20:00
Portugal and Spain are both warming up in Zlatorog Arena, counting down the minutes until the first whistle.
19:50
It was a great match altogether and let's hope for much of the same in the big final.
19:31 | FULL-TIME
Eichhorst miraculously saved Germany's zeppelin attempt with two minutes remaining and that was it for the German hopes. He then saved another shot to seal the deal for Denmark, who take bronze in Slovenia. Deservedly so. They played a terrific final 15 minutes.
19:26
I can understand Germans who are playing fast, but the Danes are also rushing even though time is on their side. Three minutes to go and they have a three-goal lead 25:22.
19:23
Germany tried to come back playing seven on six, but instead of cutting the gap they've fallen even more behind. Two easy goals for Denmark into an empty net and that's 23:19.
19:22
After several minutes without a goal on either side Lauridsen finds the net to put Denmark 21:19 ahead.
19:18
Buchele is in even better form! He reaches his save number 13 and then again Eichhorst gets his eighth of the match! Incredible scenes.
Denmark still lead 20:19, eight minutes to go.
19:17
Again Malte Eichhorst with a wonder save on fast break!
19:12
Now Denmark are fighting back, they retake the lead - 20:19 thanks to their own Schmidt, Tobias Gregers.
19:06
Not only that, but now Germany lead 18:17 after Newel's goal!
Incredible turnaround in about 13 minutes of play, because remember Denmark was up 15:10 in the last minute of the first half. Timeout by Sørensen.
19:03
Germany have done it! It's all level now, 17:17. A goal from Battermann. Germany's defence is rock solid at the moment, and Buchele's feeling more and more confident on goal.
19:00
Eichhorst produces save of the day, stopping Grupe's shot from fast break, but Germany eventually do narrow the gap to a single goal, 17:16, courtesy of Siemer's successful penalty shot.
18:56
The Germans have had a lot of experience trailing in matches during this tournament. They managed to recover against Sweden, which sent them to the semi-finals, and then almost turned it around versus Portugal from eight goals down. They need to push hard and over their limits today too, as Denmark lead 17:13.
18:53
Second half has started.
18:40
That was Schmidt's fifth goal of the game and he's currently the top scorer. Denmark's Frederik Pedersen follows with four.
Julian Buchele is doing all he can with six saves, but his teammates aren't always helping him out. Eichhorst and Lundorf have saved only one shot each for Denmark.
18:36 | HALF-TIME
In the final second of the first half Jan Schmidt scores to end Germany's almost 10-minute run without a goal. That came after Lykke and Jensen took Denmark to a biggest five-goal lead.
The Germans made as many as 10 technical faults in the first half.
18:30
Monster save from Buchele as Tobias Tombak raced through the court on fast break, but Germans can't capitalise on their goalkeeper's heroics. They trail by three goals (13:10) and now Denmark's head coach Simon Sørensen wants a minute break.
18:26
Good reaction from Germany after the timeout as they scored two successive goals. However, Grupe received a two-minute suspension. Frederik Pedersen took advantage and now it's 11:9.
18:20
Germany's head coach Martin Heuberger has been holding the green timeout card in his hand for a couple of plays now. He was waiting for Denmark to score but that didn't happen. Despite that, he still called a timeout because his team are beginning to seriously struggle in offence. Dávid Móré even failed to convert a penalty. Denmark lead 10:7 after almost 19 minutes.
18:15
Great breakthrough from Mads Bjergfelt and for the first time there is a three-goal difference, 9:6 to Denmark.
18:11
Anselm is nicely feeding Schmidt on the six-metre line. Germany's line player has scored three goals already to put his team level 5:5, but Denmark respond with two quick goals and just like that it's 7:5 after almost 12 minutes of play.
18:07
Vilhelmsen has missed the empty net from the halfway point of the court and immediately Germany punish the Danes with Schmidt's goal. In the meantime Dahlgaard has also picked up a two-minute suspension. Denmark lead 4:3.
18:05
Early lead for Denmark 3:2 and now a two-minute suspension for Anton Preußner.
18:03
Problem for Germany as their star goalkeeper Frederik Höler is absent. He was feeling ill in the previous match against Portugal and today he's not on the official team sheet.
