Summary: Romania and Croatia seal EHF EURO 2022 tickets
On Saturday, Serbia defeated Iceland at home 28:22 to claim a ticket in the final tournament On Sunday, Romania beat Austria to confirm their qualification as runners-up in group 2, while Croatia booked their place with a tense victory over the Czech Republic.
21:05
Here is a full overview of the results from Sunday's Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers and Women's EHF EURO Cup 2022 matches.
20:46
As the match action has drawn to a close for this evening, now is a good time to read Björn Pazen's reviews of Sunday's first five Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers. They are all online for you to read – just click on any of the links below.
20:38
RESULT: Spain 31:21 Portugal
Spain's outstanding attack efficiency of 84 per cent helps them record a 10-goal win over Portugal in what was Sunday's final Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifier.
With seven goals each, Ona Vegue I Pena and Bebiana Rodrigues Sabino finished as the top scorers for their respective sides.
20:28
Spain goalkeeper Mercedes Castellanos made a top save from a Portugal fast break earlier in the second half. And, yes, Spain are on course to win their final game in the Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers, but they can't move above Hungary in the standings.
20:15
While Spain enjoy a six-goal advantage over Portugal as their second half reaches the 48th minute, here are Croatia's celebrations after they defeated the Czech Republic to book their Women's EHF EURO 2022 ticket.
19:41
RESULT: Croatia 33:30 Czech Republic
Croatia book their ticket to the Women's EHF EURO 2022 in November with a three-goal victory over the Czech Republic.
In the last minute of play, Ivana Kapitanovic made two saves in quick succession to complete an outstanding performance. Officially, Kapitanovic made 20 saves at a 40 per cent rate. Valentina Blazevic scored 11 goals for Croatia, two more than Korešová's tally for the Czech Republic, and Blazevic's accuracy from the seven-metre line was extremely valuable for her team.
19:30
Croatia are closing in on reaching the Women's EHF EURO 2022. They have a three-goal lead and are in possession with less than two minutes remaining.
19:18
Iveta Korešová's impact from the back court for the Czech Republic has been significant in both of their matches this week.
19:16
Croatia have a three-goal cushion (24:21) after a fast break goal from Dejana Milosavljevic and a nine-metre goal from Camila Micijevic. We still have 12 minutes left, so there is plenty of time for a twist if the Czech Republic can produce their best handball.
19:05
Iveta Korešová returned to Czech Republic's team on Wednesday against France. The prolific centre back has scored six goals in the first 40 minutes of her side's match against Croatia.
18:49
Here are the celebration scenes from Romania after the final buzzer!
18:47
The Twitter account for Austrian Handball has tweeted about their team 'missing out on qualification for the Women's EHF EURO 2022, despite a strong qualifying performance'.
18:42
HALF-TIME UPDATE: Croatia 13:14 Czech Republic
Montenegro 15:18 Slovenia
Are the Czech Republic about to put Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the Women's EHF EURO 2022 on hold? If the half-time score in Porec is a guide, they might be.
Meanwhile, in the battle for second place in the EHF EURO Cup 2022, Slovenia lead by three goals after 30 minutes. After Montenegro's win on Thursday evening, Slovenia will need at least a five-goal win if they are to finish as runners-up in the competition.
18:37
There will almost certainly be celebration photos from Romania to follow. For now, though, here is a shot of the winning team from EHFTV.
18:35
RESULT: Romania 38:29 Austria
To the delight of the home crowd in Valcea, Romania seal their place at the Women's EHF EURO 2022 with a nine-goal triumph over Austria. Who was Romania's top scorer? You don't need to guess!
18:28
Perhaps with one mind on club duties, Adrian Vasile has taken the opportunity to rest Cristina Neagu towards the end of this match. With Romania's victory all but confirmed, as they lead 37:27 with two minutes remaining, it is a logical and wise decision.
18:19
Austria are trying to use all of the tactical options at their disposable to turn the match around, but this is now a familiar sight in the second half.
18:14
Is this spin goal from Sonia Seraficeanu the pick of Romania's goals in the second half? It might be...
18:09
We mentioned earlier that Cristina Neagu's can benefit from being Romania's main penalty taker. Well, Neagu has seven goals from eight shots from open play this evening, and she is setting her teammates up for good chances as well.
Meanwhile, Romania are now taking advantage of the empty net chances that Austria are providing.
18:02
Although it is relatively early in the second half, Romania's shot efficiency is 24% higher than Austria's.
17:54
RESULT: Poland 31:26 Switzerland
Poland earn a five-goal win over Switzerland to finish group 1 with a perfect record. Left wing Daria Zawistowska scored nine times for Poland.
Of course, we will see both teams at the Women's EHF EURO 2022 in November.
17:47
For Austria, one problem as they enter the second half is that Sonja Frey has received two suspensions. They will need all of her skills in attack if they are to mount a miraculous comeback.
17:43
HALF-TIME UPDATE: Romania 19:13 Austria
Cristina Neagu finishes the first half with eight goals as Romania extend their lead to six goals, 19:13. At the other end of the court, Daciana Hosu has made seven saves from 19 shots faced.
17:41
You could call it "Neagu watch" – but here is Cristina Neagu doing what she does best from nine metres.
17:35
RESULTS: Netherlands 40:11 Greece
Norway 32:27 North Macedonia
Netherlands and Norway were playing in different competitions, but the outcome is the same for two big nations in women's handball after Sunday's victories: 12 points from 12 available.
17:30
Cristina Neagu has already scored six times for Romania in the first half. As Romania's main penalty taker, Neagu's total will benefit when her side receives a high number of chances from the seven-metre line. So far this evening, Neagu has scored four times from open play and twice from seven metres.
