The United States of America delivered one of their biggest-ever performances on the world stage as they pushed record-breakers Denmark at the Malmö Arena, eventually losing 24:33 in their main round clash of the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship.

The Danes, with a rotated team and key players rested, were not only playing in front of a packed arena of their fans, but are also going for their third, unprecedented World Championship in a row. This result now means they have gone 25 matches unbeaten in the competition.

For the team representing a continent (North America and The Caribbean Confederation - NACHC), the US can hold their heads high.

Main Round Group IV

United States of America vs Denmark 24:33 (10:18)

After their draw with Croatia on Thursday (19 January), Denmark coach Nikolaj Jacobsen said he had to change his plans for this clash as they looked to qualify for the quarter-finals.

With Egypt beating Bahrain earlier today and taking one of the two qualification spots on offer, the Danish draw meant that goals could come into play to decide whether they or Croatia would take that second spot. 

In the end, the expected goal difference separating the teams tonight was not what everyone in the team or, indeed, the nearly 11,000 fans in the arena expected, not least Jacobsen.

He had started with an unfamiliar team Kevin Møller in goal (who ended with 13 saves and a 50% save rate), along with Magnus Landin, Michael Nielsen, Simon Hald, Henrik Jensen, Mads Hoxer and Hans Lindberg.

By the end of the match, Mads Mensah and Mathias Gidsel were on court. Gidsel's last-second strike ensured that the Europeans did not 'lose' the second period, taking a 15:14 victory after the USA had led for large periods.

Asked in the post-match official media conference about whether he was happy about his so-called 'second string' and how they developed throughout the match, Jacobsen took a deep breath, thought for a long time and answered with a stony face: "I don't think so". 

His disappointment, or maybe even anger, being kept at bay for now. "We struggled to keep the concentration," he added. "We played too slowly."

While it was clear that the Danes were never really in their flow – expected with such a heavy rotation of players (Niklas Landin did not play at all, Mikkel Hansen just seven seconds) – they did gel at least for the second 15 minutes of the first half, moving from four goals ahead (9:5) to a half-time lead of eight (18:10), this essentially won them the match.

But for a nation known for its winning mentality, this could be the most impressive and happiest loss ever for the USA.

In April 2019, Amar Amitovic, Jonas Stromberg and Rene Ingram appeared for the US men's junior team at the IHF Trophy Intercontinental Phase in Kosovo. Still, tonight they were on court against the world champions and, along with the rest of the team, showed they are making waves. 

The progression and development are evident for all to see, and all this is coming from a nation appearing in their first IHF Men's World Championship in 22 years.

Goalkeeper Ingram stopped the Danes six times in his time on court, while teammate Samuel Hoddersen recorded five strikes for his side down the other end.

And maybe, it could have been closer. The USA made 15 turnovers this evening, highlighting that there is still a way to go.

"For our country, which is trying to develop to be a good handball nation, it's important that we have matches like this, but we have a lot to learn as well," said USA captain Ian Hüter, who played every single second.

"We can be happy with how we played these 60 minutes. It's a huge experience today for us to play against the biggest team in the world. It's the first time for a lot of us playing in front of a big crowd like this and we were very motivated today."

"We're going to take this match as a good experience and try to continue positively in the future."

Whether Denmark will continue positively in the future will be decided on Monday (22 January) when they go up against Egypt in the third and final match of the day, by which time they will know the result of Croatia against Bahrain and what they have to do, if anything, to make it through to the last eight.

hummel Player of the Match: Lukas Jørgensen (Denmark)