SUMMARY: Spain to defend title at M20 EHF EURO 2024 against Portugal
Four teams remain in contention for a place in the final at the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024 in Slovenia, with Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Germany qualifying through the main round.
In Tri Lilije Lasko and Golovec cross matches are scheduled in order to classify the rest of the field.
22:12
Diogo Rêma won the Player of the Match award, but decided to hand it to his teammate Bernardo Simão. Rêma saved eight shots and most of them in the final six minutes. Simão finished with five.
22:00 | FULL-TIME
PORTUGAL - GERMANY 29:24
It's all over, Portugal join Spain in the final! Germany couldn't complete their amazing comeback in the second half. Diogo Rêma produced several crucial saves when it mattered most and his teammates in offence held their composure to seal the deal.
21:53
Another monster save from Diogo Rêma! Portugal are very close now and Correia scores from the wing for most certainly a place in the final! The score is 28:24 with only four minutes left.
21:51
Fabulous solution from Schley on the six-metre line and Portugal's lead has come to a single goal (25:24)! Now Machado scores and Diogo Rêma makes a save! A sigh of relief for Portugal.
21:49
Finally a goal from Portugal (Nuno Oliveira), but immediately Móré responds. Again it's a two-goal game. Final eight minutes.
21:46
Well, well. Portugal are running out of solutions in attack. Germany are down to only a two-goal deficit now, 24:22! Miguel Oliveira's two-minute suspension definitely did not help Portugal.
21:42
Not so long ago Portugal were up by eight goals and now the gap is only four! Delicious pass from Newel sets up Móré's goal.
Carlos Martingo must react and does so. Timeout Portugal.
The score is 24:20.
21:38
Portuguese fans are ready to celebrate tonight, but there's still a lot of handball to be played here.
The distance is now seven goals after Oliveira's magnificent strike from nine metres.
21:35
We all know Germans are not going to be put away that easily. Just ask the Swedes.
They have just managed to slow down Portugal's attacks in the last few minutes and recover two goals. Still, the Portuguese are well in front (23:17). We're almost midway through the second half.
21:26
New biggest lead for Portugal as Rocha and Brãndao put their team eight goals to the good (21:13).
21:21
Germany score from their first possession in the second half, thanks to Móré.
21:13
During the first semi-final match Poland also beat Slovenia 33:29 in the cross match 13-16, while Faroe Islands outplayed Italy 42:26.
21:06 | HALF-TIME
PORTUGAL - GERMANY 18:12
Portugal have played possibly the best half of the tournament, considering the importance of the match and what's at stake. After a very good start they were able to keep up the tempo and consistently build their lead.
Portuguese goalkeepers have saved only three shots, meaning their on-court defence was exquisite.
20:58
Portuguese defence are all over the Germans. There's no easy way through. Meanwhile, Monteiro strikes and it's plus five to Portugal (14:9). Final six minutes of the first half.
20:55
The Portuguese are stepping it up right now as they move away from Germany further more, 13:9. Brãndao has just "spoken" on the court, scoring his second goal of the evening.
20:50
Portugal still lead, 10:7, but here comes Germany's hero from last night, Connar Battermann.
20:49
Brãndao was just a bit too enthusiastic while celebrating on the bench, so the EHF delegate had to warn him. He was slapping the chair pretty hard, and that's not acceptable judging by the delegate's swift reaction.
20:44
Early timeout Germany. Their head coach Martin Heuberger is obviously not happy how his players started this game. Portugal are looking quite solid and confident, they're in front 7:4.
20:40
Portugal are off and running from the first minute, they take the first significant lead 5:2.
20:30
Second semi-final is under way! Remember, Germany took the semi-final spot instead of Sweden thanks to a draw last night against them, they ended their main round group with a better total goal difference, by a single goal believe it or not! Portugal won their group and are the only undefeated team of the tournament.
19:50
In around 40 minutes Portugal and Germany will take the Zlatorog Arena stage in the second semi-final. It will be a rematch of their encounter in the preliminary round when Portugal won 21:17. Goalkeepers were especially in form that day. Let's see what will happen tonight.
19:35
Spanish players immediately raced off to the stands to celebrate with their friends and family. The Danes are in disbelief. They've held the lead for over 50 minutes and again came up short against the Spaniards, just like last year. They will have to settle for the bronze medal match on Sunday.
