The Danish national handball team has won the “triple crown” of major international tournaments: winning gold at the 2024 Olympic Games, the 2025 World Championship, and Euro 2026.
In the decisive match of Euro 2026 – the final – the Danes defeated Germany (34:27). Thanks to this, Denmark became the European Men's Handball Champion for the third time in history and the first time in 14 years. Overall, this title was Denmark's third in a row at the level of top international tournaments, and what's more – Denmark won the historic “triple crown”.
What is known about Denmark's “triple crown” in handball?
In addition to the European champion title, Denmark became the winner of the World Championship in 2025, and won the “gold” of the Olympic handball in 2024. In particular, at the 2024 Games, the national team defeated Germany in the final match with a crushing score of 39:26.
Thus, Denmark has collected the “triple crown” in handball for the first time in the country's history . In general, only France has managed to do this so far, combining the titles of the three biggest handball competitions twice in history – in 2010 and 2015.
Results of Denmark's decisive matches for the “gold” on the way to the “triple crown”
- Olympic Games-2024: Germany – Denmark 26:39 (12:21)
- World Cup 2025: Croatia — Denmark 26:32 (12:16)
- Euro 2026: Denmark — Germany 34:27 (18:16)
“We are so happy. There was a lot of pressure on us. Everyone always expects gold medals when we play. Now we have all three trophies. We played an incredible tournament, we overcame a lot of problems. Maybe we were a little shaky compared to other competitions. But finally we are on the podium – that's what matters. I am happy and proud of my team, all the fans and the whole team. It was a real team success,” summed up Denmark's right-back Mathias Gidsel.
“If winning and all these titles don't make you feel good, you don't deserve to be here. It was a tough tournament for us and the Euro 2026 final was too. There were a lot of expectations beforehand and it was hard to live up to those expectations at first,” said Denmark head coach Nicolai Jacobsen.
What is known about Denmark's performances at the three top tournaments?
- In total, Denmark has triumphed twice at the Olympics, the first time this happened at the 2016 Games in Rio. However, before winning the 2024 final, the Danish team became the vice-champion of the 2021 Olympics, losing to France (23:25).
- The victory at the 2025 World Handball Championship was Denmark's fourth in a row. The team also extended their unbeaten streak at the World Championships since January 2017, winning 37 matches in that period. In the finals, the team defeated Croatia (2025), France (2023), Sweden (2021) and Norway (2019).
- Denmark won their Euro title by winning eight of their nine matches, starting with the previous round. Their only defeat came against Portugal (29:31). Denmark now has three Euro titles, second only to Sweden and France, who have won the tournament five and four times respectively.