Hungary and Spain earn semi-final berths

With their fourth win in as many games, Hungary and Spain have already sealed their berths at the semi-finals.

Displaying the same attacking prowess as in the three matches of the preliminary round, Spain claimed a 37:30 win against Norway to lead group M2 with the maximum four points.

Joining Spain in the semi-finals are Hungary, whose narrow 24:23 win against Portugal in group M1 was also their fourth in a row.

• Spain have made it to the semi-finals of the M18 EHF EURO for the eighth time – in the 16th edition of the competition
• Hungary had not qualified for the semi-finals since 2014, when they reached the final, losing 33:30 against France
• in group M1, Germany and Portugal will face on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals: in case of a draw, Germany are through
• similar scenario for Sweden and Norway in group M2: the winners of their match Wednesday go through, while a draw would be enough for Sweden
• Norway are the only (potential) semi-finalists who have not won the M18 EHF EURO title in the past
• Faroe Islands’ Oli Mittun is still the top scorer of the competition, with 50 goals in four matches; he scored 13 times in his team’s 29:24 win over Serbia in the intermediate round

Strong pair of scorers help Spain and Hungary

Once again, Spain used their trademark attack to seal the win in their main round opener Tuesday. Their 37:30 win against Norway helped them qualify for the semi-finals, while their average number of goals scored per game is now 38.25. Brothers Petar and Djordje Cikusa Jilicic combined for 12 goals in the game, as Spain were unstoppable at times in attack.

Hungary also rely on an easily scoring pair: Tamas Kovacs and Kirstof Csorgo have been superb throughout the tournament, being integrant to their team’s wins. In the first four games, they combined for 64 goals, ranking them third and fourth in the top scorer standings. Against Portugal, Kovacs and Csorgo netted 17 of Hungary’s 24 goals.