Denmark’s last loss in a major international competition dates back to 23 January 2024, when the Scandinavian powerhouse conceded a 25:28 loss against Slovenia at the EHF EURO 2024.

Since then, Denmark have won 18 out of the 19 matches played – 17 in a row – with the only blip on the radar being the loss in the final of the EHF EURO 2024 against France – 31:33 in overtime.

And in that two-year span, Denmark secured the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, winning eight matches out of eight played, with an average margin of win of 5.87 goals per match, as well as nine matches in a row at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, with an average margin of win of 12.5 goals per match.

“We have a lot of focus on playing good handball. Because we all know that when we play good handball and do our best and respect our tactics and schemes, then we are very hard to beat. It's much easier to talk about achieving something this way. So it's really important for us to play good and also to be remembered as a team that also did play really good handball,” says Denmark’s left wing Magnus Landin Jacobsen.

 

By winning the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship in such a commanding manner, after being flawless at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Denmark went one step closer to achieving perfection: to hold all three major international trophies available at the same time.

To underline just how hard it is, only one team has managed this so far: France, when “Les Experts” won the world title in 2011, the London 2012 Olympic Games and the EHF EURO 2010. 

“First of all, there is a reason why there is only one team who did it before. Because it's really hard to achieve that. Of course, that is something you want to do, as a team, as a group,, but I think that’s the not the thing that should govern us. But, in the end, of course, you have that in mind before the start of the tournament, it’s inevitable. We just want to start good and then we will see how things are working out,” says Landin.

Denmark have already written history at the IHF Men’s World Championship over the past seven years. They put together a streak of 37 unbeaten matches – 35 wins and two draws – by far the largest in history. And they upped the ante with four consecutive titles won, a feature never achieved in the previous editions of the competition.

To put it into context, only three teams won at least four titles in the competition in their entire history: France (six), Sweden and Romania (four each). It is unprecedented, unbelievable, uncanny. 

“When we do that, when we play really good handball, it's difficult to beat us,” says Landin. 

And indeed it is, the numbers do not lie. 

Yet something has been missing from Denmark’s cabinet and it is the continental trophy, which has evaded the Scandinavian side since 2012. Coming as World Champions in 2020, Denmark were eliminated after the preliminary round, finishing 13th.

 

Two years later, they went as far as the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Spain, 25:29, only to bounce back and seal the bronze, with a 35:32 overtime win against France.

In 2024, Denmark were again aiming high, with the EHF EURO sandwiched between the World Championship and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but yet again Denmark missed out in the final and had to settle for silver.

For 14 years, Denmark were chasing the gold medal at the EHF EURO, for 14 years it has evaded the Scandinavian powerhouse.

“I feel that we are a group of very good teams and I think Denmark is part of that group. We are one of them, but I think there is more than just Denmark to beat. With last year's results, we are among the favourites together with Sweden, Germany, France, Spain. There are a lot of good teams, Croatia as well. I think there is a group at the highest position,” says Landin.

At this EHF EURO -  where Denmark return to Herning, where they clinched the title at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship and played the preliminary round and the main round in the previous edition – Denmark will have their work cut out, with a clash against Portugal in the first phase and then potential matches against France, Norway, Germany and Spain.

“I hope it will be an advantage to play in Herning. We've seen that before last year and in 2019. It was an unbelievable scene and crowd to play for. I hope it will be like last year and in 2019. It was amazing and it helped us through,” says the 30-year-old left wing.

Coincidentally, Herning and more precisely the Jyske Bank Boxen was the location where Landin won his maiden World Championship title, as a newcomer in Denmark’s squad.

 

He has been part of all the four gold campaigns – at Denmark/Germany 2019, Egypt 2021, Poland/Sweden 2023 and Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 – and with 163 caps and exactly 300 goals under his belt he is one of the most experienced players in the squad.

Stalwarts have come and gone, but Denmark are still looking the strongest team in the world – at least they have the best form on paper – just as they embark on a new chapter in their star-studded history.

“I've been here for more than 10 years now, since my debut in 2015. It has changed a lot. I started at that time with Gudmundur Gudmundsson and later on became Nikolaj, the head coach and changed something. I was in the beginning one of the very young guys and now I see a group of very talented young players. It's really special… I enjoy playing with the younger ones and see how good they are doing.”

“If we can concentrate on our own gameplay and how we play, if we can continue playing really good, then we can talk about the situation and the motivation will come, because Denmark hasn't won the EURO since 2012,” concludes Landin.