With Niklas Landin, Emil Nielsen, Simon Gade, Jannick Green, and Kevin Møller, their list includes five names that all could easily be the first-choice shot-stopper for any other national team. Only Landin and Nielsen have been on the team for Denmark’s first two matches in group F in Munich.
The three-time reigning world champions and arguably biggest tournament favourites defeated Czechia (23:14) and Greece (40:28), respectively, to qualify for the main round in Hamburg – even ahead of the last group match against Portugal on Monday (live on EHFTV at 20:30 CET).
“Of course, it puts a lot of pressure on us the last years,” Nielsen says about the fierce competition for the position between the posts. “You know you are forced to perform, otherwise you are not on the team. In that matter, it’s a good thing. But on the other hand, I believe if I had an other nationality, I would have had my national team breakthrough a little earlier.”
Nielsen first played for the national team in April 2018, when he was with Danish club Skjern Håndbold. But nearly six years later and starring for HBC Nantes and currently Barça, he still has only 30 caps – a relatively low amount for a world-class goalkeeper who turns 27 in a few weeks’ time.
Even more so, EHF EURO 2024 is only his first European championship. His only previous major event was the 2021 IHF World Championship, where Denmark won gold.
But Nielsen got only limited playing time at that tournament in Egypt as a backup for Landin, who appreciates the increasing competition.
“It’s really nice to see so many good young goalkeepers coming up,” Landin says. “It’s the way to push each other. I think it’s good, a little bit pressure from behind you.”