Denmark, the reigning European champions, struggled from the start to cope with France's aggressive defence.They kept in touch at 7-7 by the 16th minute, but that was the last time they were on level terms.The French ended the first half with a 16-11 lead before two scores by Luc Abalo after the interval led the Beijing gold medallists to an 18-11 advantage.Not even the loss in the final minutes of Abalo, who was penalised for hitting Denmark's goalman Niklas Landen Jacobsen in the head from a penalty throw, was enough to stop the French from taking their place in the final.They will now meet either hosts Croatia or Poland for the title.