Olympic scare Gidsel gives DHB handball players little hope

In the center of Herning, Mathias Gidsel is clearly smiling from a house facade in a kitchen advertisement. In the fan zone, supporters of the Danish national team line up to flock a jersey with the name of their top player. “I can’t hide anymore,” said the world handball player about his omnipresence at the World Cup.

The slender Gidsel is actually not a loudspeaker, but seems more introverted and fragile. And yet he carries the burden of an entire handball nation almost alone. When the Olympic final against Germany takes place again on Tuesday, Gidsel wants to present the DHB defense with unsolvable tasks with his dynamism and game intelligence. “It will never be completely stopped. But simply keeping it under control is the most important thing,” said DHB circle runner Justus Fischer.

In the 39:26 lesson in the summer, Gidsel mutated into a DHB terror with eleven goals. And the 25-year-old backcourt player from Füchse Berlin is highly motivated to go one better on Tuesday. “For us, this is one of the most important games at this World Cup. Almost everyone in our team plays in the Bundesliga. We want to return to Germany and say: We have beaten Germany,” announced Gidsel confidently.

Unbeaten in 31 World Cup games

Denmark is currently the best team in world handball and is aiming for its fourth World Cup title in a row. The Scandinavians have now been unbeaten in 31 World Cup games. And the performances so far in Herning give Germany little hope that this series will break on Tuesday of all days. First 47:22 Algeria, then 32:21 against Tunisia and 39:20 against the Italians – the defending champions broke the 100-goal barrier in just three games.

“Those weren’t all the big tests,” said Gidsel, almost sounding as if he wanted to encourage the DHB selection. “Germany is one of the favorites. In Andreas Wolff they have the X factor in goal. We also have to watch out for Renars Uscins,” warned Gidsel, only to make a clear announcement to the Olympic silver medalist: “We are hard to beat here in Herning.”