Anna Kristensen: “Everything we have fought for”

Kristensen will take to the court at what is her third EHF FINAL4 since she joined Team Esbjerg from Viborg HK in January 2023. 

“It's a crazy experience and really intense to be there, so I'm glad that I have had two experiences in Budapest before and I hope that I can take that with me,” says Kristensen.

“We have a few players on the team now that have quite much experience in Budapest and at the FINAL4. I really hope that we can take advantage of that and learn from our mistakes from the last three years, have luck and also what we missed the other years — the last thing in the semi-final to reach the final. That’s of course our goal.”  

2024/25 marks Kristensen’s second full season in the EHF Champions League and she has made a huge mark in both. In 2023/24, Kristensen finished the season ranked fourth in terms of saves, with 152 from 519 shots. 

Coming into the EHF FINAL4 2025, she is the second best goalkeeper in terms of saves made this season, with 170 at a rate of 34.21 per cent, having faced 497 shots. Kristensen’s record is the best of all the 'keepers at the EHF FINAL4 Women 2025. 

For Kristensen and Esbjerg, it has been another great season, in which they lost only four games and finished second in group B, behind their semi-final opponents Györi Audi ETO KC. 

“We were in a really strong group in the Champions League and we were able to reach second place in that group. We were very proud of that. I think we have played against a lot of good teams throughout the season, so it's not a given that we were second in that group,” says Kristensen, before reflecting on the quarter-finals against CSM Bucuresti. 

“Those were two crazy games and I think both teams actually were worthy of standing in the FINAL4. I think we really played some nice quarter-finals against each other.

“I think we can be proud of our Champions League season so far, but we also know there are two games left and we really want to try to win these two matches,” she added. 

2024/25 must be considered the breakout season for the 24-year-old, who cemented her status as Denmark’s number one in goal with a stunning performance at the EHF EURO. Kristensen and Althea Reinhardt were named as Denmark’s duo as then coach Jesper Jensen looked to the future, initially leaving stalwart Sandra Toft off the list for the first time, giving Kristensen and Reinhardt the chance to prove the choice was right and set the tone for the future of the Scandinavian side’s ambitions.

Kristensen finished as the top goalkeeper at EHF EURO 2024 with 100 saves at a rate of 38.02 per cent across the nine games played. She was instrumental in Denmark’s second-place finish.

“It was a crazy experience in December. It was not what I had expected at all. I was really happy just to be there,” says Kristensen. “It also gave me a boost, that I maybe belong on this level and I can play good handball, and I'm really proud of that. But it's also a journey when you come home to the club and you have to be there in the way you were before the EHF EURO. 

“I am more settled now than I was in the first months, and maybe in a better place, because we also get home to everyday life and there are a lot of matches in the Champions League and in the domestic tournaments. In a few months you are suddenly just back to the old routine.”

After such a standout performance at a major event, finding consistency and dealing with higher expectations can be a challenge.  

“My teammates, I have the feeling that they had a lot of confidence in me before the EURO also, so I am really safe here, I can say. I'm really happy and safe and don't feel insecure when I'm here with the team, but of course, both the expectations from other people and the expectations for myself have maybe risen a bit after the tournament,” says Kristensen. 

“It's also learning that you can’t play well in every game 12 months a year, so you have to peak in the right matches and also try to keep a level, but it's also trying to allow yourself to mentally take some breaks during the season. 

“I have tried to find the balance, saving some energy for the last matches here, but of course, it has been a year with a lot of experience for me.”

After three previous EHF FINAL4 appearances, the Danish side are yet to reach the final. In 2023/24, they won their first game at the event, beating Metz Handball to secure third place. Both last year and the season before, Esbjerg lost the semi-final by just one goal — 30:29 to FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria in 2022/23 and 24:23 to Györ in 2023/24. 

“We lost to one goal in the two years I have been there in the semi-final, so we have not been far from getting to the really fun game on Sunday,” says Kristensen.

“It's like there are really few details that lead to winning the game. It's a few details. In the Danish league we have been able to win and also in the Champions League — not the semi-finals, but otherwise we have been able to win even though there have been close games. So it's not like it's a thing for our team.

“But we don’t talk much about the last few years right now. We are more focused on this year and the team we have now. It's also another team compared to last year, so we're trying to focus on that and also just focus on playing the best handball we can play. We have the best chances of reaching everything in the FINAL4.”

This year, Esbjerg aim to avenge last season’s EHF FINAL4 defeat to Györ, as they will face the Hungarian powerhouse in the semi-final — a team they have yet to win against in a total of nine previous encounters. 

“When you reach the FINAL4, there are only strong teams left. You're not given a soft team. And of course, Györ were first in our group and they have been at the FINAL4 many times and won last year. We know they're a really, really good team, and we have respect for them. But I think we have respect for all three teams at the FINAL4 because they are great teams and it's really tough to get there, so if a team gets to the FINAL4, it's really a strong team and we are really aware of that.” 

As the EHF FINAL4 has been approaching, Esbjerg have been wrapping up the domestic season. What is the frame of mind for the side at this stage of the season?  

“All of the goals we have this season are decided in these few weeks. Everything we have fought for, everything we have worked for as a team — it can go really good in the next few weeks or we can not achieve the goals we want,” says Kristensen. “So, it’s crunch time, and also the reason why we train 11 months — to get here and really have a chance to win everything.”

Photos © Marco Wolf, Györi Audi ETO KC, @hsnlau//Lau Nielsen