Denmark make it two out of two

There was hardly any doubt that reigning champions Denmark would progress to the main round of the 28th Men's IHF World Championship, and they did it in style, beating Bahrain by a wide margin. 

Group H

Denmark vs Bahrain 36:21 (16:9)

This time, the title-holders did not show the same firepower as two days before, when they defeated Belgium 43:28. However, they were completely dominant throughout the match and once again won by 15 goals. 

Bahrain had a chance to pull in front early in the match, but Qasim Qambar hit the post from the 7m line. Yet Denmark also missed a couple of chances before Mathias Gidsel finally opened the score in the fourth minute.

After that, the world champions were hard to stop as their key players put on an impressive performance. Niklas Landin boasted a 44% save rate in the first half and his saves combined with good defensive work helped Denmark to score from fast counterattacks.

Gidsel was firing from all cylinders as his team opened an impressive 8:1 lead midway through the first half. Then Bahrain managed to improve their attack, but they did not have enough quality to match their rivals and were down by seven goals at half-time. 

Cheered by thousands of fans in Malmö, Denmark continued to push forward after the restart. The 35-year-old Mikkel Hansen could only score two goals from the 7m line, but Gidsel, who finished the match with nine goals, had good support from Simon Pytlick, who netted five times.

Nearly eight minutes from the final whistle, Denmark hit the 30-goal mark as Jacob Holm scored his first goal in the match. As Nikolaj Jacobsen rotated his squad, 11 Danish players got their names on the scoresheet, while Ali Merza Ali became Bahrain's best scorer with five goals. 

Denmark, who have secured the top position in Group H, will finish the group stage with a match against Tunisia on Tuesday, while Bahrain, who have one point after two matches, will try to snatch some points from Belgium and squeeze into the main round. 

hummel Player of the Match: Mathias Gidsel (Denmark)