The Danish men's national handball team showed lots of attacking promise, while the defense left a little to be desired when Norway were beaten 38-33 in Trondheim in the first of two games in the Golden League training tournament before the European Championships to be staged in January.
Especially in the first half, Danish stars such as Simon Pytlick, Mathias Gidsel, and Rasmus Lauge showed great form as coach Nikolaj Jacobsen kicked off the preparations for the European Championships.
It was the first time in more than half a year that the biggest stars were all assembled. At the last national team meeting in May, national coach Nikolaj Jacobsen gave several stars a rest.
The long break was not visible in the first half against the Norwegians.
The Danes began the match with all their profiles in play as Simon Pytlick shone at left-back in the attacking game. The Flensburg profile won almost all of his duels and played a big part in setting up most of the Danish goals.
In general, it was a balanced Danish attacking performance, where Mathias Gidsel, as so many times before, underlined his high level.
In defense, the Danes were handicapped by the absence of the normal defensive helmsman, Magnus Saugstrup, who is set to become a father, but the defense still looked quite solid.