As of: January 31, 2024, 5:21 a.m
By: Niklas Kirk
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In a high-class final, France and Denmark keep the match open until the end.
In extra time, the French showed stronger nerves.
Handball European Championship: France against Denmark |
33:31 nv (14:14)
Excitement until the end: Denmark and France are in a crazy neck-and-neck race
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France – Denmark 33:31 aet (14:14)
France: |
Bellahcene, Desbonnet - Lenne, Descat, Kounkoud, Nahi - Tournat, Fabregas, Konan - Remili, Prandi, Mem - N. Karabatic, Mahé, L. Karabatic, N'Guessan |
Denmark: |
Landin, Nielsen - Landin, Jakobsen, Lindberg, Saugstrup, Jörgensen, Hald Jensen, Kirkelökke, Lauge, Gidsel, Möllgaard, Mensah Larsen, Hansen, Damgaard, Pytlick |
2 minute penalties: |
France: 4 Denmark: 3 |
7 meter throws: |
France: 5/6 Denmark: 7/7 |
Venue: |
Cologne, Lanxess Arena |
Conclusion: What an end to a great European Championship. The two title candidates didn't give each other anything over 60 minutes, with the Danes often missing the decisive lead. France once again managed to stay in the game with an incredible defensive performance and finally caught up with the Danes in extra time just before the goal. The world champion ultimately has to admit defeat and Nikola Karabatic leaves the European Championship stage as befits him. With another gold medal.
The stronger nerves proved: France deservedly become European handball champions © IMAGO/LUDVIG THUNMAN
70th minute: Over, over, that's it! Time is running out and France is European handball champion for the fourth time!
69th minute:
Landin saves!
But Denmark now needs its own goal, otherwise the air will become thin.
68th minute:
Mem increases to two for France!
The Danes then award and France can now seek the preliminary decision.
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67th minute:
The turning point?
France takes the lead and then Bellahcene saves.
65th minute:
But shortly before the break, France can rely on its world-class circle runner Fabregas.
The second five minutes are approaching.
65th minute:
Pytlick finds the gap in the backcourt.
Denmark back in the lead.
64th minute:
No further goals so far.
Denmark cannot prevail in seven against six.
Then Landin stops again just before the French would have run into the time game.
Things are a bit choppy now.
62nd minute:
Both teams immediately deliver with a goal.
Denmark (with Mathias Gidsel, left) and France (with Elohim Prandi, right) are giving each other nothing in the final of the European Handball Championship.
© Imago / Ritzau Scanpix
61st minute:
The first five minutes start, Denmark takes the ball first.
60th minute:
One might think that it was foreshadowed.
Neither team collapses in a world-class handball game.
After a short break, they now have to continue to show their nerve.
Excitement until the end - the European Championship final goes into extra time
60th minute:
Hansen's last free throw gets stuck in the wall and we go into extra time!
59th minute: Equalizer!!! Denmark gets into the time game and France scores. The last seconds!
59th minute:
The last time-out is taken and the last minute begins.
Denmark is now close to winning this battle of nerves and taking the result to the finish line!
58th minute:
Denmark scores when they are outnumbered, although their own goal was left open by the additional field player.
57th minute:
Penalty time for Denmark!
Kirkelökke gets two minutes and ensures that France plays with one more player until shortly before the end.
56th minute:
Change of lead!
Mikkel Hansen unpacks the club and Landin stays one-on-one on the other side.
Denmark relied on seven against six twice.
55th minute:
France leads!
Landin is now in goal for Denmark and is immediately there with a save.
However, the 7 meter that resulted from the situation is there.
Denmark is now taking a break.
53rd minute:
equalizer!
Bellahcene parries and the subsequent hit ensures that no one can make a mistake here.
52nd minute:
Proof of strong nerves?
With an elegant turn at 7 meters, the French reduced the score to one goal again.
50th minute:
The last ten minutes begin!
Will Denmark actually manage this delicate lead over time?
Any missed throw could be the initial spark for the French.
