On Sunday, the Danish men’s handball team returned to winning ways with a 33–24 away victory over Switzerland in the EHF Euro Cup.
In the same tournament, the Danes drew against Spain on Wednesday and in neither of these two matches did the Danes display a particularly sparkling brand of handball.
These matches serve as preparation for the World Championship in Germany this January, where Denmark will compete as the defending champions. Denmark has won the World Championship the last four times.
In Sunday’s match, Denmark performed best in the second half, ultimately securing a commanding victory following a strong finish in a sold-out, high-energy arena in Zurich.
However, in the first half, Nikolaj Jacobsen’s squad struggled and committed numerous turnovers. The Swiss capitalized on these errors to level the score at 7–7. Switzerland kept the first half to a low-scoring affair, and Denmark went into the break with a 13–9 lead.
Kevin Moller performed well in the Danish goal, while Emil Nielsen was given a rest. In the first half, Moller saved exactly half of the Swiss attempts, and the pattern remained much the same after the break.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s offensive play improved and Mathias Gidsel gradually found his rhythm finishing the match with seven goals while Simon Pytlick, one of Denmark’s best players, demonstrated greater precision scoring ten goals to become the match's leading goalscorer.
Denmark took a 19–9 lead following six unanswered goals in the second half. It looked as though the Swiss were in for a humiliating defeat, though they managed to fight their way back slightly, preventing the scoreline from becoming truly dire.
Denmark is set to play two more warm-up matches ahead of the World Championship—against the Czech Republic in January, just before the tournament begins.