HERNING – Comments from players and coaches at media calls on Saturday, ahead of the final and bronze-medal match at the Men's EHF EURO 2026 on Sunday.

DENMARK

Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN) — head coach

On the semi-final Denmark won against Iceland:

“It was an impressive game for the spectators, I think. Before the game, I predicted a tough battle, and that’s exactly what we saw. In the first half, we struggled to find some solutions offensively, but I think physically we made the difference in the second half. I am proud of the fight we gave, especially since we had only one line player left in the second half.”

On the recipe to win a final:

“A final is always a little bit more than handball. We will have to stick together, no matter the events and how the game goes. We will have to play handball together, but also have a little bit more will and power than in the previous games. Germany will be extra motivated because they can win a title, but don’t expect us to be less motivated.”

On the support in Jyske Bank Arena:

“We are as one — us and them. It’s always good to be at home and to see all those people travelling to see us. It’s a huge motivation to win the title. It’s always special to win a title in front of your own fans. Yesterday, they helped us a great deal when we struggled, and also when we did lose some of our line players. Yesterday was probably the toughest game we played since the beginning of the tournament, but our fans stepped up as well.”

On the motivation to keep winning titles:

“This one is even easier, as we have never won the EURO before — I have not won it as a coach and all of my players have never won it, except for Rasmus [Lauge]. We are always motivated for titles, but since this one we have never had, it’s even easier to be focused.”

Magnus Saugstrup (DEN) — line player

On the feeling after qualifying for the final:

“It’s always amazing to know that you are going to play in the final; fight for a title as well. We have played really good yesterday. It was not easy because physically, it feels like everything hurts a lot at the moment. But it’s easier to find the motivation and the energy when you know you are going to fight for another title.”

On the difference it makes playing in front of Danish fans:

“I think this is something that everyone dreams of — to have all these fans pushing you during a game. The atmosphere in the arena has been fantastic so far, and of course, the fans push you when you are in a bad moment. It gives you a boost of motivation and adrenaline to see all those red jerseys cheering for you when the team scores."

On whether the game against Germany will be similar to that in the main round:

“I don’t think us and Germany are going to make big changes before the game. We only have one afternoon to work, so maybe we will change a little bit one thing or another, but it’s not going to be completely different. I am sure both teams will play 120 per cent, taking their last bit of energy. It’s very exciting.”

On facing a number of players he plays against in the Bundesliga:

“I see a lot these guys in the German league. They are all very talented. Germany still have a very young team with a lot of talent, and it’s no surprise they have been winning medals in the last championships. They are a very dangerous team. We struggled to beat them in the main round. But we are warned that we will need to play a perfect game to win the championship.”

Mads Mensah (DEN) – centre back

On whether he gets used to playing finals:

“Never, and I will never be. This is everything we work for, all season long, and for many seasons. Especially this EURO title — winning it on home soil would be an incredible feeling. Double, even, as we have never won this title before. I am really motivated and the whole team is as well.”

On the atmosphere in the arena since the beginning of the EHF EURO:

“We are not surprised because it is like this every time we play at home. But it’s always impressive to see how people come to see the national team every two days. It is a huge boost for us, they make so much noise and they are so enthusiastic that you always want to give something back.”

On Germany:

“I know a lot of players from my time in Bundesliga, but that does not change anything. They caused us some problems in the main round already, and I am sure tomorrow will not be an easy game.

“It probably will be different to the one in the main round, but I don’t expect that we win by 10 goals. I think the best solution would be to stop them right at the beginning and maybe be ahead all the time. But no matter what, if we are one goal ahead at the end, I will be fine.”

GERMANY

Alfred Gislason (ISL) – Germany head coach

On his takeaways from the main round match against Denmark:

“We know we need to deliver an even better attacking performance than in the first game. We can also improve our defence. It worked very well in the first half, but after that, we couldn't stop their fast breaks as effectively as before. We couldn't put the pressure on them anymore because we were playing shorthanded quite often.

“Furthermore, we need to be much, much more clinical in front of goal than in the first game. We had 23 missed shots, which is far too many. What was great, though, was that we made very few technical errors. But to beat Denmark, we need a perfect game.”

On whether defence specialist Tom Kiesler can play in the final:

“Tom Kiesler is still ill. He indicated yesterday that he wanted to play, but I refused because he'd been in bed for two days and was completely exhausted. He's feeling better now; we'll have to decide tomorrow whether he can play.”

On whether there is still enough power in his team:

“We shared the responsibility among everyone. Our player with the most playing time is Lukas Zerbe with 4 hours and 15 minutes, and Mathias Gidsel played for over seven hours. So no-one in our team can complain about fatigue.”