47th minute:
Even when they are outnumbered, France demands everything from the Danes for every single goal.
It remains completely unpredictable who will cave in first.
45th minute:
Denmark cannot take advantage of its own superiority.
Although they defend together, they still have a three-goal lead.
On the other hand, Mem gets the next time penalty and now has to pull himself together for the rest of the game.
There is a fight for every centimeter: the two handball superstars Mathias Gidsel (l.) and Nikola Karabatic (r.) in a duel in the final of the European Handball Championship.
© Imago / HMB Media
42nd minute:
Lenne shortens the score to one goal from outside.
It will remain a major concentration task for both teams until the end.
40th minute:
France hits the post!
It remains a meager four goals in the first ten minutes of the second half.
Because of a deliberate foot play, France now has the advantage.
38th minute:
The spell on the French is broken after the first goal.
This is followed by a series of attacks on both sides, which are ended by technical errors and striker fouls.
Neither the Danes can break away nor France can continue to shorten the gap.
France against Denmark now in the live ticker: Danes more awake after the break and with slight advantages
34th minute:
Desbonnet is now in goal for France.
But even he doesn't prevent Mikkel Hansen's 7 meter statistics from remaining flawless today.
Meanwhile, France is waiting for the first goal in the second half.
32nd minute:
Denmark scores their first goal after the break, but immediately afterwards two attacks on both sides remain uncountable.
30th minute:
The teams come back to the floor, things will continue here soon.
It will be exciting to see who can keep their concentration high after the break.
France against Denmark now in the live ticker: Close final still completely open at the break
Half time: And then it’s break. In a varied game at the highest level, no team was able to gain a significant advantage. There is tension right up to the end here. What particularly stood out about France was their defensive work. On the other side, the Danish keeper was outstanding and caused the French to despair at times.
30th minute:
But it's the Danes' turn again!
First Hansen overcomes Ballahcene by 7 meters, immediately afterwards Nielsen makes his 10th save.
28th minute:
Now a little more dynamic and gaps in the defensive chains.
The French have taken the lead due to the Danes' long dry spell.
23rd minute:
Denmark has not scored its own goal for 6 minutes.
The French are now defending high and the ball cannot find a way out of the backcourt towards the circle or outside.
France is physically very present right now.
21st minute:
Less than ten minutes remain in the first half.
It's a close game, with a lot of focus on defense.
There was hardly any room for quick goals and so far no team has had a noticeable field advantage here.
With the French equalizing, Denmark takes its first time out.
19th minute:
Ballahcene finally in action.
This save from Kiel was necessary to finally get into the game.
16th minute:
The French's next missed throw from the half left hits the post.
Due to the poor evaluation of chances, Denmark can take control of the game for the first time, after it was previously only a head-to-head race.
Nothing comes for free: France meets Denmark in the European Championship final © Tom Weller
14th minute:
Denmark can rely on their goalkeeper here.
Nielsen with the sixth save, spectacular one-on-one from the circle.
11th minute:
But the opposite happens!
First the French, twice outnumbered, steal the ball and score with a fast counter-attack, shortly afterwards Denmark only hits the post.
9th minute:
Denmark maybe with some momentum now?
Nielsen parries his third ball and the French receive their first time penalty of the game.
7th minute:
It remains tight for now.
Denmark scores quickly in the middle, in return France scores in the second attempt.
By the way, the Danish fans have the voting power in the hall.
3rd minute:
Mathias Gidsel has his say with a first goal in the backcourt.
It was defended hard in the first few minutes and Gidsel's jersey was torn straight away.
2nd minute:
And the quick equalizer on the other side.
Denmark scores.
1st minute:
The game starts with a 7 meter.
Nielsen is defeated.
1st minute:
Throw-off, let's get started in Cologne!
France has possession of the ball.
Update, 5:40 p.m.:
The hymen are about to sound.
The Danish one under the eyes of Queen Mary.
Update, 5:35 p.m.:
The tension is now slowly increasing, there are still ten minutes until kick-off.
