Hungary and Nordic trio play for the medals in Podgorica

Denmark advanced as the winners of group G ahead of Hungary, while Sweden finished first in group H with runners-up Iceland proceeding as well but Spain bowing out after all three teams finished on four points.

Before the final matches of the main round on Thursday, Spain topped group H with the maximum of four points. The next generation of the team that won the title in 2022 seemed on course for the semi-finals, leading Sweden 14:13 at half-time in the last group match.

The Scandinavians had lost their main round opener 34:29 against Iceland and needed to win by six goals – and they did just that. In the second half, they took the lead for the first time at 19:18 and, led by Nikola Roganovic’s eight goals, went on to lead 32:26 with 80 seconds left. In the end, they won 33:27 – a result that kept Spain out of the semis.

The day before, Spain had been trailing until the 52nd minute but ultimately came away with a 32:27 win thanks to a late 9:3 run.

In group G, Hungary had clinched their semi-final berth before the last match following wins over Germany (25:20) and Serbia (36:33), while Denmark needed only one point from their direct duel after a 29:29 draw with Serbia and a close 26:24 against Germany.

Hungary were initially dominant in the match for the top position in the group, leading 12:7 during the first half and 13:10 at half-time. But after the break, Denmark took the initiative and soon went ahead – and remained in the lead until the final buzzer: 26:23.

The semi-final line-up is almost identical to the one from the 2018 event in Croatia, when Sweden won gold beating Iceland in the final, and Denmark took bronze. The only difference: the fourth side in the semis was Croatia, not Hungary.

Denmark are the only side in the medal race that has not won the M18 EHF EURO before; Hungary (1999), Iceland (2003), and Sweden (1997, 2018) have already won gold in the past.

Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2024 semi-finals

Friday, 16 August:

• 17:00 CEST: Denmark vs Iceland
• 19:30 CEST: Sweden vs Hungary

All matches are live on EHFTV.

The cross matches for the positions 5 to 8 start Friday with the duel of three-time M18 EHF EURO champions Germany against Norway, and the match of dethroned 2022 champions Spain against Serbia. France, Portugal, Slovenia, and Switzerland play for the positions 9 to 12.

The competition’s top scorer so far is Israel’s Asaf Sharon with 63 goals, followed by Serbia’s Djordje Drasko on 52 and France’s Yoni Peyrabout on 50. The leading scorer among the four semi-finalists is Ágúst Gudmundsson with 42 goals.

all photos © 2024 Stefan Ivanovic