The biggest surprise at the European Handball Championship occurred on Tuesday in Jyske Bank Boxen when Denmark suffered a hugely surprising defeat to Portugal.
After a flawed effort, Denmark lost the last preliminary group match to Portugal with 29-31. This means that Portugal will go into the intermediate round with two points, while Denmark now needs to win four successive matches to reach the final.
After North Macedonia only beat Romania by a single goal earlier on Tuesday, Portugal was certain of advancing, unless the team ran into at least an 18-goal defeat against Denmark.
Portugal is far too talented a team for that. And the team showed some of the qualities that a year ago took the team all the way to the World Cup semi-finals.
The fans in Herning were treated to a world-class performance by both sides, as Portugal really brought their A-game today to make sure they grabbed that main round seat.
Not only did they get their first ever win against Denmark (!), they also made their way to a VERY exclusive club. The first and only time Denmark lost here in Herning - until now - was in the 2014 European Championship final, 32-41 against France.