Denmark women's national handball team

Denmark
Information
NicknameHåndboldkvinderne
(The handball women)
AssociationDanish Handball Federation
CoachHelle Thomsen
Assistant coachBojana Popović
CaptainTrine Østergaard
Anne Mette Hansen
Anna Kristensen
Mie Højlund
Most capsJanne Kolling (250)
Most goalsCamilla Andersen (846)
Colours
1st
2nd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances5 (First in 1996)
Best result 1st (1996, 2000, 2004)
World Championship
Appearances22 (First in 1957)
Best result 1st (1997)
European Championship
Appearances16 (First in 1994)
Best result 1st (1994, 1996, 2002)
Last updated on 2025-12-14.
Denmark women's national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta Team
2000 Sydney Team
2004 Athens Team
2024 Paris Team
World Championship
1997 Germany
1962 Romania
1993 Norway
1995 Austria/Hungary
2013 Serbia
2021 Spain
2023 Denmark/Norway/Sweden
European Championship
1994 Germany
1996 Denmark
2002 Denmark
1998 Netherlands
2004 Hungary
2022 Slovenia/Montenegro/North Macedonia
2024 Austria/Hungary/Switzerland

The Denmark women's national handball team is the national team of Denmark. It is governed by the Danish Handball Federation (DHF).

In 1997, it became the first Women's Handball team to hold all three major titles simultaneously (The World Championship, The Olympic Championship and The European Championship).[1]

Denmark women's handball team is the only team (women's and men's) in handball history to win the Olympic Games three consecutive times, earning the gold medal in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

Despite tremendous results, the Danish handball team has seen a steady decline. As of 2024, the team has not won a gold medal since the Olympic Games 2004. However, at the World Championship 2013, the team won its first medal (bronze) at a World Championship since 1997 when the team won gold.[2] It was also the first medal the Danish team had won in 9 years.

Since 2021, the team has won medals at five championships in a row: Bronze at the 2021 World Championship, silver at the 2022 European Championship, bronze at the 2023 World Championship, bronze at 2024 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2024 European Championship.

Honours

Competition Total
Olympic Games 3 0 1 4
World Championship 1 2 4 7
European Championship 3 4 0 7
Total 7 6 5 18

Competitive record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Olympic Games

Games Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
1976 Montreal Did not qualify
1980 Moscow
1984 Los Angeles
1988 Seoul
1992 Barcelona
1996 Atlanta 1st 5 5 0 0 149 114 +35
2000 Sydney 1st 7 6 0 1 214 165 +49
2004 Athens 1st 7 5 2 0 224 182 +42
2008 Beijing Did not qualify
2012 London 9th 5 1 0 4 113 121 −8
2016 Rio de Janeiro Did not qualify
2020 Tokyo
2024 Paris 3rd 8 6 0 2 206 191 +15
2028 Los Angeles TBD
Total 5/14 32 23 2 7 906 773 +133

World Championship

Year Position Pld W D L GS GA +/-
1957 5th 5 3 1 1 37 26 +11
1962 2nd 5 4 0 1 42 28 +14
1965 5th 4 2 0 2 31 36 −5
1971 6th 5 2 1 2 50 54 −4
1973 7th 5 2 2 1 57 47 +10
1975 9th 5 1 0 4 62 69 −7
1978 Did not qualify
1982
1986
1990 10th 7 2 0 5 145 137 +8
1993 2nd 7 5 0 2 189 167 +22
1995 3rd 8 6 0 2 221 178 +43
1997 1st 9 7 1 1 281 202 +79
1999 6th 9 7 0 2 263 186 +77
2001 4th 9 7 0 2 258 210 +48
2003 13th 5 2 1 2 113 119 −6
2005 4th 10 5 1 4 295 277 +18
2007 Did not qualify
2009 5th 9 6 0 3 250 230 +20
2011 4th 9 7 0 2 240 175 +65
2013 3rd 9 6 0 3 255 214 +41
2015 6th 9 5 0 4 239 208 +31
2017 6th 7 4 0 3 186 163 +23
2019 9th 8 4 2 2 204 172 +32
2021 3rd 9 8 0 1 281 182 +99
2023 3rd 9 7 0 2 280 212 +68
2025 5th 7 6 0 1 240 181 +59
2027 TBD
2029
2031
Total 23/28 162 102 9 51 3979 3292 +687