Julian Buchele is Germany's number one goalkeeper today, with Maximilian Grundmann on the bench.
18:00
Penultimate match of the tournament is under way! First attack for Denmark.
17:55
Just a reminder that you can watch the match live on EHFTV (subject to geo-restrictions) and make sure to follow the official EHF EURO socials on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
17:45
Smiles. That's what we saw on a lot of players' faces during warm-up.
And that's nice to see because both teams wanted to play the big final, but ended up in the bronze medal match. Yesterday's day off obviously helped them rest, recover and most importantly restore confidence and motivation.
Both teams have gone back to the locker rooms before they return shortly for the introductions and national anthems.
17:28
One of the stories of the tournament so far was definitely Germany's progress to the semi-finals. After that loss to Denmark, they managed to stay alive with a win over Norway (25:21) before securing the semi-finals with a draw against Sweden.
It was a shocking draw after Sweden dropped a three-goal lead late in the match. Connar Battermann's crazy goal in the last seconds brought immense joy to the Germans.
In the semi-finals, Germans were on the back foot against Portugal as well. They came from eight goals down to only a goal, but still lost 29:24.
17:24
Germany and Denmark have already played at this tournament in the opening match of the main round group H. Denmark won that one 33:28.
Despite losing the next match to Sweden, Denmark bounced back at took top spot in the group by beating Norway.
In the semi-finals, however, the Danes lost to Spain even though they were in front for over 50 minutes of that match.
17:18
Germany and Denmark are one of the most decorated teams at the M20 EHF EURO. Denmark are the only nation with four gold medals, along with one silver and one bronze.
Germany were crowned champions three times. Twice they took silver and once bronze.
16:55
And here come the Germans, playing some good old football in the six-metre area.
16:40
First Danish players have arrived on the court and began their warm-up for the bronze medal match. We await the Germans.
The match starts at 18:00 CET.
16:10
So, there we have it. We have classified 20 out of the 24 teams in the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024.
Only top four spots need to be arranged later in the evening. From 18:00 CET we have Denmark and Germany in the bronze medal match and then the big final between Portugal and Spain at 20:30.
Today, Sweden took fifth place, Austria sixth, Iceland seventh and Norway eighth.
Further in the rankings, we have North Macedonia (9.), France (10.), Croatia (11.), Hungary (12.), Serbia (13.), Poland (14.), Slovenia (15.), Romania (16.), Switzerland (17.), Faroe Islands (18.), Czechia (19.), Italy (20.), Israel (21.), Ukraine (22.), Greece (23.) and Montenegro (24.).
16:00 | FULL-TIME
What a finish in Golovec and North Macedonia take ninth place by beating France.
Subashevski scored to put Macedonians a goal in front with only 17 seconds left on the clock. In the final French attack Mitev received a straight red card and France got a penalty shot in the final second. Favril took the shot, but Ivan Galevski produced only his fourth save of the match to ensure North Macedonia's victory.
15:50
Meanwhile, in Golovec France have tied the match with North Macedonia (27:27). Three and a half minutes until the end.
15:48
It's actually been a pretty good tournament for Sweden, who will have every right to feel aggrieved not to have played in the semi-finals.
They suffered only one loss - to Norway in the main round - but missed out on the semi-finals thanks to a shocking draw against Germany.
Austria can be proud of their achievement. In tough competition they managed to end up in sixth place.
15:46 | FULL-TIME
So, it's Sweden who take position number five in this tournament. They were leading the entire match, since the first minute, and even though Austrians left everything out there on the court, eventually they ran out of energy in the final 10 minutes. The final score is perhaps too cruel for Austria, but Sweden won't mind.
Sundewall remained on his seven goals from the first half, in the meantime Månsson overtook with eight, while Skoog ended the game with 16 saves.
15:35
Wow! Brilliant behind-the-back goal from Pelle Segertoft as he was already going to the ground, held by the opponent on the six-metre line. Sweden are close to fifth place, but Austria refuse to back down, 28:25 with seven minutes remaining.
