Emil Nielsen ready to face fellow world champions

A little over a week ago, Danish goalkeeper Emil Nielsen was, quite literally, sitting on the top of the handball world.

With the Denmark national team, the 23-year-old won the World Championship in Egypt, the first major title of his fledgling career.

“That was amazing, one of the best moments in my career. But let us say I had a little taste of what it is like, and I am now hungry for more. Being there with the team definitely gave me the motivation to come back,” explains Nielsen, who was in Cairo as the third-choice goalkeeper.

Since returning from the World Championship, the Danish goalkeeper has not had the time to think about what he has achieved. Just four days after landing, he was back on court in the EHF Champions League.

“To tell you the truth, I must have spent ten hours in Denmark before flying back to Nantes. But it is ok, I am really happy to be back here and to resume the season,” he reveals.

It is pretty unusual for such a young player to be world champion, especially in the goalkeeper position, one that needs maturity and time to get to the best level.

But Emil Nielsen has always been an eager man. HIs transfer to Nantes, back in the summer of 2019, was one of the keys to his development.

“Me coming to Nantes has been a huge boost so far and the club has given me a lot. We play the Champions League, I am surrounded by amazing players and it has helped me develop a lot,” explains Nielsen.

Need to play together

But if personally, Emil Nielsen has nothing but positive things to say about playing in Europe’s top-flight with his club, the results so far have been mixed.

‘Le H’ took a historic victory in Kiel back in October but the French club has been struggling lately, suffering three straight defeats against Motor and Celje.

“This season has been a mix of ups and downs. Important players suffered injuries, we had some COVID-related problems too and we have not had the results we could have been expecting,” says Nielsen.

But the Danish goalkeeper is confident Nantes have the ability to get back on track and resume winning again in the Champions League. Especially since the domestic games have delivered results lately. “All we need is to play together, as a team. That is the key to everything.”

And there is little better motivation than playing against your compatriots in Match of the Week.

On Wednesday, in the game against Aalborg, the goalkeeper will play against four of his teammates in Egypt.

“I know a lot of them, I’ve played against Aalborg a lot of times. And playing against players you have shared so many emotions with is, of course, really special. It gives me a lot of motivation to win against them, of course,” concludes Nielsen.