Denmark – France 32:41 (end)
final
Denmark
32:41 (16:23)
France
Sunday 10.08.2014, 17:30 • EHF European Championship
     
    Thank you for following our coverage of the 2014 Men's European Handball Championship! (12:00:12)
     
    It's now time for the medal presentations. First the bronze medalists from Spain, followed by the silver medals to Denmark, and of course, France with the gold.
     
    Nokola Karabatic of France wins the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament.
     
    Best player awards:

    FRA – Naniel Narcisse
    DEN – Mikke Hansen
     
    As the French celebrate, the Danish fans salute their team, the silver medalists.
     
    France opened up a huge lead early and led by 7 at the half. In the second half they had the advantage and gladly traded shots. The big thing was the goaltending of Omeyer, who made 12 saves in the game, and Abalo scored 10.
     
    And that's it! The 2014 European Champion is France!
     
    60
    Game over. (32:40)
     
    60
    Nyokas again, maybe the last goal of the game. (32:41) (32:40)
     
    59
    Noddesbo with his 3rd for Denmark, and they've all been late. (32:40) (32:40)
     
    59
    Nyokas scores for France, his 1st of the game. (31:40) (31:40)
     
    58
    French player knocked down, Denmark break but Dumoulin the save. (31:39) (31:39)
     
    57
    Noddeso again on the breakaway but it's too little, too late for Denmark. (31:39) (31:39)
     
    56
    Noddeso scores for Denmark up high. (30:39) (30:39)
     
    55
    Karabatic the goal and Dumoulin the save to keep the 10-point lead. (29:39) (29:39)
     
    54
    Abalou and Lindberg, as they continue to trade goals to the French delight. (28:37) (28:37)
     
    53
    Abalou for France, Mollgaard for Denmark, France by 9. (28:37) (28:37)
     
    52
    Mogensen goes through the legs for the goal. (27:36) (27:36)
     
    51
    Narcisse the pass to Sorhaindo for the goal and it's France by 10 again. (26:36) (26:36)
     
    51
    Spellerberg gets 1 back for Denmark, but France will gladly trade goals back and forth at this point. (26:35) (26:35)
     
    50
    Another blocked Danish shot, 2-on-1 the other way and Narcisse with the goal to make it a difference of 10. You have to think it's over. (25:35) (25:35)
     
    50
    2-minute suspension for Mollgaard for a push to the back of Narcisse. French power play. (25:33) (25:33)
    Gigou scores
     
    49
    Gigou again on the penalty, 10 for him in the game, and the lead is now 9 with just 11+ minutes to go. (25:34) (25:34)
     
    49
    Danes get a turnover but they can't capitalise, as the shot is blocked and France has the ball back. (25:33) (25:33)
     
    48
    Sondergaard with the goal for Denmark, his 1st of the game. (25:33) (25:33)
    Turnover
     
    47
    Quite an exchange, France with the offensive foul, then a turnover to get the ball back and Green makes the big save. (24:33) (24:33)
     
    46
    Porte is up and he will continue playing. Play resumes. (24:33) (24:33)
    Mollgaard
     
    46
    Porte with the goal, then on the Danish counter he collides with Mollgaard and goes down heavily. (24:33) (24:33)
     
    46
    Spellerberg hits the goalpost, then he gets the ball back and he's knocked down. Fans want a call but play continues. (24:32) (24:32)
     
    46
    Team Timeout Denmark. (24:32) (24:32)
     
    45
    Two quick goals for France to go back up by 8, Gigou with the second. (24:32) (24:32)
     
    44
    Mollgaard goes bottom corner to bring Denmark back within 6. (24:30) (24:30)
     
    43
    France back at full strength, Abalou's shot saved by Green. (24:30) (23:30)
     
    43
    Denmark a power-play goal, then the goalies exchange saves again while the Danish power play continues. (24:30) (24:30)
     
    41
    Shorthanded goal France, another one for Gigou. (22:30) (22:30)
     
    40
    Gigou for France, Hansen for Denmark and a push in the back by Abalou earns him a 2-minute suspension. (22:29) (22:29)
    Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik and Prince Felix attended the handball final match between Denmark and France today.
     
