Spain will meet Mikkel Hansen and associates as they battle for the gold medal for their fourth consecutive major tournament
The duels between Spain and Denmark are already unavoidable classics at every major handball tournament. For Hispanics, playing against the great squad of recent times is like a visit to the dentist and while the overall balance of recent times has been rather unfavorable, there is also a positive precedent to hold onto.
Nothing is impossible when it comes to a team adept at solving the most complex situations. The agonizing victory against Norway (34-35) in the quarter-finals, after a bizarre last turn in regular time and two extra times not suitable for the faint of heart, once again showed that escapist quality of Spain, à la David Copperfield. The Sagosen, O’Sullivan, Bergerud and company presented a great challenge, but the Nordic threat has now doubled against its most feared rival, the current two-time world champion.
As with the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the World Cup in Egypt in 2021 and the European Championship in Hungary and Slovakia in 2022, the team is led by Mikkel Hansen between the Hispanics and the battle for the gold medal. This makes it the fourth consecutive major tournament in which Spaniards and Danes meet in the run-up to the final. While the balance favors the Scandinavian team, which took the cat in the water in the Olympic (23-27) and World (33-35) semi-finals, the latest precedent, played a year ago in Budapest with a Spanish victory ( 29 -25 ) and that opened the doors of the continental final, inviting optimism.
Jordi Ribera’s team needs the best version of their goal, led by Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, the strong defense of Gedeón Guardiola, Iñaki Peciña and Miguel Sánchez-Migallón, as well as the magic of Álex Dujshebaev and his fantastic connection between the central defenders and the second line to get out of the stake. Facing him is not only one of the best pitchers in history, the voracious Mikkel Hansen, who holds many records in World Cup history at his fingertips. Next to him Niklas Landin, one of the few keepers who is face to face with the Spanish couple; the excellent southpaw Mathias Gidsel; rock hard spindle Magnus Saugstrup Jensen; young left-back Simon Bogetoft Pytlick, one of the championship appearances; or reliable winger Emil Jakobsen, although the Danish game looks little to the wings and concentrates efforts through the centre.
A truly luxurious poster at the ERGO Arena in Gdansk (6pm), the scene of the Spanish revival against Norway, a match that is already part of the history of Spanish handball. Spain now has the opportunity to write another favorable chapter in that particular rivalry against Denmark, the black beast of the modern age, balancing confrontations that dominate the Scandinavians with seven wins in the last ten matches.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
