Despite having lost several important players, such as Aron Palmarsson, Björgvin Pall Gustavsson and Bjarki Mar Elisson since the end of the preliminary round, Iceland played eye to eye with Denmark. Sadly for them, that was not enough, as the Danes managed to snatch their fourth win in a row at the EHF EURO 2022.
Denmark’s goalkeeper Kevin Møller was key for his team, coming on the court after 20 minutes and displaying a 50 per cent efficiency rate in the remaining 40 minutes. Mathias Gidsel, coming back after missing the last game of the preliminary round, was also key for his team by scoring nine goals.
GROUP I
Denmark vs Iceland 28:24 (17:13)
- it was only in the last 10 minutes of the first half that Denmark really shook up Iceland’s resistance. Up to that point, Iceland had played level with their opponent
- Iceland had the opportunity to turn things around at the start of the second half, coming back within one thanks to Ómar Ingi Magnusson. But Møller resumed his show and prevented a comeback by compiling eight saves in the last 20 minutes
- Denmark’s Mathias Gidsel was elected Grundfos Player of the Match, after finishing best scorer of the game with nine goals
- Denmark are now the leader of group I, tied with France on four points, while Iceland are two points behind
- in the next round, Denmark will play against Croatia while Iceland will play against France
Kevin Møller, Denmark’s game-changer
Up to the 20th minute, Denmark were struggling to contain the Icelandic attacks, with Niklas Landin having saved only two shots. Danish coach Nikolaj Jacobsen then decided to replace him with Kevin Møller, and that made an instant difference.
The Flensburg-Handewitt goalkeeper saved four of the first six shots aimed at him, and all of a sudden, his team were ahead by four. In the second half, he kept up the pace, finishing the game with 13 saves at a crazy 50 per cent efficiency rate.
