The final day of action at the 2024 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship sees Croatia take on Denmark in the final on Sunday (23 June) at the 'Pingtan International Beach Sports Base' on Pingtan Island, People's Republic of China.

IHF.info hears from each team involved about their semi-final victory and the final itself, in both the men's and the women's competitions.

Joachim Trend Hansen (DEN) – player

IHF.info: What does it feel like to score the winning goal in a semi-final against Germany and qualify through to the final?

Joachim Trend Hansen: I mean, that doesn't matter for me at all that I scored the winning goal. I think what matters is that last year, in the European Championship, we lost in the semi-final to Germany and being able to come out on top a year later at the world championship is just amazing.

IHF.info: Germany gave you a tough game, what was the key to the victory?

Joachim Trend Hansen: Our defence had a really, really strong performance on top, backed up by a goalkeeper with a lot of saves. We managed to create chances that we're so good we had a high scoring percentage and that kept Germany a little bit behind us for most of the game, especially in the first half.

IHF.info: You won by a golden goal, how do you practice and train for that?

Joachim Trend Hansen: We always have a strategy on the lob ball we have to start and then we have our positions when we need to create and score just one point where it doesn’t matter who scores or shoots. In that situation we have our strategies as well.

IHF.info: The 2024 final is a repeat of the 2022 final which you lost. Can you win this time?

Joachim Trend Hansen: Every time you are in a final it puts experience on top and we have played against Croatia many, many times. We lost last time, but the time before that we won. It's always very close games and so we have full confidence that we will be able to win even though we know it's going to be difficult.

It would mean the world (to win gold) but being in the final is a huge achievement in itself. Being able to finish out on top would be massive, something we've never done before and something that we work hard to be able to get the chance to do.

Valentino Valentakovic (CRO) – player

IHF.info: You are in another final again, does it ever get boring?

Valentino Valentakovic: Been there, done that (laughs). No, it's always excitement and a special feeling to play in front of the full stadium and represent Croatia once again, going into the best of the best game. It's always a long way to the final so you appreciate when you get there.

IHF.info: How confident were you that you could get in another final and beat Portugal in the semi-final?

Valentino Valentakovic: I was 110% sure we're going to the final. From the start in the defence, it was not the right setting so we changed it quickly and the attack was perfect. Everything fell in place perfectly in time.

IHF.info: Is the final a one-off game for you or can you use what you have learned so far at China 2024?

Valentino Valentakovic: We are constantly learning and then the match comes and then some things happen so quickly you have to adapt and that's the worst part.

As always, if you want to win the championship, you have to win everything. We're winning everything so far, but it’s one more to go yet.

In the women's final, Argentina play against Germany. 

Gisella Bonomi (ARG) – player

IHF.info: You have reached the final, how are you feeling?

Gisella Bonomi: I think that this feeling is from being from a country that always fights for what it wants. It was very hard for us to get here, we almost couldn't come to China because of money and the economy. Being today in the finals, fighting against the best European teams, there are no words to describe this. We are immensely proud of ourselves.

IHF.info: What did your team do to get to the final?

Gisella Bonomi: We train for more than…we train years in extreme conditions with rain, with heat, with cold. We are always training: ‘this is a shoot-out to pass to the semi-finals’, ‘this is a shoot-out to pass the finals’, and we did it. That's why. We practised a lot to be here.”

IHF.info: In your semi-final against Netherlands you had two completely different sets, losing the first 14:19 and winning the second 27:20 to take it to a shoot-out and then victory. What was the difference?

Gisella Bonomi: What we practice the most is the change of mentality. The details are very important, but the most important detail is our mind. We worked a lot on our mind to be here, to be precise in each ball and I think that we keep it safe. We decided better than the other one (Netherlands). We could learn through the much how to correct our mistakes.

IHF.info: What is your goal here in China?

Gisella Bonomi: We came here to win nine matches, so that's what we're going to do.

IHF.info: When you look at your teammates as a group, what do you see?

Gisella Bonomi: Insane love. Insane passion for the sport.

Kirsten Sophie Walter (GER) – player

IHF.info: You’re in the final for the second, successive year. How does it feel?

Kirsten Sophie Walter: I think first it's crazy that we managed again to get to the final. And again, win the shoot-out (against Denmark in the semi-final). I think we haven't been the most confident in the shoot-out during the tournament, but it's unbelievable. I was right now on the court. I was like, ‘f*ck, okay, tomorrow, we're in the final’. We are bringing 120% into this match and we are really, really happy and excited about it.

IHF.info: In Beach Handball you only hear the national anthem before the semi-finals, which means when you do hear it you are doing well. What did you feel like when you heard it before the semi-final?

Kirsten Sophie Walter: In the beginning of the match, we were told the anthem will be playing and I think if you stand there, if you look to the German flag, there's automatically goosebumps on our skins. Some of us are also tearing and then we look at each other and we know ‘okay, that's going to be our game. It's an honour to play for Germany.”

IHF.info: Isobel Kattner is a key player for Germany in a shoot-out, what is it like having her on your team?

Kirsten Sophie Walter: We're really happy to have Isobel on our team and not against us, because I know that she's well-known in the team and maybe some of the players are also a little bit afraid of shooting against her in the shoot-out.

When it goes to shoot-out we know that she will save one or two balls and we believe in each other. 

IHF.info: In your quarter-final, Lucie-Marie Kretschmar missed a shot in the shoot-out, but you went on to win anyway. In the semi-final, she was given the ball for the crucial shot in the shoot-out to win the game, which she did. What does this say about your team mentality?

Kirsten Sophie Walter: For this tournament, we had three pillars that Hendrick our co-coach gave to us. One of the pillars was having confidence in each other and in oneself. We wanted to give her again the single shot and end the semi-final. It shows that Lucie is also human.

IHF.info: When you look at your time what do you feel?

Kirsten Sophie Walter: I'm really proud of being a part of the team. We have two captains, Lucie-Marie and myself who are leading the team. I'm very proud that they trust the both of us to lead them through the tournament. We again came to the final and it shows how strong we are internally, not only through which Bea