19:34
Frederik Pedersen brought hope to Denmark in the final minute, but Victor Romero produced a spectacular pirouette and a goal from six metres to seal the final for Spain!
19:34 | FULL-TIME
DENMARK - SPAIN 34:36
19:31
We're approaching the final minute and Spain still hang on to a two-goal lead with a possesion in hand after Pérez saves Mathias Pedersen's shot from the wing. Before that, Frederik Pedersen and Cikusa Jelicic both scored.
Denmark - Spain 33:35.
19:28
Cikusa Jelicic scores, Denmark wastes a possession and Gonzalez finds the net from the wing, Spain lead 34:32! Two and a half minutes of hope for Denmark, but they desperately need a goal here.
19:25
A lifeline for Denmark as Lundorf saves Barrufet's penalty shot! Five minutes to go and again it's all square, 32:32! A goal from Pedersen.
19:22
There it is, Spain's first lead in the match, in the 53rd minute! Castillo's goal puts Spain in front, 32:31. Timeout Denmark.
19:19
The Danes are now sloppy in attack and Spain are hoping to grab their first lead of the match. Final nine minutes in Celje!
19:16
And now it's all level again, 30:30! Cikusa Jelicic finds the empty net from his own half. Spain's goalkeeper Pérez has woken up with a few vital saves just in time.
19:15
Barrufet is cold-blooded from the seven-metre line, that's a 3-0 run to Spain and Denmark's lead is reduced to 30:29!
19:12
Now it's Sørensen's time to stop the game to gather his players around as Spain have scored two successive goals. Denmark still lead 30:28.
In most games that amount of goals would've been enough for the whole game, but here it won't be because we still have almost 15 minutes of play!
19:07
Denmark retain a four-goal lead (28:24), forcing Spain's head coach to call timeout. Not a single save from Spain's goalkeepers in the second half. Now Panitti is between the posts.
19:03
Denmark went four goals up (26:22), but only for a few seconds because Romero immediately scored into an empty net, before Lundorf could run back and cover it.
19:01
And Denmark score! Dahlgaard is clinical from six metres and the Danes are once more three goals ahead.
19:00
A chance now for Spain as Vilhelmsen heads out for a two-minute break, but Lundorf comes up strong and saves Gonzalez's penalty shot! Denmark lead 24:22 with a possession in hand.
18:56
Goal in almost every attack so far and Spain are level once more, 20:20. But, now they're a man down after Grau's two-minute suspension.
It needs to be said that Spain have yet to hold a lead in the entire match.
Frederik Pedersen converts the penalty shot for another slim Denmark lead.
18:52
All is ready for the second half in Celje. Spain with the first attack.
18:41
Morten Dahlgaard leads the scoring chart for Denmark with four goals, while Victor Romero scored six and Ferran Castillo five for Spain.
18:38 | HALF-TIME
DENMARK - SPAIN 18:17
Terrific zeppelin goal from Spain concludes the first half! Castillo found Herrero who made it 18:17 to Denmark. It's not bad for Spain, who struggled during early on in that half and even received a two-minute suspension (Cikusa Jelicic) near the end.
Denmark will probably be slightly aggrieved not to have capitalised on Spain's slow start.
18:31
Spanish head coach brings out his green timeout card because Denmark have scored three goals in a row (Jensen two). With four minutes left in the first period the Danes have equalled their biggest lead (16:13).
18:26
Spain have now fully arrived at the game, powered by their goalkeeper Pérez who's kept Denmark at 12 goals for a few minutes now. In the meantime, Escobedo and Delgado combined for three goals to level the score, 12:12. Eight minutes to go in the first half.
That run has stimulated the Spanish fans as well, they're certainly louder then the Danes at the moment.
18:24 | FULL-TIME
GREECE - UKRAINE 21:23
Ukraine finally record their first win of the tournament. Protsiuk and Savytskyi were the driving forces with 10 and seven goals, respectively.
Ukrainians will now face Israel for 21th spot, while Greece and Montenegro will try to avoid last place.
18:20 | FULL-TIME
FRANCE - CROATIA 29:26
Strong finish from France and generally a very good second half which they won 17:11. Favril, Tighiouart and Baran scored 17 goals in total and their goalkeepers combined for 15 saves to reach the ninth place match against North Macedonia. Croatia will play Hungary for 11th.
