The international match week has come to an end. The Danish and German players on SG Flensburg-Handewitt gained valuable insights from their two head-to-head matches. Meanwhile, three SG players celebrated securing their spots at the upcoming World Championship.
Both Friday and Saturday saw large crowds as Denmark and Germany faced off: nearly 16,000 spectators in Copenhagen and as many as 19,500 in Cologne. On the court, it was the same story as in the past ten years: the Danes won. A 38-26 victory was followed by a closer 31-29 win in Cologne. “Compared to the first leg, our defense has improved significantly,” said Marko Grgić. “The Danes capitalized on our mistakes in attack with their fast-break play.” The backcourt star scored a total of four goals. So did Johannes Golla. “We were closer today than in the previous game, but we realized that we need to work on consistency within the games,” the captain summed up. On the other side, Simon Pytlick was pleased. “We wanted to win again, since it was very important to the Germans to beat us,” said the backcourt player. He scored a total of eleven goals. Emil Jakobsen (10/5), Lasse Møller (5), Niclas Kirkeløkke (1), and Kevin Møller also each scored twice.
The World
Championship playoffs had already seen Germany, as the host, and Denmark, as the defending champion, qualify. Ten additional spots for the 2027 World Championship in January were decided over the past few days. Slovenia struggled but ultimately prevailed against Montenegro. In the 29-28 away win, a six-goal lead melted away; in the 31-29 victory in Koper, the match became close again after a seven-goal cushion. Blaž Blagotinšek was also needed in the opposing circle and scored a total of six times. Domen Novak (7/4) was once again on hand. Adin Faljić scored four goals in the 22-24 loss to the Faroe Islands. Two more followed in the return match in the North Atlantic. The first 40 minutes were completely even, but Bosnia-Herzegovina ultimately lost 28-33. Somewhat surprisingly, Aksel Horgen stepped in. After the Norwegians had already won the first leg decisively against Turkey, the SG right wing found himself on a flight to Ankara and scored five goals in the 37-30 victory.