15:29
Sweden have found a higher gear and pulled away to 26:20. Timeout by Austria's head coach who's trying to stop this Swedish run.
15:23
Nice little zeppelin from Sweden - Segertoft to Andersson and the score is 22:19 to Sweden. Austria are closing down, but the Swedes are hanging on to their precious lead.
So are the Macedonians, they lead France 19:15 with Uzunchev and Subashevski scoring four goals each.
15:15
Much like in the first half, whenever Austria felt like they got something going Arvid Skoog would close the door with some superb saves. Segertoft puts Sweden four goals to the good (19:15) and Skoog has collected 11 stops (44 per cent success rate).
15:09
Austria take the first possession in the second half.
15:00 | HALF-TIME
Good, quality first half from Macedonia, especially considering their goalkeeper made only two saves in 30 minutes.
14:54 | HALF-TIME
Early 4:0 lead set the tone for the entire first half. Sweden are in control in Zlatorog Arena.
14:50
Great pass from Sweden's goalkeeper Skoog over the whole court to Montebovi who jumped, caught the ball mid-air, and while he was still in flight managed to put the ball behind Bogojevic's back.
Oh, yes. Bogojevic replaced Bergmann on Austria's goal. Two minutes to go and Sweden are now five goals in front.
14:47
Austria are fighting back as hard as they can and they profit from some wasted possessions from Sweden. That's why Sweden's head coach calls for timeout although his team are still in front, 14:10.
Arvid Skoog is keeping the Austrians at bay with his seven saves thus far.
14:39
Offensively it's not too bad for the Austrians, but they can't defend anything at the moment. Sweden maintain their comfortable lead, 12:7. Love Sundewall has already scored seven goals out of seven attempts!
North Macedonia lead France 6:5.
14:32
And now it's already 8:3 to Sweden. This is not the first time in this tournament that Austria fell behind significantly in the opening minutes.
14:25
Lightning fast stuff from Sweden who race to a 4:0 lead.
Stojanovski scores the first two goals in Golovec, North Macedonia lead 2:0.
14:20
First possession and a goal for Sweden to open this game.
At the same time France and North Macedonia started their clash for ninth place in Golovec.
14:15
In a few minutes Austria and Sweden will decide between themselves who will take fifth place.
Previously, Austria took third place in the main round group, behind Portugal and Spain, and then beat Norway with an excellent performance in the first 5-8 cross match (30:22).
Sweden also occupied third place in their respective group before outplaying Iceland two days ago.
13:43
Norway's Patrick Anderson ended the game with 11 goals, which means Óli Mittún of the Faroe Islands will be crowned tournament's top scorer with 76 goals. Anderson fell just short with 70.
Spanish and Portuguese could overtake Mittún in theory, but the closest one to him is Spain's Victor Romero on 46 goals. There's also Sweden's Axel Månsson on 44. Sweden play Austria for fifth place next up from 14:20.
13:39 | FULL-TIME
Iceland stop their run of three straight losses and finish the tournament with a sweet victory over Norway. Moreover, it's only their third win of the competition, having previously beaten only Ukraine and Poland in the opening two days.
Iceland therefore take seventh place, while Norway finish eighth and with a fourth straight defeat. Goalkeeper Árnason was phenomenal in the second half, concluding the match with eight saves in total. Offensively, Stefánsson, Erlingsson and Haraldsson combined for 25 goals.
13:32 | FULL-TIME
Croatia celebrate their fourth win of the competition in comprehensive fashion, thus earning 11th place.
Hungary simply could not handle them today, even though they beat the Croats six days ago in the main round. Niko Frankovic scored seven goals and Tin Herceg saved 11 shots for the winners.
13:27
Final seven minutes in Arena Zlatorog and Iceland are still in front, but only by a goal, 27:26. Solheim's just wasted a chance to level the match, that was a terrific save from Árnason!
13:23
Here's a fun fact from this game: Isak Steinsson, Iceland's goalkeeper, holds Norwegian citizenship as well. He's lived in Norway most of his life, but eventually chose to play for Iceland.
Steinsson has recently signed for Drammen where he will play alongside Norway's goalkeeper at this competition Oscar Syvertsen.
