Denmark national handball team

The Denmark men’s national handball team is controlled by the Danish Handball Association and represents Denmark in international matches. They are the team with the second most medals won in European Championship history on the men's side behind only Spain, with a total of six medals, those being two gold medals (2008, 2012), one silver (2014) and three bronze medals (2002, 2004 & 2006). As of January 2019, they are the reigning Olympic and World Champions.

This article is about the men's handball team. For the women's national team, see Denmark women's national handball team.

Denmark
Information
AssociationDanish Handball Association
CoachNikolaj Jacobsen
Assistant coachHenrik Kronborg
CaptainNiklas Landin Jacobsen
Most capsLars Christiansen (338)
Most goalsLars Christiansen (1503)
Colours
Home
Away
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances7 (First in 1972)
Best result1st (2016)
World Championship
Appearances23 (First in 1938)
Best result1st (2019)
European Championship
Appearances13 (First in 1994)
Best result1st (2008, 2012)
Last updated on Unknown.
2017 World Men's Handball Championship
Sweden / Denmark (Group D)
16 January 2017.
Denmark national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
World Championship
2019 Denmark/Germany
1967 Sweden
2011 Sweden
2013 Spain
2007 Germany
World Outdoor Championship
1948 France
European Championship
2008 Norway
2012 Serbia
2014 Denmark
2002 Sweden
2004 Slovenia
2006 Switzerland

History

Handball is one of the most popular pastimes in Denmark, only exceeded by e.g. football. At the end of 2003 the Danish Handball Association had more than 146,000 active and passive members.

2007 World Championship

In 2007 Denmark participated in the World Championship in Germany, where they were pitted in Group E against Angola, Hungary and their neighbors to the north Norway. Denmark finished second in their group following victories against Angola and Norway. In the main round the team faced Croatia, Czech Republic, Russia, Hungary and defending champions Spain.

Despite an initial defeat against Croatia, the team advanced by defeating their last three opponents. In the quarterfinal Iceland was defeated by the narrowest of margins, 42–41. In the semi-final Denmark lost to Poland 36–33 and ended up in the bronze match against France where they won 34–27 thus placing third.

Denmark's pivot Michael V. Knudsen was added to the All Star Team of the tournament.

2008 European Championship

After finishing 3rd in three consecutive European Championships, the Danish team won gold at the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship, which took place in neighboring Norway. The team lost only one match on the way to the gold, that being a fiercely contested derby against hosts Norway. The Danish team defeated Croatia 24–20 in the final, after inching out Germany in the semis. Keeper Kasper Hvidt and winger Lars Christiansen were important factors in the Danish campaign, both being selected for the tournament all-star team and Lars Christiansen also finishing as shared top goalscorer.

2010 European Championship

As defending champions, Denmark was a favorite to reclaim the title. However, they did not succeed, losing matches to both Iceland and Croatia. Instead of advancing to the main-round Denmark ended up playing for 5th place against Spain. They won the placement match 34–27.

2011 World Championship

At The 2011 World Men's Handball Championship, after winning 9 matches in a row, Denmark reached the final beating Spain 28:24 in the semi-final. This was the first time in over 44 years, that the Denmark National Handball Team reached a World Championship final. In the final, Denmark lost against France 35:37 in overtime. This meant at the time, that France was able to hold all three major titles as reigning European Champions, Olympic Champions and also double World Champions.

2012 European Championship

Denmark came to the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship as vice World Champions and as one of the pre-favorites to win the tournament. However, in the main group, Denmark lost to both Serbia and Poland, proceeding to the main round with zero points, having only won against Slovakia. This meant that Denmark had to win all of their matches and at the same time, they had to rely on other results in order to advance to the semi-finals. Miraculously, results from other matches were in favor of Denmark. The destiny of Denmark's survival lay in the hands of Poland as Poland had to win against Germany in order to sustain Denmark's survival in the tournament. After a fierce and close match between Poland and Germany, Poland won 33–32. This meant that Denmark only had to beat Sweden in their final main round match, and they would go through to the semi-finals. Denmark beat Sweden by a large margin, 31–24, making handball history along the way, becoming the first team ever, both on the men's and women's side in European Championship history to advance to the semi-finals having carried zero points into the main round.