On his anticipation for the final:

“I'm absolutely thrilled that we've made it this far because the team has developed incredibly. They've taken several steps forward. I hope they can show that tomorrow and that we perform much better than at the Olympic final in Lille. There, I had the impression that just reaching the final was enough for them. Now I'm sure that will be different tomorrow. We'll have to see what that's enough for in the end. The Danes are extremely difficult to beat."

Johannes Golla (GER) — line player

On the atmosphere in the team:

"Our evening after the semi-final victory was no different than after the previous games. It followed the same routine. We celebrated a bit with friends and family in the arena, then went back to the hotel, watched the other semi-final, had dinner and then went to bed. It was a huge relief that we had made it to the final. But we all agreed right after the game that this wasn't the end of it. We've accomplished a lot, but we're not finished yet. We won't let up on our focus."

On what needs to be different compared to the 2024 Olympic final:

"We had that experience a year and a half ago when we also reached a final against Denmark. Back then, we were incredibly happy and euphoric after the semi-final. We feel the same way now, but we don't want to make the same mistake again and let the final slip away. As captain, I'm appealing to them to give that last bit of effort in the final, even though we know it has to go almost perfectly for us to stay in contention. We want to seize the opportunity and be able to say to ourselves after the game: We did a good job, no matter the outcome."

On the takeaways from the defeat in the main round:

"We have some things to improve compared to this match, especially regarding our attacking effectiveness. That's where we need to step up. We'll consider what we can do better."

On the pressure on the Danes:

"They want to turn things around, but we're also putting pressure on ourselves to deliver a perfect performance. We have an away game, which doesn't make it any easier. It's about having a better day."

Renārs Uščins (GER) — right back

On their second final in two years, after the 2024 Olympics:

"We woke up today with a very good feeling. We're looking forward to the big game. We've earned it because we've already beaten so many big teams, so we want to reward ourselves with a good performance."

On the 2024 Olympic final defeat against Denmark:

"Today is completely different. That was a year and a half ago, and everyone has probably played 80 or 90 games since then. So, it's a completely different story; a different flow. We won't dwell too much on what we did at the Olympics, but rather look at what we did in the regular season and how the Danes played their last few games. Now we have to show what we've learnt from the last eight games to win the ninth."

On the favourites in the final:

"We're not the favourites, but the Danes could be under pressure. We experienced that in 2024, when we were almost always the favourites in front of a sold-out crowd. It's not that easy and there can definitely be pressure. Everyone expects Denmark to win the title. We want a close game in the 50th minute — then anything can happen."

ICELAND

Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson (ISL) – Iceland head coach

On the semi-final defeat against Denmark:

“I have not had the time to watch the game again yet, but from what I can remember after a short night, we still played really, really good. We played how you are meant to play in the semi-final of a EURO. It was not enough, because Denmark played great handball as well, but I got the feeling that if we did not play perfect, we still showed very good handball.”

On the bronze medal game against Croatia:

“I don’t expect the same game as we played against them in the main round. We lost by one, but the only thing in common with the game tomorrow will be that it will be a massive fight. They have a physical defence, but I think that since the beginning of the tournament, we showed also that we could deliver this kind of performance.”

On the importance of a bronze medal for Iceland:

“We have been building this team for a couple of years now, and I guess a medal would be a way to validate what we did across the last years. I remember when we won the medal at the EURO in 2010, and it was an important thing for handball in Iceland. Winning a medal for us would be a huge motivation.”

Bjarki Már Elisson (ISL) – left wing

On the mood within the team on Saturday morning:

“It’s OK, actually, better than yesterday after the game. Of course we were disappointed yesterday, because of the defeat and that the final was away from us. But we still have so much to fight for, so much to expect for tomorrow that we have to gather the team and go for one last fight.”

On how a bronze medal would still be a great reward for Iceland:

“It would not be a great reward, it would be a huge reward, after all that we have been through in the past couple of years, all the new players coming in and everything.

“Of course we had even higher expectations for this tournament, bronze is not what we came for. But we are a small country, only an island, and to have a medal would already be something amazing.”

On how to bounce back after a semi-final defeat:

“I guess it’s the same with every game. We analyse the opponent, we try to be as prepared as possible. We have to find the energy inside the group to be ready to fight for tomorrow. And even if it means hitting each other in the face, then that’s how it has to be. I think that the energy is really what we have to be ready for.”

