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January 24, 2025Defending champions Denmark maintained their perfect record at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, winning their fifth straight match, this time against Switzerland, 39:28. Emil Nielsen did a great job between the Danish posts, delivering 23 saves, and thanks to this victory, Nikolaj Jacobsen’s team secured their quarter-finals berth with one main round match to go, also helping Germany secure the second quarter-finals spot.
MAIN ROUND GROUP I
Denmark vs Switzerland 39:28 (18:11)
Switzerland had been doing a good job at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, getting some impressive results, and with a win over Denmark, they would have stayed in fight for a quarter-final spot. Early in the match, they tried to be on par with the favourites, as the thwo sides were level at 4:4 after nine minutes. However, then the Scandinavian team used a 4:0 run to pull clear, and they never looked back.
Once again, Denmark did not go full throttle in the first half, as Mathias Gidsel netted only twice and Niklas Kirkelokke converted just one of six attempts. On the other hand, Rasmus Lauge scored four goals, and Denmark defended very well – in particular, Emil Nielsen did an excellent job, denying the Swiss players time after time.
In the opening half, he made 12 saves for an impressive 52% save rate, and that really made the difference. Switzerland’s Nikola Portner also had a good outing, but Denmark were stronger as a team, which resulted in their clear 18:11 lead at the break.
Ten minutes into the second half, the co-hosts already boasted a double-digit lead, 26:16. Nielsen continued to shine between the posts, ending the game with 23 saves for a 45% saving rate, as his team were fully dominant in the second half. Gidsel also rose to prominence, taking his tally to six goals in this game, while Lasse Andersson became Denmark’s top scorer with eight goals.
Denmark are now certain to finish top of Group I of the main round, since they hold the tiebreaker over Germany in the head-to-head match. In their last main round game on Saturday, Nikolaj Jacobsen’s team will meet Czechia and try to extend their unbeaten streak at the World Championship, which now stands at 33 matches.
In turn, Switzerland have no chance of reaching the quarter-final, but in their last match against Italy, they will try to win and climb to the third place in the group, which will improve their overall ranking at the competition, possibly a top-10 finish.
hummel Player of the Match: Emil Nielsen (Denmark)