18:19
Ferran Castillo is the only one right now who can power through the Danish defence. Cikusa Jelicic tries his shot from nine metres, but Lundorf saves it. Denmark lead 10:8.
18:16
Denmark are creating open opportunities for goals much easier than Spain and it shows on the scoreboard. For the first time they have a three goal difference (9:6).
18:12
Denmark are doing a good job defending Spain's back court players, but balls are finding their way to Victor Romero on the six-metre line. He's scored four goals already. Denmark still with the lead, 7:5 after Lykke's successful penalty shot.
18:07
Cheeky try by Pedersen to lob Alvaro Pérez from the wing, but the Spanish goalkeeper responds brilliantly and then makes another save soon after! It's still 4:2, but it could've been a lot worse for Spain.
18:05
Denmark with a better opening, they lead 4:2 after almost five minutes.
Final 10 minutes in Tri Lilije, France - Croatia 23:23.
18:00
Here we go, first semi-final is under way! We have a roughly equal number of Danish and Spanish fans in the stands as well.
First possession to Denmark.
17:55
As the national anthems of Denmark and Spain are being conducted in Zlatorog Arena, let's take a look what's going on in Tri Lilije and Golovec.
France have just tied the match against Croatia (21:21), while Ukraine lead Greece 17:14.
17:46
Once again France string together three goals, this time to reduce the gap to a single goal to Croatia (18:17).
Ukraine lead Greece 13:12.
17:43
Both Denmark and Spain have had similar paths to the semi-finals. They both started off with four wins, then one loss and finally yesterday secured their semi-final spot by beating Norway and Iceland, respectively.
Denmark's Hjalte Lykke spoke to EHF about revenge in their minds, referring to last year's IHF Men’s Youth World Championship final when Spain beat them 28:23.
Denmark are the most successful nation of this competition with four golds, but Spain are reigning champions, albeit with a different generation of course.
In any ways, it should be a fascinating encounter.
17:36
Second half is under way in the France - Croatia duel.
17:30
Half an hour left until the start of first semi-final match Denmark - Spain.
17:20 | HALF-TIME
FRANCE - CROATIA 12:15
France got into trouble with a couple of two-minute suspensions and Croatia opened up the biggest gap (14:10) with Borovec's goal. At the break it's plus three to Croatia.
GREECE - UKRAINE 9:9
Low-scoring game in Golovec. Batis and Protsiuk lead their teams, as expected, with four and five goals, respectively.
17:12
Interesting stat popped up. Croatia have scored two goals with a man down, France none. Those two goals are exactly what separates the teams, Croatia lead 12:10.
17:06
Three quick goals from France to erase Croatia's lead, it's 9:9 now.
Ukraine slightly in front of Greece, 7:6. Just a reminder that Ukraine are one of only two teams in this tournament without a win or even a draw so far.
17:00
Meanwhile in Arena Zlatorog, Spanish players are having fun warming up by aiming for the crossbar from the centre circle of the court.
16:51
Five times France have scored, and five times Croatia have immediately responded. It's 5:5 after 10 minutes.
It's not so flashy so far in Golovec, Greece - Ukraine 2:3.
16:40
France - Croatia and Greece - Ukraine have just begun.
16:24
Before our first semi-final match between Denmark and Spain starts at 18:00 CET, from 16:40 we have France - Croatia who will try to join North Macedonia in the ninth place match, and also Greece - Ukraine in cross match 21-24.
16:22
Here's what it meant for the Macedonians to reach the ninth place match.
16:11
Sweden's left back Pelle Segertoft was in fine form today, scoring eight goals in total. It wasn't easy, he says, being in the Swedish camp last night after a shocking conclusion to their game with Germany, which saw them miss out on a semi-final spot.
We didn't sleep much last night after that game against Germany, but we are very strong as a group and today we defeated a good Iceland team. I'm proud of my teammates. Austria are super good, it's going to be a tough match.
I'm really glad with this win. We missed out on the semi-final spot, but we managed to bounce back. We stepped it up in comparison to our previous game and it showed today.
