Trine Østergaard - Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos - led the charge with five goals, with Kristina Jörgensen joining on the same number. Despite the final score, the Faroese team showcased their trademark fighting spirit, just like in two previous games, and are going home having gained valuable experience.
GROUP D
Faroe Islands vs Denmark 24:33 (8:15)
- the Faroe Islands were off to a good start, leading 3:1 after six minutes with two goals coming from their wing players Turid Arge Samuelsen and Lív Sveinbjørnsdóttir Poulsen
- Denmark finally caught on two minutes later as Rikke Iversen set the first Danish lead in the game
- the Faroe Islands started to have problems in their defence after line player Brynja Høj got a direct red card in the 12th minute, but Denmark did not built on it until minute 23 when they spurred a 3:0 goal run followed by another 4:0 run for 15:7
- by half-time, the Faroe Islands had converted only 31 per cent of their shots, while Denmark had a high 71 per cent efficiency; by the end of the game these numbers changed to 48 and 72 per cent
- Danish goalkeeper duo Althea Reinhardt and Anna Kristensen had much of a say, saving seven times each
- this is the narrowest defeat for the Faroe Islands against Denmark, improving on their 15:26 loss in the Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualification phase 2
Denmark's dominant rotation
The reigning Women's EHF EURO silver medallists and Olympic bronze medallists had already secured their spot in the main round, but approached the game with the same drive and respect as in their first two matches.
They fought hard to create a breakthrough, but once again struggled with a slow start, finding it difficult to break the Faroese defence. However, once they found their rhythm, they quickly built a comfortable lead, allowing head coach Jesper Jensen to rotate his squad. He gave some players a rest, with Elma Halilcevic making her debut appearance at the Women's EHF EURO 2024 instead of usual Emma Friis on the left wing. Also, right back Line Haugsted had a chance to watch the game from the stands, saving energy for the main round.
On the other side, the Faroe Islands' attacking efforts unravelled as they struggled to break through Denmark's strong 6-0 defence - mostly visible in the complete stoppage of their centre back Jana Mittún, who ended the match with two goals, from her 11 attempts. Only Brynhild Pálsdóttir and Pernille Brandenborg managed to find a way to score, netting five and nine times respectively.
We were fighting hard, especially in the second half because we only lost with one goal in the second half of the match. We showed that we had team spirit throughout the whole game and I think throughout the whole three games we worked really, really hard for it this as a team.
We knew before the tournament we have a strong squad, and I think we showed that today. We had three or four players who had played many minutes so far and they were taking a day off. All in all, we put up a good performance and some players got rested, and therefore we are ready and facing a tough group of opponents in the main round.
