World Player of the Year, Mathias Gidsel, or coach Nikolaj Jacobsen, the European title was the one missing in their cabinet.

And now, they finally won it.

Two years ago, in 2024, in their prime, Denmark conceded a 31:33 overtime loss against France in the final of the EHF EURO. Since then, they bounced back and completed a double at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games whitewashing all their opponents – 17 wins in 17 matches.

Now, on their home ground, in the Jyske Bank Boxen, in Herning, where they also started their dominant streak, at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship, Denmark have conceded a loss against Portugal, 29:31, in the preliminary round, but bounced back in superb fashion.

Six wins later – two against Germany, and one each against France, Spain, Norway and Iceland – always playing with the sword above their heads, Denmark have seen the historic treble completed.

 

“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,” said right back Mathias Gidsel, for eurohandball.com.

So far, only one team had managed to hold the three trophies at the same time, a star-studded France side, which won the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the 2009 IHF Men’s World Championship and the 2010 EHF EURO, with players like Thierry Omeyer, Jérôme Fernandez, Nikola Karabatić and current coach Guillaume Gille between their ranks.

But this Denmark side looks unplayable when they are at their best.

Since the emergence of Gidsel, at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship and fellow back player Simon Pytlick at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, Denmark were unstoppable in attack. At the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, they averaged 36.6 goals per match. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, they had an average of 33.3 goals scored per match.

At the EHF EURO 2026, they still had 34 goals per match, with Gidsel (68 goals) and Pytlick (64 goals) combining for 43% of their team’s goals. And there was also goalkeeper Emil Nielsen, who had the second largest number of saves, 80, doubled by Kevin Møller, who made some key saves from himself in the semi-final against Iceland and final against Denmark, boasting the largest efficiency in the competition, 36%.

All in all, this proved that Denmark had a fantastic autoregenerative strength, having players ready after some of the greatest of all time, like Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin said their goodbyes after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. If all, Denmark look even stronger than before, with some players in their prime, ready to dominate for multiple years to come.

 

“It’s something special to be able to write yourself into history. To have three titles at the same time, very few players have had, and there is one country and one coach before me. It’s a huge honor to be there. Now I have six titles and come up next to Bengt Johansson. There are two up to Claude Onesta,” said Denmark’s coach, Nikolaj Jacobsen, for Danish television TV2.

To think about the future after a major trophy won just underlines how laser-focused and how confident Denmark are right now. The next objective will be, of course, the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship in Germany.

Denmark were already qualified and will play close to the border, in Kiel, in the preliminary round, but their aim is solely the fifth consecutive title – another unprecedented achievement. So far, only France have won at least five titles – Denmark are tied with Sweden and Romania with four apiece. But who would best against Denmark extending their unbeaten streak at the World Championship to 46 matches?

Photo credit: EHF / kolektiff / Anze Malovrh