Paris 2024 | First-half outburst lifts Denmark past combative Egypt

A flawless first half from reigning world champions Denmark helped the European side to secure their second win in a row in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 30:27, against a battling Egypt side.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP B
Egypt vs Denmark 27:30 (9:19)

If the 37:29 win against France in the opener was not a statement of intent, then Denmark proved once again their credentials for being the favourites in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with yet another flawless performance, against Egypt.

Two days ago, in the win against the reigning Olympic champions, France, both Mathias Gidsel and Simon Pytlick, two of the three starting players in the back line, had 11 goals each. This time around, it was Pytlick and another future star of Denmark, 22-year-old Thomas Sommer Arnoldsen, who combined for 12 of Denmark’s 19 goals in the first half.

Three years ago, Denmark and Egypt provided one of the most entertaining handball matches ever at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, when the European side eliminated the African powerhouse after penalties, in a true roller-coaster of a match, a turning point for Denmark, which went on to win their second consecutive world title.

This time around, the first half was only about Denmark, as Egypt failed to match the attacking output of their counterparts. Goalkeeper Niklas Landin, who started on the bench and replaced Emil Nielsen during the match against France, saved six shots for a 38% saving efficiency in the first 30 minutes, to give his side easy fast breaks opportunities.

And Denmark continued to press, delivering a virtually flawless first half, where everything went their way, as Gidsel added five more goals to Arnoldsen and Pytlick’s 12, with the gap growing steadily to double digits, 19:9, as Egypt looked down and dusted, without any possibility to really stop the reigning world champions on their path to the second win in a row.

But Egypt are a never-say-die team. The African champions have experience, depth and the nous to create fantastic comebacks. Denmark’s coach, Nikolaj Jacobsen, knew exactly that and when Egypt cut the gap to seven goals, six minutes into the second half, called a team time-out, warning his players that the match was not over. 

And indeed, it was not. In only 13 minutes in the second half, Egypt matched their scoring output from the entire first half, cutting the gap to only four goals, 22:18, and handing Denmark another challenge, to try and manage a gap which looked unassailable. 

Egypt got some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Mohamed Aly, who had eight saves for an overwhelming 62% saving efficiency in the second half, after 47 minutes in the match, when Denmark saw their lead cut in half, to only four goals, 25:21, and Egypt firing from all cylinders in attack, where they scored easier than their opponents.

And then Gidsel took over the match, scoring three times between the 48th and the 53rd minutes, to ensure that Denmark do not slip the two points between their fingers, taking his overall tally to 19 goals in the competition, after the eight-goal outing against Egypt, matched by Arnoldsen and only seconded by Pytlick (seven goals).

Egypt could only cut the gap to two goals, but eventually Denmark secured a 30:27 win, as Egypt battled until the end, proving that they are a force to be reckoned with and a team which can provide a huge fight until the end.

Denmark’s 30:27 win means that the Scandinavian side has now four points in the group, while Egypt stay on two points, after their win against Hungary, with yet another hugely balanced outcome expected for the four quarter-finals berths after the preliminary round is completed.