Germany came into the EHF EURO 2026 men's handball final as one of the tournament's form sides, having navigated a tough knockout bracket behind the shot-stopping of goalkeeper Andreas Wolff. By half-time, they were still in the match — down by just two goals on home soil in Cologne.
By the final buzzer, they had been beaten 34-27 by a Denmark side that ran the second half with a man over for two critical minutes and, more importantly, without one of Germany's key defensive lieutenants.
"After review, it was dangerous hitting in the face. Final decision, a red card for right," the broadcasters said after referees upgraded the original two-minute penalty given to David Spiller. "Red card, David, for Germany."
"Germany missing out on one of the defensive specialists. They're going to have to find some solutions, but first they're going to have to survive for two minutes with a man short," the commentators added.
Denmark scored twice during the two-minute exclusion and cruised into the break leading 19-17. From there, the momentum never returned. The Danes outscored Germany 15-10 in the second half, with Mathias Gidsel and Emil Jakobsen running a back-court partnership that Germany could not handle without Spiller's tight defensive positioning in front of the six-metre line.
"I saw Pytlick having a lot of space, and for me that was very weird," the studio analyst said at half-time. "And also for me, it's also been very strange that we haven't been talking about Gidsel."
The second half opened with a short spurt from Germany. "It's a spinner, and goes for Gitel again, and another save from Wolff," the commentators said. "Two in a row for Johannes Kola, and we're all square at 19." Denmark immediately replied with a counter-attack goal.
From there the match turned. "Two-goal lead re-established on the counter. Keeps up through a goal. Denied again. And denied again by Landin with a left leg flying through the air to deny him."
Germany coach Alfred Gislason had relied heavily on Spiller's ability to read the Danish back court all tournament. The German head coach has not publicly addressed the Spiller red card since the final, but the team is expected to lodge a post-tournament review of the decision with the EHF.
Germany will regroup ahead of the 2027 World Championship, which they will co-host with the Netherlands.