The first award was given before the game for third place. The final participants Mathias Gidsel, Magnus Saugstrup and Ludovic Fabregas found a place in the European Championship All-Star Team.
Update, 5:27 p.m.:
Since the squads of both teams are available, a quick look at the Bundesliga participation in this final.
There will be a lot of familiar faces again, especially among the Danes.
The biggest block is made up of the SG Flensburg-Handewitt players around Emil Manfeldt Jakobsen, Simon Pytlick, Mads Mensah Larsen and Lukas Jörgensen.
Followed by Magnus Saugstrup and Michael Damgaard from SC Magdeburg, as well as Mathias Gidsel and Hans Lindberg, who are at home with the Füchse in Berlin.
The field of Germany legionnaires is completed by the Kiel goalkeeper Magnus Landin and Niclas Kirkelökke from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
For France, only Samir Bellahcene is active in Germany.
Here the direct duel between the two goalkeepers from THW Kiel against Landin beckons.
Update, 5:13 p.m.:
One person to pay particular attention to today is France's former champion Nikola Karabatic.
As is well known, the tournament is his last European Championship, which is why the superstar will be particularly keen to win a gold medal as a farewell.
It would be his fourth.
Update, 5:01 p.m.:
Before we get started, a little information in advance.
This is the seventh time the two nations have met at a European Championship.
An encouragement for the French: Denmark has only been able to win one of six games against France, almost exactly two years ago when the two teams met in the game for third place.
Update from January 28th, 4:38 p.m.:
Hello and welcome to the live ticker for the final of the European Handball Championship!
After the German team's nerve-wracking defeat for bronze, the duel here is France against Denmark in just over an hour.
First report from January 28th:
Cologne – The European Handball Championship in Germany is coming to an end.
In the fight for the final, two teams that had started the European Championship as co-favorites finally won the race.
After a confident performance in the semi-final against Germany, Denmark will face France this Sunday (5.45 p.m., TV information can be found here), who only had to make it to the final against Sweden.
Even though people in this country were hoping for German participation in the final until the very end, the fans can at least look forward to top-class handball.
Nothing less than the new edition of the 2023 World Cup final awaits the fans in the Cologne Arena.
Filled with stars on both sides, including many current and former faces from the Handball Bundesliga.
Final of the European Handball Championship: French with respect for Danish offensive power
Accordingly, there is great mutual appreciation and the knowledge that both have the biggest work ahead of them after exhausting semi-final games.
France in particular is expecting a “versatile” and “dangerous” opponent, as coach Guillaume Gille describes the Danes: “They are a really good team, with a very strong pair of goalkeepers and amazing offensive power,” with reference to Mathias Gidsel, Mikkel Hansen and Simon Pytlick.
Nevertheless, Nikola Karabatic, for example, is looking forward to the outsider role after the heart-stopping final against Sweden, which would suit the French.
Nedim Remili even goes one step further and sees the momentum on the French side, also because they learned from the lost final last year.
Two leading wolves in the final: Nikola Karabatic meets Denmark in France with Mathias Gidsel © Own editing: left - picture alliance/dpa/Tom Weller right - picture alliance/dpa/Sven Hoppe
Final of the European Handball Championship: Gidsel wants to get German fans on board
On the Danish side, however, they are exercising restraint.
Emil Nielsen, who stopped the German attack in the second half of the semi-final, speaks of a “50/50 game”.
If his team wants to win, they have to “physically go to the limit” like they did against Germany.
However, it is also clear from the starting point that the Scandinavians, with the tailwind of three world championship titles in a row (2019, 2021 and 2023), finally want to take home the crown of European handball again after a twelve-year break.
In addition to strong goalkeepers and well-organized defenses, Mathias Gidsel also brings the audience into the game as a tip of the scales.
In the mixed zone of the Cologne Arena on Friday he said with a wink: “I hope the German fans are on our side on Sunday.
That would be helpful because the next final against France will be really difficult."
With our live ticker you won't miss a minute of the game.
Kickoff is at 5:45 p.m.
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nki
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