The second main round match day brought further victories for the seven SG Flensburg-Handewitt players. First Denmark won against Spain, then Germany against Norway.
At the end of a long and exciting day of handball in Herning, the song "Gute Laune" (Good Mood) boomed over the mighty speakers in the Jyske Bank Boxen. The lyrics say: "We're in a good mood upstairs, in a good mood downstairs, in a good mood in front, in a good mood behind, in a good mood on the right, in a good mood on the left, in a good mood everywhere". It is not known whether the song was also played in the German national team's dressing room. But one SG player in particular in the DHB selection was clearly in a good mood: Marko Grgić contributed seven goals to the 30:28 win against Norway with the two ex-SG players Torbjørn Bergerud and August Pedersen. This made him the top scorer of the game and, above all, he has finally arrived in the tournament after hardly being able to convince with little playing time so far. "I got one or two kind words from my teammates at half-time, they had my back," he said later. "Alfred Gislason also told me at half-time that the team needed me more than ever. I tried to switch off my stupid head. I just played handball and shot on goal". Germany trailed 15:17 at the break. Marko Grgić came onto the pitch in the 35th minute. Within a very short space of time, he and the second SG player in the squad, Johannes Golla, opened up a 26:21 lead. Marko Grgić finished with seven goals and Johannes Golla with five.
Successful Danish quintet
The Danes and their SG quintet also won, beating Spain 36:31. Emil Jakobsen (8 goals), Niclas Kirkeløkke (6) and Simon Pytlick (5) were the top scorers, with Lasse Møller only playing the last three minutes and Kevin Møller taking a seven-meter penalty in the sold-out arena with 15,000 fans. "I got a lot of balls and now feel quite comfortable in the wing position," said Niclas Kirkeløkke, who played on the right wing in attack. Simon Pytlick said: "We played well for 60 minutes and want to keep riding this wave of success".
Here's what's next
Domen Novak is up against Slovenia this Sunday at 3.30 pm. The game is against Hungary. The focus returns to Herning on Monday. Germany and Denmark play at 8.30 pm (ARD). On Monday, two club colleagues of all people have something against it. "There's no need to explain the Danes, they have the best team in the world," says Marko Grgić. "We have to counter them as best we can. We'll give it everything we've got. Let's see who's still in a good mood on Monday. On Wednesday, the DHB team will face the French at the end of the main round. The team led by future SG player Aymeric Minne (3 goals) defeated Portugal 46:38 (28:15). That was two European Championship records: 28 goals in one half and 84 goals in one game.