European Championship

Year Position Pld W D L GS GA +/-
1994 1st 7 7 0 0 186 151 +35
1996 1st 7 7 0 0 197 146 +51
1998 2nd 7 5 0 2 189 163 +26
2000 10th 6 1 1 4 151 159 −8
2002 1st 8 8 0 0 200 171 +29
2004 2nd 8 6 0 2 202 189 +13
2006 11th 6 2 0 4 148 156 −8
2008 11th 6 2 1 3 145 160 −15
2010 4th 8 5 0 3 192 175 +17
2012 5th 7 5 0 2 217 206 +11
2014 8th 6 3 1 2 155 147 +8
2016 4th 8 4 1 3 189 185 +4
2018 8th 6 3 0 3 151 164 −13
2020 4th 8 5 0 3 209 186 +23
2022 2nd 8 6 0 2 223 195 +28
2024 2nd 9 7 0 2 266 234 +32
2026 Qualified
2028 Qualified as co-host
Total 18/18 115 76 4 35 3020 2787 +233

Performance in other tournaments

Team

Main article: List of Denmark women's international handball players

Current squad

The squad chosen for the 2025 World Women's Handball Championship.[4][5][6][7]

Head coach: Helle Thomsen

Caps and goals as of 10 December 2025.

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
4 RB Helene Kindberg (1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 1.79 m 26 41 Team Esbjerg
6 CB Helena Elver (1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 1.75 m 57 133 Győri ETO KC
8 LB Anne Mette Hansen (c) (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 1.82 m 202 598 CSM București
11 LB Line Haugsted (1994-11-11) 11 November 1994 1.80 m 128 155 Team Esbjerg
12 GK Anna Kristensen (c) (2000-10-25) 25 October 2000 1.83 m 58 0 Team Esbjerg
15 P Sofie Bardrum (1996-04-03) 3 April 1996 1.75 m 11 31 RK Krim
21 RW Andrea Aagot (2000-05-22) 22 May 2000 1.78 m 66 141 Odense Håndbold
23 CB Kristina Jørgensen (1998-01-17) 17 January 1998 1.87 m 149 446 Győri ETO KC
25 RW Trine Østergaard (c) (1991-10-17) 17 October 1991 1.66 m 217 448 CSM București
28 LB Laura Borg (2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 1.87 m 16 7 Viborg HK
33 LW Emma Friis (1999-10-31) 31 October 1999 1.62 m 93 265 CSM București
35 P Nanna Hinnerfeldt (1999-06-11) 11 June 1999 1.84 m 16 21 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
37 LB Sarah Paulsen (1997-08-27) 27 August 1997 1.73 m 12 18 SønderjyskE
40 GK Amalie Milling (1999-12-27) 27 December 1999 1.82 m 26 0 Ikast Håndbold
41 LW Elma Halilcevic (2000-06-18) 18 June 2000 1.68 m 53 130 Odense Håndbold
42 CB Michala Møller (2000-02-16) 16 February 2000 1.78 m 60 124 Team Esbjerg
45 LB Julie Scaglione (2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 1.75 m 26 79 Ikast Håndbold

Extended squad

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
3 P Kaja Kamp (1994-04-29) 29 April 1994 1.72 m 27 43 Borussia Dortmund Handball
26 LB Stine Eiberg (1998-11-25) 25 November 1998 1.83 m 18 5 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
29 RB Clara Bang (2004-04-30) 30 April 2004 1.76 m 5 6 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
31 CB Simone Petersen (1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 1.75 m 60 93 Ikast Håndbold

Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
1 GK Sandra Toft (1989-10-18) 18 October 1989 1.74 m 195 2 Győri ETO KC
2 LW Lærke Nolsøe (1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 1.69 m 63 135 Ikast Håndbold
5 P Sarah Iversen (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 1.77 m 110 184 Ikast Håndbold
10 P Kathrine Heindahl (1992-03-26) 26 March 1992 1.82 m 145 280 Team Esbjerg
13 RW Simone Böhme (1991-08-17) 17 August 1991 1.69 m 51 56 HC Dunărea Brăila
14 CB Mai Kragballe (1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 1.72 m 0 0 Silkeborg-Voel KFUM
16 GK Althea Reinhardt (1996-09-01) 1 September 1996 1.80 m 131 0 Odense Håndbold
17 LB Cecilie Bjerre (2001-07-08) 8 July 2001 1.87 m 0 0 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
18 RB Mette Tranborg (1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 1.92 m 129 281 Ferencvárosi TC
19 P Sara Hald (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 1.75 m 0 0 Viborg HK
22 CB Mathilde Neesgaard (1993-04-02) 2 April 1993 1.70 m 3 0 HH Elite
27 RB Louise Burgaard (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 1.76 m 183 379 Odense Håndbold
30 GK Louise Bak (2001-10-02) 2 October 2001 1.80 m 1 0 Viborg HK
32 LB Mie Højlund (c) (1997-10-24) 24 October 1997 1.80 m 126 263 Odense Håndbold
34 P Rikke Iversen (1993-05-18) 18 May 1993 1.78 m 101 155 Team Esbjerg
36 LW Anna Grundtvig (1995-09-27) 27 September 1995 1.69 m 3 10 Odense Håndbold
38 P Maria Lykkegaard (1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 1.76 m 4 4 SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea
38 P Karen Klokker (2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 1.85 m 3 1 Ikast Håndbold
39 RW Line Mai Hougaard (1999-10-06) 6 October 1999 1.62 m 10 20 Ikast Håndbold
43 LB Olivia Simonsen (2000-08-14) 14 August 2000 1.85 m 3 0 SønderjyskE
43 LW Emilie Ytting (1999-08-02) 2 August 1999 1.76 m 3 5 København Håndbold
44 RW Cecilie Brandt (2001-11-16) 16 November 2001 1.69 m 21 39 Ikast Håndbold
46 RB Anne With Johansen (2004-04-22) 22 April 2004 1.72 m 3 4 RK Krim
50 GK Anne Christine Bossen (2003-10-14) 14 October 2003 1.76 m 1 0 Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
P Ida-Marie Dahl (1998-03-19) 19 March 1998 1.74 m 10 6 SønderjyskE Damehåndbold
P Boline Laursen (2005-09-13) 13 September 2005 1.89 m 0 0 Silkeborg-Voel KFUM

Previous squads

Notable players

Several Danish players have seen their individual performance recognized at international tournaments, either as Most Valuable Player or as a member of the All-Star Team.

MVP
All-Star Team

Incomplete

Coaching staff

Role Name Start date
Head coach Helle Thomsen July 2025
Assistant coach Bojana Popović September 2025
Team manager Tina Bøttzau March 2024
Goalkeeping coach Michael Bruun Unknown
Physiotherapist Mikkel Hjuler February 2016
Video man Sten Kaj Larsen March 2020
Body SDS Erling Andersen Unknown

Coaches

List of coaches for Denmark women's national handball team[8]
Years Name
1946–1958 Knud Knudsen
1959–1963 Jørgen Absalonsen
1963–1965 Else Birkmose
1965–1968 Knud Knudsen
1969–1976 Hans Erik Nielsen
1976–1980 Allan Lund
1980–1981 Jørgen Andersson
1982–1985 Flemming Skovsen
1986–1990 Ole Eliasen
1991–1998 Ulrik Wilbek
1998–2006 Jan Pytlick
2006–2007 Brian Lyngholm
2007–2014 Jan Pytlick
2014–2015 Heine Eriksen
2015–2020 Klavs Bruun Jørgensen
2020–2025 Jesper Jensen
2025– Helle Thomsen

Individual records

  Still active national team players are highlighted

References

  1. ^ International Handball Federation
  2. ^ "Pytlicks VM-forbandelse brudt: Bronze til Danmark" (in Danish). B.T. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  3. ^ "Møbelringen Cup 2005" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Handball Federation. Archived from the original on 10 December 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Helle Thomsen udtager 16 spillere til VM". Dansk Håndbold. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Amalie Milling tager med til VM". Dansk Håndbold. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Mette Tranborg og Althea Reinhardt ude af VM". Dansk Håndbold. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Helene Kindberg og Sarah Paulsen udtaget til VM". Dansk Håndbold. 23 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  8. ^ "DAME-A LANDSTRÆNERE GENNEM ÅRENE". DHF. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Statistics (select Spiller køn=Kvinde)". haandbold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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