- Denmark won their eighth bronze medal in the history of this competition, with four silvers and zero golds so far
- Just like in the main round six days earlier (32:30), Denmark proved too strong for Spain in the end
- With this loss, Spain remain with three bronze medals in this competition, having won it in 2021 and later the gold as well in 2022
- After a disappointing attacking display against Slovenia which saw them score only 17 goals, the Danes responded much better and scored 18 already in the first half
- Spain conceded only one goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but were unable to take the lead in the crucial moments and gain further momentum heading into the final stretch
- Adrian Sola led Spain with six goals, but his most important shot in the final minute was saved by Hafstrøm-Krusentjerna; Hjalte Andreasen and Emil Bak scored 13 goals combined for Denmark
- Kalle Møller made 10 saves (40 per cent efficiency), along with five coming from Hafstrøm-Krusentjerna (38 per cent), while Albert Quesada also saved 10 shots for Spain (33 per cent)
BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Top scorers: Adrian Sola 6/12 (ESP), Hjalte Andreasen 7/8 (DEN)
Players of the match: Adrian Sola (ESP), Kalle Møller (DEN)
Denmark made an excellent start to the match in Belgrade, making the most of Spain’s high number of technical faults. Andreasen and Bak did a good job in attack, and Denmark took a 5:1 lead after just 10 minutes. Having recovered from their initial struggles, Spain began to find their rhythm and gradually reduced the deficit. Palomo led the way in attack, while Denmark started making more mistakes, allowing Spain to cut the gap to just one goal at 9:8 in the 18th minute. However, Medom and Knudsen then brought fresh energy to the Danish attack, leaving the Spanish defence without an answer. Denmark extended their lead to as many as six goals on several occasions, before going into half-time with an 18:13 advantage.
Led by Carballar and Sola, Spain needed just 12 minutes at the start of the second half to completely erase the deficit and level the score at 19:19. The following four minutes proved crucial. Denmark continued to struggle in attack, but their defence responded well and prevented Spain from taking the lead. Once they survived that critical period, the Danes scored four unanswered goals and, with another goal from Andreasen in the 49th minute, opened up a 23:19 lead. Spain fought admirably to close the gap to 27:25, but a crucial defensive stop by Hafstrøm-Krusentjerna in the final minute sealed Denmark’s victory and brought this truly outstanding bronze medal clash to a close.