Like the 2011 World Men's Handball Championship, Denmark met Spain in the semi-finals, a match Denmark won 25–24. In the other semi-final, hosting nation Serbia met Croatia, a match Serbia won 26–22.

In a low scoring match, Denmark won their second European Championship title after beating Serbia 21–19 in the final, thus becoming the first handball team ever claiming the European Championship title having carried zero points into the main round.

2013 World Championship

Despite having disappointed at the 2012 Olympics in London, Denmark was still among the top teams to win the World Champions title. As defending European Champions, Denmark was seated with Russia, Iceland, Macedonia, Qatar and Chile in Group B. Winning all of their matches, they advanced safely to the 16th round where they had to meet Tunisia. Having no problems defeating Tunisia with the score of 30–23, Denmark reached the Quarterfinals where Hungary awaited. After a splendid first half, leading 18–11, the second half was a more close affair, though Denmark managed to win 28–26, reaching the semi-finals for the second consecutive time in this tournament. In the semi-finals, Denmark was seated with Croatia who had beaten the defending World Champions, France, in their semi-final. Though the odds where in favor of Croatia, Denmark played their best match in the 2013 World Championship so far, winning 30–24 and securing their second consecutive World Championship final.

In the final, Denmark was up against hosting nation, Spain. The final became a horrendous game for Denmark, losing with a record-breaking 16 goals, and losing the title for the second time in a row, with Spain declared as winner of the tournament for the second time in history.

2014 European Championship

As vice world champions, defending European Champions and the advantage of home court, Denmark were among the favorites to win the tournament. They won all of the matches in the preliminary round as well as the main round easily advancing to the semi-finals. Denmark met Croatia in the semi-final. They beat Croatia, 29–27, but lost to the French national team in the finals, losing 41–32. This was the second time in a row, that Denmark lost a Championship, losing to Spain at the 2013 World Championship.

2019 World Championship

Denmark along with Germany co-hosted the 2019 World Championship and played in Group C with Norway, Tunisia, Chile, Austria and Saudi Arabia. started with a victory over Chile and remained undefeated. Then played in Group II in the main round the first match with a win over Hungary, also undefeated, played in the semi-finals. A win over seven-time world champions France put them in the final. Denmark won their first world championship title with a 31–22 victory over Norway in the final.

2021 World Championship

Denmark qualified for the 2021 World Championship in Egypt as defending champions.

2025 World Championship

Denmark along with Croatia and Norway will co-host the 2025 World Championship, it will be the third time Denmark co-host the tournament, they automatically qualified as co-host

Honours
CompetitionTotal
Olympic Games 1001
World Championship 1315
European Championship 2136
Total44412

Competitive record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

Olympic Games

The team did not participate in the 1936 field handball tournament at the Olympics, but lost at the 1952 Olympics in a demonstration match against Sweden.

Games Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
1936 Berlin Did not participate
Not held from 1948 to 1968
1972 MunichMatch for 13th place13th of 16521278780
1976 MontrealMatch for 7th place8th of 115203113127−14
1980 MoscowMatch for 9th place9th of 1262041241240
1984 Los AngelesFourth place4th of 126402134122+12
1988 Seoul Did not qualify
1992 Barcelona
1996 Atlanta
2000 Sydney
2004 Athens
2008 BeijingMatch for 7th place7th of 128323225211+14
2012 LondonQuarter-finals6th of 126402146153−7
2016 Rio de JaneiroChampion1st of 128602230211+19
2020 TokyoQualified
Total8/141 Title442331810501026+24

