Denmark became European men’s handball champions for the first time in over a decade on Sunday night, beating Germany 34-27 in the final on home soil in Herning.
The Danes, who co-hosted the tournament and entered as reigning world champions, were clear favorites and largely justified that billing, trailing Germany for only a single minute in the first half.
Mathias Gidsel starred for Denmark, scoring seven times in the final and finishing the tournament with 68 goals — a new European Championship record, surpassing Sander Sagosen’s 65 from 2020.
Germany spent much of the match chasing and were hampered by red cards shown to Tom Kiesler and Jannik Kohlbacher, which made a comeback more difficult.
“First and foremost, I’m proud of our performance today and throughout the tournament,” said German captain Johannes Golla. “Even today, we never gave up. If you just look at the result, it looks more one-sided than the game really was.” Golla noted the progress since Germany’s 26-39 loss to Denmark in the 2024 Olympic final: “In comparison to then, we can leave here with our heads held high. But overall, we have to accept that it just wasn’t enough today.”
Germany accepted silver medals, with two players named in the tournament’s all-star team: captain Johannes Golla and goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who earned the nod ahead of Denmark’s Emil Nielsen.
“Such awards are signs of huge appreciation for Andreas and Johannes, who always took the lead, even in difficult phases,” said Ingo Meckes, director of sport at the German Handball Federation. “But having two all-stars is also an achievement for the entire team, in which all 18 players played an important role. Without that, you couldn’t play a tournament like this.”
With handball the country’s most popular team sport after football, Germany can now look ahead with confidence to the 2027 World Championship, which it will host in Cologne, Munich, Kiel, Hanover, Magdeburg and Stuttgart.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko