Denmark vs Norway: Sagosen’s best match in Tokyo

The quarterfinal tie against Norway will be Denmark’s second Scandinavian derby in two days. The day before, the favourites in Tokyo 2021 lost to the Swedes. Can they be rehabilitated and reach the next round?

The Danish national team in Tokyo is trying to defend the title of Olympic champions, and sometimes it seems that even some otherworldly forces help them in this. Before starting the Games, Morten Olsen and Emil Jacobsen were injured but managed to recover, and Lasse Andersson was injured at the Olympics. Two of those players cannot be called key, but the rotation’s depth at the top tournaments still plays a role. Although more than half of his 32 goals were scored on penalties, Mikkel Hansen is still in great form. The best young handball player in the world, Mathias Gidsel, has distinguished himself 30 times and never shoots from the seven meters. His efficiency is simply fantastic: 77% of his shots were accurate, and for a right-back, this is very cool. Overall, the team combines well, with the lion’s share of goals being scored through individual actions.

Nicolai Jakobsen’s charges got out of their group in 1st place, though they lost their 5th round match against Sweden 30:33. It was the Danes’ first defeat at the tournament. Before that, they had claimed four wins in a row. In the game with the Swedes, their goalkeepers did not help at all. Möller and Landin only made 7 of 40 shots between them. On offense, their long-range shot was poor. Mikkel Hansen and Mads Mensah often missed shots from 9 meters and the team made only 3 of their 11 attempts. The edges worked well, the linesmen connected and reclaimed space. Gidsel was once again the best in the Danish squad with five goals from the field.

The Norwegians were considered the clear contenders for medals before the Olympics, but in the end, they advanced to the quarterfinals only from the 4th place in the group. Injured Goran Johannessen is sorely missed at the welterweight position and now Sander Sagosen must work out for himself and the other fellow. And the day before, point guard Christian O’Sullivan injured his thumb, and it’s not sure he’ll play again in Tokyo. On a personal level, Sagosen is now the highest shooter of the tournament; 35 of 70 shots leads the scoring race. Magnus Jondal has 22 goals. Goalkeeper Torbjorn Bergerud is second on the goalscorers’ list with 34% of his shots on goal.

Borge Lund’s men secured three wins in their 5 group stage matches before defeating their group leaders, the French (32-29), in the closing round. The Norwegians played disciplined this time and earned only one penalty, which is an essential factor, because before the team lost to the Germans mainly due to many rough rules violations. Sander Sagosen again had a poor game, scoring only 1 of his six shots from 9 metres. In total, he had seven goals on 16 shooting attempts. The linebackers and linesmen backed him up this time, while the combination play made up for the national team leader’s poor effort. Bjarte Mürhol was excellent at catching the ball in the line and scored 4 of 4, while on the right wing, Kevin Gulliksen scored five times.

The Norwegians at the current Olympics have not yet fully revealed their attacking potential, and now everything will depend on Sander Sagosen. If the team leader gives the match of his life and starts to hit at least something from a distance, the chances of success will increase significantly. In the game against France, Borge Lund’s men moved the ball well and varied their attacks. Mikkel Hansen is unstable and, with Gidsel under his personal cover, the Danish attack can be disruptive. In their head-to-head encounters, the Norwegians have fought equally against the reigning Olympic champions so that they won’t give up that easily. I suggest to wager on the following outcomes:

• Total Over 57.5 goals for 1.85;
• Norway to win or draw for 2.55;
• Draw in the regular time for 10.00.