Denmark sealed their seventh semi-final berth in history at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship with a dominating performance against Portugal (35:25), taking an early lead and never looking back.
 
It was the sixth consecutive win for Denmark at Croatia 2023, with the Scandinavian side setting up a crunch semi-final against reigning champions Egypt on Friday in the Varaždin Arena.
 
Quarter-final

• Denmark vs Portugal 35:25 (20:14)

 
No team had sealed more semi-finals berths at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship than Denmark – six in the previous eight editions – and another one would have improved the Scandinavian powerhouse’s chances for their fourth title, an unprecedented achievement in the world handball flagship competition.
 
That path went through a clash against Portugal in the quarter-finals, though, with Portugal being one of the grittiest opponents Denmark could have faced, a team with a never-say-die attitude, which delivered a difficult challenge for any opponent.
 
Yet Denmark looked in total control, as they went on to secure their sixth win in a row at Croatia 2023, being one of the two sides with a 100% winning record in the semi-finals alongside Spain, thanks to their excellent defensive effort, which yielded easy goals converted on the fast breaks.
 
It could not have been possible without an excellent effort from goalkeeper Simon Meinby Lundorf, who saved six shots for a 43% saving efficiency in the first 17 minutes, as Denmark took full advantage of those stops and created chances in attack, where left wing William Enoch Dalby was impossible to stop, with five goals scored in the first half.
 
A strong 7:3 start for Denmark was the building block for the Scandinavian side’s excellent game, as goals came from all over the court, with right back Lasse Sunesen Vilhelmsen particularly shining in the first half, with four goals and three assists, being rendered impossible to stop by Portugal’s defence.
 
While Portugal did try to weather the storm, they failed to do that in the first half. Even if they cut the gap once to three goals, Denmark just went back, built a six-goal lead (20:14) at the end of the first 30 minutes and looked in absolute control of the game, with Portugal needing a whole another level to just compete and attempt another of their classic comebacks.
 
Indeed, Portugal tried their utmost to derail Denmark’s bid for the trophy, but the closest they got was to three goals (23:20) in the 38th minute, which prompted the first team time-out of the game for Denmark, with the players needing some calming down due to their turnovers.
 
Back Filipe Monteiro became unstoppable for Portugal, scoring nine goals and pressing relentlessly for his side to come even closer. Yet, Denmark’s attack woke up at the right time, with their top scorer, back Frederik Emil Pedersen, taking over in the second half and putting up nine goals himself.
 
Portugal threw everything they had, but their energy levels were down, collapsing entirely in the last 10 minutes, despite two team time-outs, which failed to bring any kind of resilience from them, as Denmark used a 6:0 unanswered run to create a 10-goal lead, which they kept until the end (35:25).
 
With their sixth win in as many matches, Denmark secured another semi-finals berth at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship and set up a crunch clash against reigning champions Egypt in what projects to be a game for the ages.
 
Portugal head to the Placement Matches 5-8, where they face the Faroe Islands, having missed the chance now to secure their first-ever medal in the competition.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Frederik Emil Pedersen (Denmark)

Photo: Croatia 2023/Kolektiff images