Denmark and the Faroe Islands end Germany/Greece 2023 on a high

For the 11th time in the past 13 editions of the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, Denmark finished in the top 5 of the final standings, delivering a 30:25 win against Portugal to clinch their position.
 
Earlier in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, the Faroe Islands also ended Germany/Greece 2023 on a high, with their sixth win in eight games, 31:27 against Croatia, to clinch the seventh place in the final standings, confirming their best-ever finish in the competition.
 
Placement Match 5/6

• Denmark vs Portugal 30:25 (16:13)

 
As left back Victor Kløve and right wing Patrick Boldsen combined for nine goals in the first half, Denmark took early control of the game against Portugal, also boosted by seven saves from goalkeeper Mathias René Rex Dorgelo, who delivered a 35% saving efficiency in the first 30 minutes of the game.
 
Therefore, it was no surprise that Denmark finished the first half of the Placement Match 5/6 with a 16:13 lead against Portugal, with the Nordic side impressing on both sides of the ball, clearly the better side.
 
It also helped that Mikkel Moller Lovkvist made his mark when he entered the court, saving both penalties he faced, continuing to frustrate a visibly tired Portugal team, whose top scorer at Germany/Greece 2023, André Sousa, missed all five shots attempted, being excellently defended by Denmark.
 
Sousa got a better grip of the game in the second half, with Portugal trying hard to cut the gap, but their efforts were not rewarded, as Denmark proved too strong throughout the match, despite the changes made by their coach.
 
It was Lovkvist who shined bright, delivering another penalty save, with his percentage being absolutely fabulous with 10 minutes to go, seven saves for a 77.7% saving efficiency, as Portugal failed to find any proper way to score easy goals and cut the gap.
 
While Portugal tried another comeback in the last seven minutes, cutting the gap to only three goals (28:25), it still fell flat due to Lovkvist’s antics in the goal, who finished the match with 10 saves for a 59% saving efficiency.
 
After their 30:25 win, Denmark clinched their 11th top 5 finish in the last 13 editions at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship but are now without medals in back-to-back editions. At the same time, Portugal ended up on the sixth place, despite having some key players missing at Germany/Greece 2023.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Victor Kløve (Denmark)

Placement Match 7/8

• Faroe Islands vs Croatia 31:27 (16:14)

 
For their farewell from Germany/Greece 2023, the Faroe Islands decided to rest some key starters, such as Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu and Hákun West Av Teigum, giving the players who featured less time on the court more time to display their skills.
 
One of those players was Oli Mittun, who joined the team before the quarter-finals, having been initially rested for the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, which will start in Croatia in August, but came in as a solution for the Faroe side, in their best-ever finish at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship.
 
With Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu only shooting penalties, Mittun was slotted into the centre back position and shined, delivering an outstanding game in attack, with 10 assists and four goals, being the true mastermind of this iteration of the Faroe team, one which was supported constantly during the competition by over 100 fans.
 
This time around, Croatia tried to take advantage of their opponent’s strategy, but it was still Faroe who led at the break (16:14), even creating a four-goal advantage (25:21), with 18 minutes to go in the game, looking set to finish Germany/Greece 2023 on a high.
 
Croatia bounced back, with five-goal games from centre back Tin Šestak and line player Zlatko Raužan, but they could not break the resilience of the plucky Faroe side, which eventually sealed a 31:27 win.
 
Faroe finished seventh at Germany/Greece 2023 and will likely deliver the joint top scorer of the competition, Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu, whose two goals in the game helped him tie Japan’s Naoki Fujisaka, with 55 goals, on the first place in the standings.
 
On the other hand, Croatia finished Germany/Greece with a four-game losing streak, ending up on the eighth place, a disappointing one for the European side, which looked like a candidate for a medal.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Bjarni Í Selvindi (Faroe Islands)