Ekspert analyse: Derfor gik det galt mod Frankrig
Her på Hbold.dk og europamester.dk synes vi det kunne være spændende med et internationalt perspektiv på det danske landshold, så derfor har vi udvidet vores ekspert team til den kommende EM slutrunde med den portugisiske håndboldtræner Mário César Navarro, der har over 15 års erfaring som toptræner og er EHF master coach.
Denmark entered this final Main Round match against France without Mathias Gidsel, Mikkel Hansen, Magnus Saugstrup and Jannick Green for technical reasons, already thinking about the semi-finals. While France took the field without their coach
Denmark surprised France early on with an extremely organized attack by the irreverent Jacob Holm and a cheeky Kirkeløkke replacing Mathias Gidsel as a right-back, giving the French defense plenty of trouble. While defensively, Kevin Møller started the game at an excellent level, helped by an extremely aggressive 6:0 defense that was able to nullify Nicola Karabatic and Dika Mem. In the first half, an uninspired France faced Denmark without three key players. Denmark would take a five-goal lead, exploiting their organized attack. Holm destroyed the French defense with six goals in seven shots and several assists, followed by Kirkeløkke with six in eight shots and Kevin Møller with seven saves and 39% efficiency.
Denmark led 17:11 at half-time with 71% attacking efficiency and 77% shooting efficiency, while France could only manage 38% efficiency in organized attack, demonstrating the excellent defensive performance of the Danish team.
The second half started in the same way the first had ended, with Denmark managing the game at their pleasure, with Niklas Landin in goal, leading by five goals in the 45th minute. France didn't show up in the game, but the 46th minute would be decisive with the exclusion of Rene Antonsen, followed by the disqualification of Ludovic Fabregas. The game changed radically from this point on and went into a rollercoaster ride where Holm would break physically and rest for a few minutes, clearly noticeable in the Danish attack who could not succeed in the attack. While France grew, so much so that they would make a partial 8:2, reaching the tie at the 57th minute. Denmark reacted with some happiness on a Rasmus Lauge longshot, but France did not stop there, and a quick rebound by Dika Mem put the score back on level terms. However, a loss of ball by Rasmus Lauge Smith in the 58th minute made France go ahead in the 59th minute, for the first time in the whole match and take the victory.
At the end of the game, France would beat Denmark 29:30 after being behind the whole game.
It is interesting to analyze statistically that France was only superior to Denmark in the supported counter-attacking and 7 meters shots. However, the blackout of Denmark in the last 15 minutes contributed a lot to the defeat.
Jacob Holm was voted Man of the Match at the end of the game with nine goals and one assist.