13:17
Goal number 11 for Patrick Anderson. He needs six more to tie Óli Mittún. He could catch him, in theory. In practice? I'm not so sure. He's got time though, but it would take a miracle if we're honest.
13:15
Valsson is seriously finding his range from outside and his another goal propels Iceland three goals ahead, once again. Timeout Norway, 27:24 to Iceland. Almost 13 minutes left in this match.
In Golovec Croatia are closing in on 11th place, they've left Hungary nine goals behind (24:15).
13:11
Iceland have fully recovered after they had dropped behind. Now they even retake the lead thanks to Valsson's goal (24:23).
13:08
Great strike from Franković to hand Croatia their new biggest advantage, 20:13.
13:04
Second half has of course resumed in Golovec as well. Croatia lead Hungary by four (17:13).
13:00
Incredible energy from Norway's Jonas Johansson-Kjellerød, who's celebrating every good defensive play so loudly and emotionally. His teammates follow the pattern and it's paying off.
12:58
Norway have come back from the locker rooms like a different team. From two goals down they're down two goals up after another strike from Anderson, 21:19. Norway's right back grabs his ninth goal.
12:53
We're back in Zlatorog Arena and immediately in the first attack Norway cut Iceland's lead to a single goal (18:17). Olseth the scorer.
12:38 | HALF-TIME
A couple of suspensions from Norway turned the score in Iceland's favour again. Birkir Steinsson put Iceland three goals up, but in the last seconds Anderson converted the penalty shot for his eighth goal of the match.
Reynir Stéfansson leading the Icelanders with seven goals.
Hungary started off well (2:0), but soon after suffered from many two-minute suspensions, four in total in that first half. Croatia's goalkeeper Herceg was in good form early on and helped his team establish dominance. Lencovic's goal just before the break marked Croatia's biggest lead.
12:26
Here's Anderson's seventh goa,l from the penalty shot. A 3-0 run from Norway to level the score (14:14).
12:25
Already four two-minute suspensions for Hungary, would you believe it. Croatia with just the one, and they're still in front 10:7.
12:17
Tin Herceg in goal is helping Croatia develop a 7:4 lead, while Iceland have now took a 12:10 lead, their biggest so far. Their goalkeeper Steinsson also impressing there by saving Anderson's clear-cut chance on the fast break.
12:13
Five goals already from Patrick Anderson, however he still needs 12 to tie Óli Mittún's tally. Surely it's too big of a task, is it?
12:10
Norway and Iceland are playing freely, fluently, with a lot of goals. The score is tied 9:9 and we've just entered 11th minute.
Croatia and Hungary, well, that's a different kind of game. Both teams have already had two-minute suspensions and the score is 4:3 to the Croats.
12:06
First goal from Norway's Patrick Anderson, second scorer in the tournament's charts, behind Óli Mittún. That was Anderson's 60th goal of the tournament, he's still 16 behind Mittún.
Meanwhile, we've seen 10 goals already in this game, the score is 5:5.
12:00
Here we go, first possession to Iceland. Both sets of fans are also present in the stands, as they have been throughout the week.
11:53
Norway had a super start of the main round, beating Sweden 37:34, but then lost to Germany and Denmark and therefore finished fourth in the standings. In the first 5-8 cross match they fell to Austria as well.
On the other hand, Iceland also finished bottom in their main round group, after drawing with Portugal and losing to Austria and Spain. In their previous appearance they lost to Sweden.
So, both Norway and Iceland have suffered three straight defeats and surely they want to leave Celje with a victory.
11:45
But before all of that, we still need to classify the teams from fifth to 12th place.
From 12:00 CET in Arena Zlatorog Norway play Iceland in a match for seventh place, while Croatia and Hungary play for 11th in Golovec.
At 14:20 Austria and Sweden will face off in a match for fifth place, and France vs North Macedonia in a match for ninth.
11:20
Good day everyone and welcome to the final day of the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024 in Slovenia. Today we will find out the new, or perhaps the old champion in the final clash between Portugal and Spain starting at 20:30 CET in Arena Zlatorog.
Earlier, from 18:00 CET Denmark and Germany play for the bronze medal.
