An ongoing campaign is to boost handball in the United States before the Olympics in Los Angeles in two years, and on Saturday, the Americans were shown what it takes to be at the top level.
In the Royal Arena on Amager, the United States was taught a virtual handball lesson by Denmark and lost 24-41, even though Denmark's national coach, Nikolaj Jacobsen, allowed Denmark's lesser names to shine during the game.
The young defenders Mads Svane, Victor Norlyk, and Mads Hoxer were allowed to start the match together on Saturday, and judging from the scoreboard on Saturday afternoon, it was a good idea as Denmark immediately created a lead of six or seven goals, with the northwestern Jutland trio playing a significant role.
Also, Simon Hald in central defense, in particular, made life difficult for the unorthodox Americans.
The visitors lacked great creativity in their opening attacks, which were immediately punished by the hosts. The Danish lead was 19-11 at halftime, but it could easily have been much bigger.
The game didn't change much after the interval. New names like Steven Plucnar, Nicolaj Jorgensen, and Christoffer Bonde got plenty of playing time, and even though they haven't played much together, the Danes had no trouble adding to the lead.
After the end of the game, Hans Lindberg, who announced his retirement from the national team a couple of days ago, was praised on the court by several former teammates.