The many spectators in the Royal Arena on Friday evening witnessed a showdown between two handball powerhouses, who both occasionally struggled to maintain their high level.
However, the hosts were clearly the better side overall, winning 36-28 over Germany in the international friendly. Germany thus failed to take revenge for the disappointing defeat to Denmark in the European Championship final earlier in the year.
The Danes started strongly in the comfort of their home, with Emil Jakobsen putting Denmark ahead 6-3 after seven minutes, even though the hosts' performance was marred by several technical errors.
World Handballer Mathias Gidsel was otherwise in excellent form, and twice within a short period of time, he took advantage of an empty German goal to put Denmark ahead by five goals.
The Germans only sporadically showed why they reached the final of the Olympic Games and the European Championships, and the Danes controlled the events.
Goalkeeper Emil Nielsen also played well in the first half and made 11 saves. The promising Danish performance continued after the break, with Simon Pytlick putting Denmark ahead 23-14 after two quick goals.
After that, momentum began to tip. The German defense became somewhat more aggressive, and Pytlick began to waste a host of chances.
Nikolaj Jacobsen called a timeout when Juri Knorr reduced the deficit to 19-24. The Danish national team coach was a bit dissatisfied as the Danes struggled to maintain the momentum.
Later, both teams traded goals at either end, and after 48 minutes, Denmark had put themselves ahead 28-24.
Everything was back to normal in the end as Denmark cruised to victory in convincing style, and Gidsel reached double figures in his goalscoring tally.
On Sunday, the two nations face each other again, this time on German soil.