    39
    The teams trade saves, Green for Denmark and then another one for Omeyer. (21:28) (21:28)
     
    38
    Christiansen with a long shot and a goal. (21:28) (21:28)
     
    37
    Porte gets that one back for France through the legs, 7 for him. (20:28) (20:28)
     
    37
    Hansen scores short-side, 8/9. (20:27) (20:27)
    Omeyer makes a save
     
    36
    Omeyer with yet another save, 10th of the game. That's the reason France has such a big lead. (19:27) (19:27)
     
    35
    Karabatic and Mollgaard trade goals. (19:27) (19:27)
     
    34
    Lindberg scores his 4th on 5 attempts. (18:26) (18:26)
    Gigou scores
     
    33
    Gigou scores on a penalty. (17:26) (17:26)
     
    32
    Hansen gets Denmark's first goal of the 2nd half. (17:25) (17:25)
     
    31
    Another French save for Omeyer and then Abalo scores the other way. (16:25) (16:25)
     
    31
    Narcisse scores on France's 1st shot of the 2nd half. (16:24) (16:24)
     
    31
    Start of 2nd half. (16:23)
     
    The teams are on the floor and the second half will start shortly.
    Vincent Bouton: Good match for France!
     
    France scored the first 3 goals and had a 10-goal lead at one time. Denmark cut it to 6 goals in the last minute and France leads 23-16 at the half.

    Best scorers fot the first half:

    Denmark: Hansen 5, Lindbergh 2, Larsen, Morgensen, Toft, Jensen, Magnusen, Christiansen, Landin, Spellerberg.

    France: Guigou 5, Karabatic N. 4, Abalo 4, Karabatic L. 3, Narcisse 3, Forte 3, Omeyer, Nyokas
     
    Porte with the buzzer-beating goal before halftime to make it a 7-goal difference at the break.
     
    30
    1st halftime finished. (16:23)
     
    30
    Hansen cuts it to 6 now. (16:22) (16:22)
     
    30
    An exchange of saves by the goalies at each end. (15:22) (15:22)
     
    29
    Spellerberg cuts it to 7 for Denmark. (15:22) (15:22)
     
    28
    Abalou with his 2nd goal on this penalty kill. (14:22) (14:22)
    Karabatic needs assistance
     
    28
    Big collision on the play and Karabatic is down and needs assistance. He hit his head on the floor it seems, but he's staying in the game. (14:21) (14:21)
     
    28
    The teams exchange goals, Abalou for France and then Hansen for Denmark. (14:21) (14:21)
    Hansen scores
     
    27
    Two quick goals for Denmark. Christiansen, then a steal and Hansen scores. (13:20) (13:20)
     
    26
    Gigou with another goal, then a Denmark attempt is blocked. (11:20) (11:20)
     
    26
    Save Landin and back the other way another goal for Landin. (11:19) (11:19)
     
    25
    Power-play goal Denmark, Lindbergh with his 2nd. (10:19) (10:19)
     
    24
    Another French goal shorthanded, Porte is 5/5. (9:19) (9:19)
     
    24
    Two-minute suspension for Alou, the a power-play goal for Denmark. (9:18) (9:18)
     
    23
    Abalou scores for France to restore the 10-goal lead, (8:18) (8:18)
     
    23
    Mikkel Hansen on the free-throw for Denmark. (8:17) (8:17)
     
    22
    Yet another French goal, Forte. (7:17) (7:17)
     
    21
    Another French goal and then Omeyer with another save for France. (7:16) (7:16)
    Danish fans before the match
     
    20
    Timeout France. (7:15) (7:15)
     
    20
    Karabatic indeed scores, the Danes come back quickly and Magnusen scores from a sharp angle. (7:15) (7:15)
     
    20
    Porte scores for France, then a turnover and France gets the ball back again. Play is stopped to clean up moisture on the floor, but France retains possession. (6:14) (6:14)
     
    19
    Karabatic with an offensive foul, then Jensen scores the second Danish goal in a row. (6:13) (6:13)
     
    18
    After the timeout it's Toft that scores the first Danish goal in a while. (5:13) (5:13)
     
    17
    Another Danish shot is blocked and Porte scores the other way for France. Team Timeout Denmark. (4:13) (4:13)
     
    16
    The French don't capitalise on the power play but Abalo scores right after it finishes. (4:12) (4:12)
    Green makes a big save
     
    15
    French move the ball around on the power play but Green makes a big save. First Danish save. (4:11) (4:11)
     
    14
    A goal for Narcisse, France's 11th goal on 11 shots and Toft gets his second 2-minute suspension on the play. (4:11) (4:11)
     
    13
    A Danish shot is blocked, a French shot misses but they get the ball back again and Karabatic scores. (4:10) (4:10)
     
    11
    What an exchange there! First another save by the French goalie, then Karabatic with a shot on the counter that goes off the crossbar, but Guigou puts in the rebound and he collides with Landin, who thinks the goal shouldn't count. (4:9) (4:9)
    Lindbergh with the chance
     
