Flawless Montenegro overthrow world champions

Before Wednesday night, Montenegro had never beaten Denmark, and they had not won a match in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers. Both situations changed at the final whistle of their round 3 encounter in Podgorica, when Montenegro secured a one-goal win that also signified Denmark’s first defeat in the qualification phase.

The last match of the evening saw a tight 60 minutes between Iceland and North Macedonia, with North Macedonia also clinching a one-goal victory, which took their points in Group 3 tally to four.

GROUP 3
Iceland vs North Macedonia 33:34 (17:17)

The round 3 clash was the 15th encounter between familiar opponents Iceland and North Macedonia, and it ended with the visitors’ fourth win against the hosts off a goal scored by Dejan Manaskov in the last four seconds.

During the game, neither side were able to create a significant advantage. Iceland did see some early hope, as they took a 7:3 lead by the 10th minute and stayed in front, 9:6, at the end of the first quarter. But North Macedonia found their rhythm and were level, 17:17, at the break.

The second half only briefly saw a difference of more than one goal and a battle ensued to the buzzer. With seconds remaining, the score was still level, 33:33, before a penalty was awarded to North Macedonia. After a tense 60 minutes, it all came down to the final penalty, which Manaskov missed before converting the rebound.

GROUP 8
Montenegro vs Denmark 32:31 (16:17)

Denmark coach Nikolaj Jacobsen's prediction that the matches against Montenegro would be the toughest of the qualifiers was proven correct. While Denmark struggled to find the flawless rhythm that saw them clean sweep the World Championship at home in January, everything clicked into place for a motivated Montenegro team.

Montenegro’s defence – supported by a superb outing from goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic – kept Denmark trailing through the first half, before the world champions squeezed in front just before the break. Montenegro left nothing on the court, and the resulting determination in attack led the home side to reclaim the upper hand early in the second period.

World Championship 2019 MVP Mikkel Hansen was kept considerably quieter than usual, tallying just two goals in the first half – though he brought his final total to eight. But that was not enough for Denmark to take the two points. Montenegro simply had a better day and celebrated their first win ever against the Scandinavian powerhouse.