Denmark are ready for the World Cup final after a scincillating performance against Portugal and thus only one win away from a historic fourth title in a row.
Backed by a few thousand compatriots in the stands, Denmark won a fast-paced semifinal with a whopping 40-27 over Portugal in the Unity Arena in Oslo. The same arena will host Denmark's clash with Croatia in the gold medal match on Sunday.
Where Denmark's previous games in the tournament had suffered from a lack of tension and intensity, Portugal proved a worthy opponent, at least as long as the Portuguese had gas left in the tank.
With quick feet and thunderous shots from the distance, Portugal proved a big of a challenge for the much favored Danes in the first half and Paulo Pereira’s side were able to cut the Danish lead to 20-16 before the interval.
However, after scoring only three goals in the first half, Mathias Gidsel erupted in the second half, scoring three goals in the first six minutes. Then he added another three, to finish with nine goals in his tally, improving his overall one to 64 goals, being virtually impossible to stop in the top goal scorer standings.
Rasmus Lauge also delivered a fantastic match with eight goals from eight shots fuelling Denmark’s rampage in the second half along with a defence led probably by the All-Star goalkeeper of the competition, Emil Nielsen.
Eventually, Denmark booked their ticket to the final with 40-27, the largest win in history for a semifinal in the Men´s World Cup. Along the way they also scored the largest number of goals in a single semifinal, beating the previous record held by Croatia in 2003, when Denmark’s rivals in this final needed extra-time to hit 39 goals.
Denmark will now clash with Croatia, in a battle of two co-hosts of the competition, to secure their fourth consecutive title in the tournament.
Portugal still have a chance of winning their first World Cup medals in the bronze match against France, with the Handball World Cup finishing on Sunday, in the Unity Arena in Baerum (Oslo)