The Danish men’s handball team can call themselves World Champions for the first time following a dominating 31-22 win over Norway in the final in Herning tonight.
The Danes, who had lost World Championship finals in 1967, 2011 and 2013, finally got the title that has eluded them for so many years on the back of an outstanding all-round performance cheered on by a raucous crowd at Jyske Bank Boxen.
What made the title even more special was Denmark going undefeated (10 games won in a row – including Norway twice) on the way to glory. They are the ‘Invincibles’ of handball!
The victory means Denmark has become the first ever nation to win all six (men’s and women’s) major international tournaments.
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A different class
Following a tentative start to the match, the co-hosts slowly took control of the game and powered to a commanding 18-11 lead by halftime.
The Norwegians briefly brought it back to within six goals, but the Danes turned up the heat again, pushing the lead into double digits with just over ten minutes to go.
Niklas Landin was a clear man of the match, pulling out save after save and sucking the fight out of the demoralised Norwegians, while Mikkel Hansen and the rest of the team carved open the opposition defence at the other end of the court.
The party started in earnest with five minutes left of the game as Hansen and Landin were subbed off with the game out of reach for the Norwegians.
France secured the bronze medal earlier today in a last-second 26-25 win over co-hosts Germany.
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