Can Gidsel lead Denmark back to the top?

On Friday at the Men’s EHF EURO 2024, an in-form Wolff is expected to play a key role in the Germany versus Denmark semi-final. On the other side will be a right back hoping to replicate Wolff’s achievement in 2016 and lead his team through the semi-final all the way to the top of the podium: Mathias Gidsel.

While Wolff was not well-known outside Germany before he became the hero for his national side in 2016, Gidsel is well-established after the last few years, but there are still some entertaining parallels. Wolff was 24 at the EHF EURO 2016 and Gidsel is 24 now. In 2016, Germany returned to the top of the EURO podium after a 12-year wait, which is exactly how long it has been since Denmark last raised the trophy, in 2012. And as Germany did with Wolff, Denmark certainly rely on a great game from Gidsel to be their most dangerous.

Gidsel has nabbed two MVP titles since his debut at a major tournament just three years ago and could very well take the award for the first time at an EHF EURO if he plays as expected on the final weekend. In his first international tournament, the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, the right back grabbed attention immediately. He scored 10 goals in his debut match and went on to be named in the All-star Team, as well as finish among the top 10 goal scorers.

Seven months later, Denmark took the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. There Gidsel earned his first MVP award, as the second top scorer behind his teammate Mikkel Hansen and leader of the competition in assists. Gidsel made his EHF EURO debut in 2022, securing a place in the All-star Team and finishing level as top scorer from the field.

Although he already had plenty of national team achievements to speak of, Gidsel’s stature in international competitions has reached new heights since the last EHF EURO. At the 2023 World Championship, he was MVP as Denmark reclaimed the world title, top scorer overall despite taking no penalty shots and third in assists with 42.

At the EHF EURO 2024, Gidsel comes into the semi-final as Denmark’s clear top scorer, with 42 goals and only eight shots missed across the tournament. He is fourth in the top scorer ranking overall and very much in the race to take that crown. Gidsel also has 26 assists to lead Denmark in that statistic.

Aside from those most obvious statistics, there are other reasons Gidsel must be considered one of the most lethal players around. All his scoring achievements at the various major championships have been entirely from the field, as he never takes penalty shots.

Looking at the average number of goals across his career, Gidsel is unmatched in the Denmark squad, even beating Hansen, who has been one of the most prolific shooters throughout his career and taken five top scorer titles in major competitions. Hansen has scored at an average of five goals per match in his national team career, while Gidsel has 5.3.

At this EHF EURO, Gidsel has scored 11 goals from six metres and eight on breakthroughs, as well as 11 from 11 shots on fast breaks. He is often Denmark’s fastest down the field in transitions from defence and his ability to be available for and create the highest probability scoring chances is one of the reasons he is so dangerous.

Now, at the semi-final stage, Denmark have the EHF EURO 2024 title in sight and an almost perfect record behind them. They started with three wins in the preliminary round, when Gidsel clearly identified the aim as they eyed their round 3 clash with Portugal, saying it was “the first big test for us to see how far we are in our progress to become European champions, because, in the end, that is our goal”.

Following the win over Portugal, Gidsel saw the potential for their form in the tournament: “The real Denmark hadn’t showed up yet at this European championship, but today in this group final against Portugal we took two steps up. I am really proud about the transition from the first two games to today.”

Now, Denmark are precisely where they hoped to be, ready for the semi-final in Cologne, and it is time for the journey through the tournament to culminate and that title-winning X factor to show up. As coach Nikolaj Jacobsen said when discussing the dominance of the likes of Denmark, France and Sweden in recent years: “The best players in the world also decide matches and I think some of the best players in the world play in these teams.”

Gidsel is a key player, perhaps the key player, in a team of stars all delivering superbly at the EHF EURO 2024. But the final weekend is made for the biggest stars and the greatest of them rise to the moment in crunchtime, so the stage is set for Gidsel to cement his status as a hero for Denmark and help them return to the top of the EHF EURO podium. 

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