Before this meeting, the Danes were in a privileged position. So far, they have achieved four victories in the tournament: 30:21 with Montenegro, 34:23 with Slovenia, 31:21 with North Macedonia and 28:24 with Iceland. The Croatians, on the other hand, have already lost two matches – with France 22:27 and unexpectedly with Montenegro 26:32 and only the victory prolonged their chances for the medal zone.
“Croatian defense, the one with heart and aggressiveness”
Croatia played in a weakened squad on Saturday, but they played very well and stood up to the tournament’s big favorite. The Croats were especially impressive in defense.
– When Croatian defense is on top, with heart and aggressiveness. This is perhaps the most beautiful thing about handball. At least in my opinion. Deja vu EHF Euro 2020 – Rasmus Boysen, a handball expert, wrote on Twitter.
Interestingly, Mirko Alilović, an experienced Croatian goalkeeper, also broke Emil Jakobsen’s impressive streak. The Danish left winger had a streak of 37 shots in a row!
After this victory, the Danes lead the table on their own. They have two points more than the national teams of France and Iceland. The world champions will play against the Netherlands and France in this phase.
If the Danes win with the Netherlands, France with Montenegro, and Iceland with Croatia and Montenegro, then the match: Denmark – France will decide about the advance to the semi-finals. With such results, the French, the Olympic champions, would have to defeat the world champions by as many as 6 goals to advance to the semi-finals.
Group 1 table:
- Denmark 3 6 85:70
- France 3 4 82:75
- Iceland 3 4 82:77
- Netherlands 3 2 86:93
- Montenegro 3 2 83:90
- Croatia 3 0 73:86
Matches to be played:
France – Montenegro, Denmark – Netherlands, Iceland – Croatia (all Monday, January 24), France – Denmark, the Netherlands – Croatia, Montenegro – Iceland (all Wednesday, January 26).
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
