Denmark became the third team in history to win all five matches in the preliminary round of the men's handball competition at the Olympics, after Iceland and Croatia did the same thing at London 2012. In a Scandinavian derby, Nikolaj Jacobsen's team proved too strong for Norway, 32:25, who dropped to the third position in Group B. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP В
Denmark vs Norway 32:25 (17:12)

The competition's leading scorer Mathias Gidsel struggled early in the match, missing a few shots before finally scoring his first goal of the day in the 22nd minute. However, his below-par performance did not stop Denmark from taking control of the game.

Simon Pytlick fired from all cylinders, converting six of his seven attempts before the break and helping his team to enjoy a 71% shooting efficiency in the opening 30 minutes. Norway, who could have won Group B with a victory on Sunday, tried to fight back, but the fast-paced and assertive Danes were hard to stop. They led 17:10 before the goals from Simen Lyse and Alexander Blonz helped their rivals to cut the deficit before half-time.

The sides exchanged goals early in the second half, so Denmark constantly led by four or five goals. Solid goalkeeping by Emil Nielsen did not allow Norway to come closer, as he had a special impact after the break and ended the game with 15 saves and a 38% save rate. A string of his brilliant saves helped the world champions to further extend their advantage, 28:19 by minute 49.

The match was basically decided, and the Danish team comfortably cruised to a seven-goal victory. Pytlick became the top scorer of the match with nine goals, while Gidsel netted just three times from six attempts, but increased his tally in the competition to 42 goals. At Norway, Harald Reinkind stood out with his six goals, while Sander Sagosen did not have his best day, scoring just twice from six attempts, and their goalkeepers did not shine, either. 

So Denmark won Group B in style, scoring 165 goals in five matches (33 on average) and conceding 133 (26,6 on average). In the quarter-final, Jacobsen's team will face the fourth-placed team in Group A, while Norway, who finished third in the group after two consecutive losses, will meet Slovenia in the quarter-finals