What do you get when you throw a team with nothing to lose up against a team which cannot lose?
Pretty much what we all expected as Denmark beat Croatia 32:26 to claim a fourth World Championship gold in a row.
No matter what happened to Croatia today, they had achieved something special and are set to be lauded by an expected 100,000 fans in Zagreb when they return home on Monday.
For Denmark, this victory was expected, just like every other game at this championship and for the past three editions since they finally made the breakthrough and won gold in 2019.
There were two distinct scripts for our actors to follow this evening in Oslo and despite the neutrals’ wishes, we all knew deep down which storyline would emerge.
Home comforts
Croatia had lost official home advantage but their fans made damn sure their presence would be felt. Despite the final being sold out by the semi-finals, Croatian fans got their hands on more than enough tickets. Four charter planes came over from Zagreb, while the Croatian communities in Norway and Sweden were well represented as well.
There certainly appeared to be more of the Croatian white and red than the Danish red and white, so with a marginal home advantage, could Croatia deliver the other ingredients from their dramatic four-match run for survival?
Keep it tight
The Danish approach was clear, quick incisive attacks whenever possible. However, they hit the frame of the goal too often in the opening minutes and although Croatia were giving away plenty of turnovers, they had achieved the first step in the masterplan – keep it tight.
Denmark’s early opportunity to race away with the lead had faded and the Croats began to believe. Led by their newly converted playmaker Ivan Martinovic with five first-half goals, they were doing just enough to keep Demark in their sights.
Tempers flared and almost completely boiled over twice as Marko Mamic got himself rightly sent off for a challenge on Lauge that summed up his overall defensive contribution and after a Srna suspension for catching Gidsel high. Denmark felt they needed to react and face these moments but was that actually playing into their rivals’ hands?
Probably not. Emil Nielsen was thwarting chance after chance with a facile looking 40% save rate, while Gidsel and Pytlick combined for 8 goals from 8 shots, to give Denmark a confident yet unsafe 16:12 lead at the break.
According to script
It’s no surprise that Denmark were well-prepared for whatever Croatia threw at them, physically, mentally and tactically and as the second half began, Denmark knew this was their time to strike, just as they had done in every other match that was somewhat close at the halfway point.
Trailing by seven, Croatia attempted a brief and unsuccessful attempt at 7vs6 and you cannot do that against Denmark. Yes, you may score, but you’ll also concede into an empty net immediately afterwards.
As Lukas Jorgensen wheeled away having scored to make it 22:14, he pointed to the crowd and us all this this court, in fact, belongs to Denmark. This was now going precisely according to their script.
It was all about maintenance now for Denmark. Keep the scoreboard ticking over and keep Croatia in their place until the final buzzer, because Croatia simply would not back down.
The closest Croatia got was five down with just under six minutes to play, offering the briefest glimpse of hope, soon extinguished by Simon Pytlick.
Dule’s farewell
Domagoj Duvnjak’s international career looked to conclude with a two-minute suspension given to him while on the bench. But he came back on in garbage time and walked in a goal. A touching moment to end an incredible career which saw him win nine medals for his nation – none of them gold.
While it was the end of the story for him, today merely marks a new chapter for Denmark. In a post-Hansen and Landin era, the match-winning performances of Emil Nielsen (13 saves at 38%) and Matthias Gidsel (10 goals and 4 assists) assure us all that the world’s best men’s handball team is in very safe hands.