It was the expected defeat: The Swiss national team could not stand up to the Danish handball stars and lost in their second match of the main round of the World Cup.
This net result, however, requires a brief perspective. Denmark has won the title at the last three world championships and outclassed Germany by 13 goals in the 2024 Olympic final. Playing in front of its home crowd in Herning for ten days, Denmark has until now won every match by ten goals or more. Against Switzerland, 11 goals made the difference. National coach Andy Schmid: “There is a world-class level in handball. And above that is the current Denmark team.”
Switzerland can be criticized for leaving too many opportunities unexploited in the starting phase. The Nati started strong, but the first four shots were “eaten” by Danish goalkeeper Emil Nielsen. She thus ran after a deficit of 0:2, but managed to make up for it and equalize at 3:3. The Swiss defense is up to par and goalkeeper Nikola Portner also makes saves from the start of the match, 10 at the end of the first half.
But at 6:9, the Swiss must fall behind. Denmark, encouraged by a packed house and a crazy atmosphere, went on to score a 6:0 that put Switzerland on edge. The Nati still manages to reduce the score at 11:18 before halftime. Despite everything, it is a good performance from Switzerland. The morale and spirit were once again exceptional, and in the second half, the second goalkeeper, Jannis Scheidiger, stopped five balls.
Noticed
How to stop the Danes? Andy Schmid chose a bold tactic, trying to neutralize Denmark’s strongman Mathias Gidsel with offensive defense. This doesn’t work too badly, but other opponents get more space this way. The numerous missed shots in the starting phase are annoying, Switzerland has several opportunities to take the advantage. In the end, she only had three technical fouls, but also 30 missed shots. In the Danish goal is Emil Nielsen, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, who makes 23 saves by the end of the match. Simply madness.
On the Swiss side, goalkeeper Nikola Portner also made 10 important saves in the first half. In attack, Felix Aellen and Noam Leopold gained strength as the match progressed and ended up being the top scorers for the Swiss side with five goals each. The Swiss defense, led by Samuel Röthlisberger and Lucas Meister, is also solid in its fifth appearance at the world championship and keeps the Danes in check as much as possible.
-Ranking
With the defeat against Denmark, the theoretical chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals also disappeared. Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., live on RTS), Switzerland will face Italy in their last match of the main round. If she wins, she will finish the world championship in 9th-12th place.
Reactions
Andy Schmid: There is no tougher away game than a match against Denmark in Herning. But any defeat angers me. We missed too many opportunities in the early stages. We could have kept the score close for longer. But in the end, you also have to accept that the opponent was better.
Felix Aellen: I am torn between two feelings. Currently, you can lose against Denmark at this level. But I’m not entirely satisfied. We didn’t do everything right. For example, in downturn situations, we would have had potential for improvement. The atmosphere was fantastic. You soak it up and you carry it away.