On the mentality needed for bronze medal games:

“We are a mentally very strong team, we showed that many times in the past already. We have to dig deep within ourselves to find something that is a big motivation enough, and that’s the bronze medal. Our team is not used to medals, so I think the motivation to get one is already enough.”

Gísli Kristjánsson (ISL) – centre back

On waking up on Saturday:

“It was not easy, because we are still very disappointed of the semi-final. But, in the meantime, the only way is forward. There is no use thinking about the semi-final anymore, we have to focus on the game tomorrow.”

On the motivation to get a bronze medal:

“I would be important for all of us, I think. We have been together for a month now and even though we wished for another colour, the medal would still be something to keep from our adventure.”

On how a bronze medal would be a step for Iceland towards the future:

“We are really not thinking about this right now, our future is only tomorrow at the moment. These games, for bronze medals, are often decided by the mentality and not only on handball.

“It’s always hard to recover from a loss in the semi-final, both teams don’t really want to play this game but, in the meantime, a medal is still something important. I think it would be fantastic to win a medal, it would show that Iceland are a team who is able to fight for the best positions.”

On how the game on Sunday might be different from the ones Iceland and Croatia played in the main round:

“For sure, this will not be the same game. Our legs are sore, the head is also hurting and we have to recover quick. Croatia are a very physical team, huge fighters, but we also are fighters, so I expect one last tough game.”

CROATIA

Dagur Sigurdsson (ISL) – Croatia head coach

On the semi-final defeat against Germany:

“I was happy with the first half. The biggest difference was the goalkeeping. (Andreas) Wolff had a great day, better than our guys. When (Dominik) Kuzmanović came back to the goal in the second half, we got a bit of a run. But we would have needed it earlier and on a more consistent base.”

On facing his home country Iceland for a medal:

“I played them so many times with Austria, Germany and Japan and now for the third time with Croatia. It seems it happens at every tournament.”

On whether the win against Iceland in the main round has relevance for the bronze medal game:

“It is a completely new match. We beat them last year, now in Malmö, we always have a new situation at every new match. Some players miss, some players come and there are always special points, especially when the matches are that close.”

On stopping Gísli Kristjánsson and Ómar Ingi Magnússon:

“We have to focus on the whole team, not just the two of them, though they are world class. Our defence was one of the best in the whole tournament, so I hope for a good defence and goalkeeping again on Sunday.”

On the EHF EURO as a whole:

“Let’s talk about it after the last match. I am happy to be here, it is a good result for us to be in the semi-finals, but still we have one carrot to chase in front of us.”

Marko Mamić (CRO) – left back

On the semi-final defeat:

"In the end, we ran out of steam and could have scored two or three more goals in the first half. We made too many mistakes, and Andi Wolff made a lot of saves. That makes it difficult to play against the Germans, who really punished every mistake we made. We were seven goals behind, so it was impossible to turn the game around. Unfortunately, we didn't play perfectly."

On the bronze medal match against Iceland:

“It's a completely different game to the main round; now it's about a medal. Of course, it was also important in the main round because every point counted towards the semi-finals. They are a very good team with top players in every position. It will be a big challenge.”

On the importance of defence against Iceland:

“We have to try to make fewer mistakes in attack, run back quickly and be stable and compact at the back against Iceland's one-on-one situations. Then we have a chance.”

On the rise of Croatian handball:

“We've made it to the semi-finals two years in a row. That's very good for Croatia and also for our team's confidence. So we already have a good feeling about the next tournament.”

Ivan Martinović (CRO) – right back

On the semi-final against Germany:

"Germany took advantage of our poor start to the second half and pulled away to a seven-goal lead. Andi Wolff played brilliantly, but we also gave it our all. However, it was almost impossible to fight back against such a strong team as Germany.

“We left everything on the court, all our energy, but it was too late for us to come back. If the game had lasted 10 minutes longer, we might have turned it around."

On the second match against Iceland after their win in the main round:

"Every game is a close game and a final, so every game is different. Iceland plays incredibly fast handball, so we have to prepare for that and play aggressive defence. We also want to annoy them with long attacks. Because we want to go home with a medal."

On reaching the second semi-final in a row after 2025:

“I said before the tournament that it was no coincidence that we were in the final last year. And we have now proven once again that we are one of the top nations and that we can hopefully continue to aim for the semi-finals in the coming years.”

On his role as team captain:

"I am very, very proud. I have big shoes to fill. Dule (Domagoj Duvnjak) showed us all how to fight for the team when you pull on the national jersey. It's a great honour, especially for me as captain. I am grateful to Dule for showing me everything. I hope I can do half as well as he did. Then I'll be happy."

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