The victory marks the third time the French team has picked up the European title, having won previously in 2006 and 2010.

France dominated proceedings from start to finish, using their early relentless pressure to gain a solid 7-2 lead inside 10 minutes.

The young Danish side, buoyed on by a vocal home crowd, sought to grind their way back into the match but their efforts fell short as the ruthless French side netted five times in a row to put a comfortable nine goal margin between them and their opponents.

A slight resurgence from the Danish side, not to mention a goalkeeper change or two, saw them cut the deficit to seven on the half-hour mark as the 14,000 strong crowd continued to roar their support.

The victory marks the third time France has picked up the European Handball Championship title ©Getty Images



Ulrik Wilbek's half-time team talk, likely his last at the helm of the Danish squad, did little to spur on the home favourites as the second half started much the same as the first.

With a nine goal margin leading into the last 15 minutes of play, the French side reverted to cruise control as their small gathering of fans began to make their voices heard inside the arena.

The final 10 minutes saw team coach Claude Onesta give the nod for a number of his less experienced players to get a feel for the big occasion as the final result became more and more inevitable.

In respect to the young Danish side, they dug in deep throughout the second half with the scoreline likely to have been considerably closer had it not been for France's complete dominance early in the first.

"I have to say that this was the best game and best performance in the final in history of French handball," said Onesta.

"We also knew the Danes have a young team and expected that under pressure of the whole country they could struggle." 

France centre back Daniel Narcisse was awarded Man of the Match for his performance in the final where he scored six goals from seven shots ©Getty Images


Wilbek, who had led the national team to victory in the two previous European Championships, added: "The way France played today was exceptional.

"Perhaps it was really the best match France ever played," he continued.

"We entered the court focused, but we met a very strong and very settled French team.

"They started very good and we were behind already after five to six minutes.

"I could see on my players that nervousness came and I had to take the first timeout.

"The last three quarters we played very good in attack, but the game was already over.

"The match was entertaining, but it was still not enough against the best team of the world."

The third place play-off saw Spain edge past Croatia 29-28 in an extremely close encounter.

A four-goal spree towards the end of the first half gave the reigning world champions breathing space coming into the second period and they were just able to hold back the Croatian onslaught to secure the bronze medal.

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