13:32 | FULL-TIME
ROMANIA - SERBIA 29:31
SWITZERLAND - CZECHIA 39:33
Serbia stay in contention for 13th place thanks to a crucial 5:0 run midway through the second half, whereas Switzerland will fight for 17th place after a phenomenal second half which saw them score 23 goals.
13:24 | FULL-TIME
AUSTRIA - NORWAY 30:22
Like I said in the opening minutes, it was pretty obvious that the Austrians wanted this win more. In the first half Norway somehow stayed in touch with them, but in the next 30 minutes they were completely physically and emotionally empty. At one point Austria had an 11 goal lead (30:19).
Austria will play the winner of Sweden - Iceland tomorrow for fifth place, while Norway will play the loser of that match for seventh.
13:15
Excellent work today from Austria's goalkeeper Leon Bergmann, who's saved 12 shots (44.4 per cent success rate). His participation in this match is over, however, as his head coach decided to give a rare chance to Marko Bogojevic between the posts.
13:13
Nikola Zoric's saves are finally paying off to Serbia who take a 24:22 lead over Romania after four straight goals.
Switzerland are closing in on victory against Czechia (27:23).
13:10
Norway are running out of gas, focus and probably motivation. Austria's lead is increasing by the minute, it's now 24:15 as we reach the final 15 minutes.
13:02
Bright start from Czechia in the second half as they put their nose in front against Switzerland (21:18). It's still a tight battle between Romania and Serbia (19:18).
Austria are showing no signs of slowing down, Norway is now down by eight goals (20:12) although Austria have two players with two-minute suspensions at the moment.
12:57
And now it's seven! Huber scores from fast break and forces Norway's head coach to call timeout once again (18:11).
12:56
Huge moment in Celje as Möstl scores to put Austria six goals in front of Norway, 17:11. That's their biggest advantage today.
12:50
Second half is under way.
12:35 | HALF-TIME
AUSTRIA - NORWAY 14:10
Austrians have more energy and freshness, which combined with their excellent defence gives them a four-goal lead at the break. Norwegians seem kind of deflated and it could have been worse for them as Austrians shortly held a five-goal lead.
ROMANIA - SERBIA 15:15
For only a moment Serbia were up by two goals, but the first half ended the way it started - with both teams tied.
SWITZERLAND - CZECHIA 16:15
Switzerland hang on to a slim advantage, having almost completely let their five-goal lead (14:9) slip away.
12:26
Romania and Serbia are again tied (11:11), with no team having a lead bigger than a goal.
Valentin Wolfisberg's four goals have helped Switzerland move away from Czechia a little bit (13:9).
12:24
First timeout of the match and no wonder it's the Norwegian bench with the call. For the first time Austrians have a four-goal lead (11:7). Austria have eight different scorers and their goalkeeper Leon Bergmann has saved 50 per cent of shots so far (7/14)!
12:18
Norway are trying to get something going here, but the Austrians look solid in defence and good enough upfront. They lead 9:6.
12:11
Nothing to separate Serbia and Romania so far (5:5), Switzerland with a minimal lead over Czechia (6:5).
12:08
In these types of matches, when teams are probably disappointed not to have qualified for the semi-finals, a question of motivation is always brought up.
Judging by their expressions and body language, it seems as though the Austrians are slightly more motivated than the Norwegians at the moment. They've scored the first three goals of the match and now lead 5:2.
Also, it's worth noting that the Austrians had some four or five hours of rest more than Norway after their respective matches on Thursday.
12:00
Austria finished third in their main round group, having lost to Spain and Portugal and beaten Iceland. Norway dropped to cross matches after yesterday's loss to Denmark, which left them in last place of their group. First possession to the Austrians.
11:50
At 12:00 we also have two more scheduled matches. Romania - Serbia in Tri Lilije (cross match 13-16) and Switzerland - Czechia in Golovec (17-20).
11:44
First semi-final between Portugal and Germany starts at 18:00 CET in Arena Zlatorog in Celje, but before that we will have two cross matches 5-8. Starting at 12:00, Austria play Norway, and then from 14:20 we have Sweden against Iceland.
11:40
Also, here's our preview of today's semi-final matches Portugal - Germany, which is a rematch of their clash in the preliminary round, and Denmark - Spain, where the Danes are looking for revenge after the Spaniards beat them last year in the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship final.