World Championship
World Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1938Semi-finals43003620
1954Fifth place531024445
1958Semi-finals4640212186
1961Fifth place564029278
1964Seventh place7630310596
1967Runners-up2 640210778
1970Semi-finals46303103116
1974Second round862046378
1978Semi-finals46411114101
1982Semi-finals47412150143
1986Second round87304152160
1990Did not qualify
1993Second round97223145156
1995Preliminary round195203126117
1997Did not qualify
1999Round of 1696402141140
2001Did not qualify
2003Second round97403201193
2005Preliminary round135302174117
2007Semi-finals3 10703316283
2009Semi-finals410703298258
2011Runners-up2 10901334256
2013Runners-up2 9801291244
2015Quarter-finals59621272234
2017Round of 16106501182157
2019Champion1 101000317223
2021Qualified
2023TBD
2025Qualified as co-host
2027TBD
Total25/301 Title15599*65138543377

European Championship
European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1994Fourth place47313150152
199611th/12th place126006132158
1998Did not qualify
20009th/10th place106204143153
2002Third place3 8611212190
2004Third place3 8602240206
2006Third place3 8512249231
2008Champion1 8701233193
20105th/6th place57502198184
2012Champion1 8602216201
2014Runners-up2 8701247222
20165th/6th place67412194180
2018Fourth place48503235205
2020Preliminary round1331118583
2022TBD
2024
Total13/142 titles815042724492275
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided in a penalty shootout.
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Team

Current squad

The squad chosen for the 2020 European Men's Handball Championship.[1][2]

Matches and goals are correct as of 9 January 2020.[3]

Head coach: Nikolaj Jacobsen

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
1 GK Niklas Landin Jacobsen (1988-12-19) 19 December 1988 2.01 m 207 9 THW Kiel
3 RB Niclas Kirkeløkke (1994-03-26) 26 March 1994 1.95 m 37 53 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
4 LW Magnus Landin Jacobsen (1995-08-20) 20 August 1995 1.96 m 60 124 THW Kiel
5 LW Magnus Bramming (1990-10-01) 1 October 1990 1.82 m 10 33 TTH Holstebro
11 CB Rasmus Lauge Schmidt (1991-06-20) 20 June 1991 1.93 m 124 304 Telekom Veszprém
14 P Anders Zachariassen (1991-09-04) 4 September 1991 1.92 m 46 106 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
15 P Magnus Saugstrup (1996-07-12) 12 July 1996 1.95 m 13 16 Aalborg Håndbold
16 GK Jannick Green (1988-09-30) 30 September 1988 1.95 m 134 2 SC Magdeburg
18 RW Hans Lindberg (1981-08-01) 1 August 1981 1.88 m 270 755 Füchse Berlin
19 P René Toft Hansen (1984-11-01) 1 November 1984 2.00 m 147 206 S.L. Benfica
21 LB Henrik Møllgaard (1985-01-02) 2 January 1985 1.96 m 155 173 Aalborg Håndbold
22 CB Mads Mensah Larsen (1991-08-12) 12 August 1991 1.88 m 131 243 Rhein-Neckar Löwen
24 LB Mikkel Hansen (1987-10-22) 22 October 1987 1.92 m 209 1023 Paris Saint-Germain
25 CB Morten Olsen (1984-10-11) 11 October 1984 1.84 m 97 202 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
26 RW Jóhan Hansen (1994-05-01) 1 May 1994 1.90 m 30 56 Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
27 LB Michael Damgaard (1990-03-18) 18 March 1990 1.92 m 78 195 SC Magdeburg
28 LB Lasse Andersson (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 1.90 m 27 32 Barça
32 CB Jacob Holm (1995-09-05) 5 September 1995 1.94 m 23 50 Füchse Berlin

Coaching staff
RoleName
Head coach Nikolaj Jacobsen
Assistant coach Henrik Kronborg
Team manager Kaj Johanssen
Goalkeeping coach Michael Bruun
Doctor Morten Storgaard
Bodytherapist Kristoffer Glavind Kjær
Physiotherapist Anja David Greve

Statistics
  Still active national team players are highlighted

Kit suppliers

Between 2003 and 2006, Denmark's kits were supplied by Adidas. They were replaced by Puma in 2007 and have since supplied Denmark's kits to today.

Sponsors

The current sponsor of the Danish Handball Team is tombola.

References
  1. "Nikolaj Jacobsen tager 19 mand med til Frankrig". dhf.dk. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. 2020 European Men's Handball Championship squad
  3. Team statistics
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