In a nerve-wracking match, France defeated Denmark 33-31 in overtime on Sunday to win their first Men’s European Handball Championship title in 10 years.
It was France’s fourth title in this competition, having previously won the trophy in 2006, 2010 and 2014. France is just one title behind record champion Sweden, who won the bronze medal earlier.
France tied the game before halftime, but fell behind again in the second period and were forced to fight back again in search of an equalizer, sending the game into overtime.
Five minutes into the second half, the team gained the upper hand, with Giannis Renne scoring the winning goal.
Meanwhile, hosts Germany ended their home tournament empty-handed with a 34-31 loss to Sweden in Cologne on Sunday.
Coach Alfred Gislason said, “Unfortunately, we couldn’t achieve our goal, but it was still a good tournament.The team worked hard to get closer to being a top team.”
Germany were trailing 18-12 at halftime, but there were several moments in the second half that looked like they could come from behind to win.
However, Sweden did not succumb to the pressure from their home crowd and held their nerve to win the bronze medal and a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“This was one of the toughest Euros I have ever played in. There were some crazy results and the level of the other teams was improving with each passing round, so the easy games were So in this context, to think we’re the best, we’re the third best country in Europe, that’s great,” said Swedish centre-back Jim Gottfriedsson.
Meanwhile, Germany will have to play a qualifying tournament in March to qualify for the Olympics. He has not won a medal at a major tournament since the 2016 Olympic bronze medal and the European Championship gold medal in the same year.
“If you reach the semi-finals in your home tournament, you would naturally think that you can win the title. So it’s frustrating to lose the remaining two games and go home empty-handed,” said Germany’s right-back, Kai. Hefner said. .
“In the last two games, we played very well in the first half twice, but we just couldn’t maintain a high level of performance for 60 minutes. The overall mood right now is definitely bitter.”
Both France (Olympic host nation) and Denmark (2023 world handball champion) have already qualified for the 2024 Paris Games.