    11
    Lindbergh with the chance but the whistle goes, so it's no goal. Then a timeout is called by France. (4:8) (4:8)
     
    10
    Hansen at one end, then the teams exchange steals and Karabatic restore's France's 4-goal lead. (4:8) (4:8)
     
    9
    Mogensen shorthanded cuts the Danish deficit, then a French shot misses the net. That will do it for the rest of the power play. (3:7) (3:7)
     
    8
    Then Guigou with the steal and the breakaway, no chance for Landin. (2:7) (2:7)
     
    8
    Guigou scores on a penalty shot, 6 shots on 6 goals. (2:6) (2:6)
     
    7
    Another save by Nyokas, then the French go back to the attack and a penalty is called on Toft. 2-minute suspension. (2:5) (2:5)
     
    6
    On a free throw Nacrisse scores on the 5th French shot. What efficiency. (2:5) (2:5)
     
    5
    And then once again Denmark with the quick response, Mads Larsen. (2:4) (2:4)
     
    5
    France answer right back with their 4th goal on their 4th shot by Daniel Narcisse. (1:4) (1:4)
     
    4
    The French mtake a 3-0 lead but the Danes answer right back with their first goal, Hansen and it's 1-3. (0:0) (0:3)
     
    3
    A yellow card there on Karabatic for grabbing the shirt of the Danish player. The Danes with a lot of possession so far but unable to score yet. (0:0) (0:2)
     
    2
    Once again, a save by Nyokas followed by a French goal at the other end, Guigou. 0-2 (0:0) (0:2)
     
    1
    Denmarks's first shot is stopped, then the French come back and score the first goal, Karabatic. 0-1 (0:0) (0:1)
     
    1
    Game started. (0:0)
     
    We're ready to start now.

    Denmark is wearing white shirts with blue shorts, while France is in all blue.
     
    Now are the national anthems of the two countries, Denmark first, with all the fans singing along, followed by the French anthem "La Marseillaise".
     
    And now here comes the French team, getting booed by most of the crowd, though there are some French fans in attendance.
     
    First the Danes are being introduced to a thunderous roar of the crowd. You can see the starting lineups listed already.
     
    The crowd is assembled and overwhelmingly pro-Denmark, which is no surprise, and everybody is eagerly anticipating the start.
     
    Starting Lineups:

    Denmark: Spellerbeg Bo, Lindberg Hans, Mortensen Casper Ulrich, Mollgaard Jensen Henrik, Green Krejberg Jannick, Nöddesbo Jesper Brian, Sondergaard Sarup Kasper, Thomesen Klaus, Svan Hansen Lasse, Christiansen Mads, Larsen Mads Mensah, Knudsen Michael V, Hansen Mikkel, Landin Jacobsen Niklas, Toft Hansen Rene, Mogensen Thomas.

    France: Nyokas Alix Kevynn, Sorhaindo Cedric, Dumoulin Cyril, Narcisse Daniel, Joli Guillaume, Anic Igor, Fernandez Jerome, Abalo Luc, Karabatic Luka, Grebille Mathieu, Guigou Michael, Karabatic Nikola, Honrubia Samuel, Gerard Vincent, Accambray Wiliam.

    Referees: Oscar Raluy Lopez (ESP), Angel Sabroso Ramirez (ESP).
    Mie Østergaard: Talk about the handball fever in Denmark - 40 pages in the local paper!
     
    This is the final game of the 2014 Men's European Handball Championship between host Denmark and France. France enters the final with a perfect 7-0 record, while France is 6-1, having lost once in the Main Round. In the semifinals, Denmark beat Croatia 29-17, while France beat Spain 30-27.

    These two teams have dominated European handball lately, alternating the last four championships. France won in 2006 and 2010, while Denmark won in 2008 and 2012, so they are the defending champions.
     
    Welcome. This game starts at 17:30 CET.
    Commentary by

    Derek OBrien

    CZ@@Djob76

    Lineups
    Denmark: Spellerbeg Bo, Lindberg Hans, Mortensen Casper Ulrich, Mollgaard Jensen Henrik, Green Krejberg Jannick, Nöddesbo Jesper Brian, Sondergaard Sarup Kasper, Thomesen Klaus, Svan Hansen Lasse, Christiansen Mads, Larsen Mads Mensah, Knudsen Michael V, Hansen Mikkel, Landin Jacobsen Niklas, Toft Hansen Rene, Mogensen Thomas.
    France: Nyokas Alix Kevynn, Sorhaindo Cedric, Dumoulin Cyril, Narcisse Daniel, Joli Guillaume, Anic Igor, Fernandez Jerome, Abalo Luc, Karabatic Luka, Grebille Mathieu, Guigou Michael, Karabatic Nikola, Honrubia Samuel, Gerard Vincent, Accambray Wiliam.
    Referees: Oscar Raluy Lopez (ESP), Angel Sabroso Ramirez (ESP)