Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Hosts Denmark beat Olympic champions Russia to advance to the semi-finals of the European Women s Handball Championship, while France and Croatia also joined Norway in the final four.
After France beat Sweden 31-25, Denmark versus Russia became a winner-takes-all affair.
And it was the Danes who were victorious, taking an early lead and growing it to win 30-23.
Daria Dmitrieva scored nine goals for Russia, but fifth place is the best finish the Olympic champions can now achieve.
Defending champions France had looked in danger of coming unstuck against Sweden beforehand, with the scores were level at the break, but an improved second-half showing saw them advance as Group 2 winners.
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Sunday, 13 December 2020
Hosts Denmark defeated Spain to keep their hopes of reaching the European Women s Handball Championship semi-finals alive.
Knowing they had to win, and with Spain already eliminated, the Danes were dominant throughout and held a 17-10 half-time lead in Herning as no Spanish player scored more than a solitary goal in the first period.
The advantage was up to 10 goals by the end of the game, and Mia Rej led Denmark with six goals.
Danish coach Jesper Jensen identified his players conditioning as a key factor in the win. We had a strategy that we would like to make the game as tough and hard as possible because I think we are in a very good physical and mental condition right now, considering that we are in game five, Jensen said.