Icelanders rejoiced last Saturday as the National Handball Team beat Denmark in their first 2020 European Championships match in Malmö, Sweden. As 2016 Olympic champions, Denmark was the clear favourite going into the match, but what made the victory even sweeter was that Iceland’s coach, Guðmundur Guðmundsson, is the one who coached Denmark to that Olympic win.
The teams were neck and neck throughout the match. While Denmark appeared to have a slight advantage in the first half, the second half started 15-15. With 92 seconds to go, Icelandic captain Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson secured a two-goal lead of 31-29. The Danes nevertheless brought that score to 31-30 – and had a chance to equalise with a penalty throw at the very end of the match. The throw was saved by Icelandic veteran goalkeeper Björgvin Páll Gústavsson, giving Iceland the win with a final score of 31-30.
The Icelandic team plays Russia this afternoon at 5.15pm.
