Denmark beat Tunisia and help Belgium
17 Jan. 2023
Only a victory against Denmark would have seen Tunisia through to the main round, but the European team won and will start the main round with four points.
The reigning champions also helped Belgium, who stayed third-placed and progressed alongside the Danes and Bahrain. Tunisia finished bottom of Group H with one point and will proceed to the President's Cup.
Group H
Tunisia vs Denmark 21:34 (14:19)
In the two previous group matches at the current World Championship, Denmark had beaten their rivals Belgium and Bahrain by 15 goals. This time, they were not so dominant on the court during most of the first half, but ultimately earned a big win again, this time by 13 goals.
The title-holders had a surprisingly slow start – after Simon Pytlick opened the score, Tunisia enjoyed a 4:0 run to lead 4:1. It took Denmark a while to come back into the game. Although the European team had a 76% shot efficiency before the break, they mostly led by three or four goals. With just five saves and a modest 26% save efficiency, Niklas Landin did not show his true quality in the opening 30 minutes.
However, Denmark managed to pull clear by five goals at half-time and improved after the break. Landin started to look like his usual self, ultimately recording 13 saves. Just like in the previous matches, Mathias Gidsel was productive in attack, scoring nine goals and deservedly becoming "hummel Player of the Match" again. Mikkel Hansen also enjoyed a good match, netting six times.
Tunisia's Mohamed Darmoul also scored six goals from as many attempts. Still, just seven goals restricted his team after the break and it was clear long before the final whistle that the Africans would lose and proceed to the President's Cup.
In the end, Denmark earned a 13-goal victory and finished the group stage with the maximum of six points in three encounters. Now they will face Egypt, Croatia and the USA in the main round.
hummel Player of the Match: Mathias Gidsel (Denmark)