Will Slovenia beat the world champions?
At the European Handball Championship in Hungary and Slovakia, important points for the semi-finals are at stake already on Saturday. The second games in the preliminary round will be played. Among others, there will be a match between Slovenia and Denmark. The European Championship semi-finalists from 2020 will challenge the world champions
Both teams won their European Championship opener on Thursday. The Slovenians with more effort against North Macedonia, the Danes largely sovereign against decimated Montenegrins. One can assume that the two favourites will also prevail against the outsiders on the last matchday.
This means that the Slovenians and the Danes will take the two places in their group for the main round. Both teams will take the points of the direct duel from the preliminary round into the next tournament phase. The winner of this match will therefore gain a direct advantage in the main round.
Even though Ljubomir Vranjes has formed a strong Slovenian team, the Danish team might still be out of their league. Both nations know the importance of this duel and that is why it will probably be even more competitive than at the start of the tournament. However, we agree with the bookmakers’ opinion and think that a bet on a Danish success between Slovenia and Denmark might be the better choice.
Slovenia – Statistics & current form
Slovenia have a strong team, which can be expected to do a lot at the European Championship. As a rule, however, they do not prove that they can keep up with the big handball nations in the long run. In the decisive moments, Ljubomir Vranjes’ team obviously lacks consistency, or perhaps even class.
Slovenia with stuttering start
The Slovenian team could not play an optimal preparation because the test matches against Italy had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Only between Christmas and New Year they played a match against Croatia. Before the European Championship, the Slovenians didn’t know where they stood.
The opening match against North Macedonia was like flying blind. The Slovenians were down 0:3 early on before they got into the game better. At the break it was 13:10 for Ljubomir Vranjes’ team, but the game did not calm down. In the end, it was just enough for a 27:25 victory, in which Jure Dolenec from Limoges was the best Slovenian scorer with five goals.
Such a performance will not be enough against the world champions. A three-goal deficit will be hard to turn around against the Danes. Maybe Ljubomir Vranjes will start with the inexperienced Joze Baznik in goal on Saturday, who brought his team back into the game against North Macedonia with some strong saves.
The Slovenia squad:
Goal: Baznik, Panjtar, Kastelic
Back: Skube, Zarabec, Makuc, Henigman, Levc, Mackovsek, Dolenec, Groselj, Kljun
Left wing: Kodrin, Sokolic
Right wing: Marhuc, Janc
Circle: Blagotinsek, Poteko, Suholeznik
Coach: Vranjes
Last matches of Slovenia:
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. A
01/13 2022 – Slovenia 27 – 25 North Macedonia
European Championships Qualification Grp. 5
05/02 2021 – Slovenia 39 – 24 Turkey
04/29 2021 – Poland 27 – 26 Slovenia
04/27 2021 – Turkey 22 – 30 Slovenia
03/09 2021 – Slovenia 32 – 29 Poland
Denmark – Statistics & current form
For more than ten years, the Danish national team has been one of the best handball teams in the world. While they won Olympic gold in 2016 and were world champions in 2019 and 2021, their last major success at a European Championship was ten years ago. Most players in the Danish team are still waiting for the last big title to be won.
Strong first performance
Unlike at the last European Championship, when Denmark already failed in the preliminary round, we now expect a team that is hot for the really big success. This became more than clear in the first match of the current EURO. In the opening match, the world champions did not give the outsiders from Montenegro a chance.
The match winners were once again superstar Mikkel Hansen, who contributed ten goals to the 30:21 victory, and keeper Niklas Landin, who saved three seven-metre shots. Nevertheless, the Danes still have room for improvement after this victory. For the opening game, however, it looked like really strong handball, in which basically all Danes gave their best.
The world champions have now won five games in a row, including against Norway and France. Nikolaj Jacobsen’s team seems to be getting into better and better shape. Therefore, the prediction for the duel between Slovenia and Denmark must also be a victory for the world champions. The only question is how big the handicap will be.
The squad of Denmark:
Goal: N. Landin, Green, Möller
Back: Lauge, Mensah Larsen, Möllgaard, M. Hansen, Andersson, Mensing, Holm, Kirkelökke, Gidsel
Left wing: M. Landin, E. Jakobsen
Right wing: Svan, J. Hansen
Circle: Antonsen, Saugstrup, Toft Hansen, Hald
Coach: N. Jakobsen
Last matches of Denmark:
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. A
01/13 2022 – Denmark 30 – 21 Montenegro
Friendlies
01/08 2022 – Denmark 35 – 25 Norway
Golden League, Norway
11/07 2021 – Denmark 33 – 19 Netherlands
11/06 2021 – France 26 – 31 Denmark
11/04 2021 – Norway 28 – 31 Denmark
Slovenia – Denmark Direct comparison / H2H balance
Since the 2000 European Championship, the teams from Slovenia and Denmark have faced each other in a total of eleven duels on the record. The direct comparison is a clear affair for the reigning world champions. After victories, the Danes are 8:2 ahead in this period. One match ended in a draw.
The last duels between these two teams took place some time ago. The last encounter was four years ago at the European Championship in Croatia. In the main round, the Danes won 31:28 and entered the semifinals, but remained without a medal. For the Slovenians, the main round was the end of the line.
Slovenia – Denmark Tip
Denmark will want to underline their ambitions in this second group match. A win and thus two points for the main round should be almost mandatory for the world champions, even though Slovenia have a strong team. But Denmark is one of the best teams in the world and therefore we see the Vikings as clear favourites.
The Danes have recently put some strong teams in their place in test matches and will not want to show any weakness against Ljubomir Vranjes’s team.
The entire Danish team put in a strong performance against Montenegro and if Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin excel again, then a lot of positive things can come out of the European Championship for the northern lights. In any case, we have decided to play the betting odds on a Danish handicap win (-5.5) in the duel between Slovenia and Denmark.
