Danes down Dutch at European Championships to continue remarkable upswing

[p]Rasmus Mikelsons and Ulrik Dahl delivered several thunderous smashes at crucial moments as the third set [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/volleyball/denmark-UPXrPaV6/netherlands-xQmC3s6a/?mid=xfHNfrbJ"]reached a tense climax[/a].[/p][p]The Danes opened their campaign on Thursday with a defeat to the Finnish hosts. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/xQmC3s6a/"]The Netherlands[/a], whom they beat on Saturday, are ranked 21st, while the Danes sit 30th.[/p][p]At the European Championship, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/denmark/UPXrPaV6/"]Denmark[/a] has been drawn into a tough group where they face only higher-ranked opponents.[/p][p]The three remaining teams in the group are [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/estonia/jk1i2HHl/"]Estonia[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/ClZpbtyP/"]Belgium[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/serbia/QwWn3Qis/"]Serbia[/a]. Advancing from the group requires a top-four finish.[/p][embed guid="237e188b-5007-442a-b964-3eb0c6950f68" url="https://x.com/CEVolleyball/status/2098768850594541667?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Sports Director Sebastian Mikelsons said before the tournament that advancing from the group would mark the greatest achievement in the history of the Danish national volleyball team.[/p][p]Last summer, Denmark won a European Championship qualifying pool for the first time—finishing ahead of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/niNMpDKp/"]Turkey[/a], a team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Championship.[/p][p]In this summer's European League, the Danes won all six league-phase matches. One of those victories was against the Czech Republic, who finished fourth at the World Championship.[/p][p]Saturday's win is another feather in their cap and boosts their world ranking, putting Denmark in a stronger position ahead of the World Championship qualifiers.[/p]