17:25
With two fast break goals either side of a timeout, Austria levelled the score at 8:8. However, Romania have responded to take a five-goal lead, 13:8, after 19 minutes.
It is worth looking at the recent head-to-head record in competitive matches between the sides. Romania have won four of the five games, but the one match played in this campaign was a draw.
09.06.2017 Romania vs Austria WCh – Phase 2 Playoff 34:29 (17:16)
13.06.2017 Austria vs Romania WCh – Phase 2 Playoff 24:33 (13:11)
27.09.2017 Romania vs Austria ECh-Qual. 2 – Group 4 36:25 (18:11)
31.05.2018 Austria vs Romania ECh-Qual. 2 – Group 4 25:28 (11:13)
10.10.2021 Austria vs Romania ECh-Qual. 2 – 33:33 (11:16)
17:12
The home fans are continuing to roar in Valcea as the goals flow for Romania. Meanwhile, for Austria, key player Sonja Frey has picked up an early suspension.
17:05
What a start for Romania! Three unanswered goals in a minute and a half for the hosts prompts Herbert Müller to call a timeout for Austria.
17:03
Xavi Pascual, head coach of C.S. Dinamo Bucuresti and Romania's men's national team, is at the arena in Valcea for Romania vs Austria.
16:55
HALF-TIME UPDATE: Poland 19:11 Switzerland
Group 1 winners Poland look on course to retain their perfect record in the Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers as they hold an eight-goal cushion at the break over Switzerland.
16:52
Romania vs Austria is now less than 10 minutes away. Our focus for at least the next hour will be on what unfolds in Valcea. Can Austria cause a huge upset and beat Romania in Romania to advance to the Women's EHF EURO 2022?
16:48
HALF-TIME UPDATE: Netherlands 19:8 Greece
Norway 14:14 North Macedonia
We have reached half-time in our two matches that began at 16:00 CEST. Netherlands have a commanding advantage over Greece, but Norway are level at the break with North Macedonia in the EHF EURO Cup. You can follow all of the action from these games on EHFTV.
16:20
RESULT: Hungary 25:19 Slovakia
Despite a 10-minute period without scoring in the second half, Hungary complete a six-goal victory over Slovakia that confirms their place at the top of group 5.
The goalkeepers for both teams – Melinda Szikora and Adriana Medvedova – were undoubtedly the best players on display.
16:03
Reka Bordas converts a straightforward chance from six metres, and Hungary have an eight-goal lead, 22:14, with less than 10 minutes remaining.
15:50
Viktória Lukács has ended Hungary's 10-minute scoring drought with an assured finish from the right wing.
Until Lukács scored for the hosts, Csenge Kuczora's buzzer-beater was their most recent goal of the game.
15:45
After almost seven minutes of the second half, Hungary have not yet added to their first half total. Indeed, only Slovakia's Nikoleta Trunkova has scored in the second half.
15:36
Whilst we have mentioned that Slovakia's percentage of shots on target is lower than they would like, Melinda Szikora's save percentage in Hungary's goal was 44 per cent in the first half.
15:28
HALF-TIME UPDATE: Hungary 16:9 Slovakia
Csenge Kuczora fires home a brilliant buzzer-beater from nine metres to give Hungary a seven-goal advantage at half-time. Kuczora has led Hungary's attack in the first half, but the big difference between the two teams from a statistics viewpoint is their shooting accuracy. Only 16 of Slovakia's 24 shots have been on target. For Hungary, while their scoring efficiency has not been spectacular, they are always making Medvedova work.
15:18
Shortly after a timeout for Hungary, Adriana Medvedova makes her sixth official save of the game. Here is Slovakia's goalkeeper denying Katrin Klujber in the third minute.
15:12
It is perhaps unsurprising but players who play for EHF Champions League clubs account for nine of Hungary's 13 goals after 23 minutes. Csenge Kuczora, who is tied with Viktória Lukács on three goals, is the notable exception.
15:06
Despite Medvedova's best effort in the early stages for Slovakia, Hungary have now asserted their authority on this contest and lead 11:6. A period of almost five minutes without a goal for Slovakia certainly did not help their cause.
14:58
With just over 10 minutes played, goalkeeper Adriana Medvedova has been the star of the show for Slovakia. According to the statistics, Medvedova has made four saves from 10 shots faced — though we think that one save might not have been counted.
14:48
Here are the line-ups for both teams from EHFTV. How much impact will Hungary's stars from the EHF Champions League have? We will find out in the next 60 minutes (or thereabouts!).
14:38
Slovakia's warm-up was shown on EHFTV a few minutes ago, and the players from both teams are now being introduced to the crowd in the Audi Arena. For the away side, this match will be their final opportunity to record a victory in group 5.
14:20
In our first match this afternoon, Hungary are looking to secure first place in group 5. Having beaten Spain by three goals in their second meeting in March, Hungary hold the direct head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams who are currently tied on eight points. If Hungary beat Slovakia, they will finish top of group 5.
In the last five meetings between Hungary and Slovakia in competitive matches, Hungary have won four and drawn one. However, Hungary enjoyed big victories in both of the matches that they played at home.
08.10.2015 Hungary-Slovakia ECh-Qual. 2 – Group 5 32:19 (15:8)
01.06.2016 Slovakia-Hungary ECh-Qual. 2 – Group 5 23:32 (12:15)
10.06.2017 Hungary-Slovakia WCh – Phase 2 Play-off 28:19 (14:8)
14.06.2017 Slovakia-Hungary WCh – Phase 2 Play-off 24:24 (10:11)
10.10.2021 Slovakia-Hungary ECh-Qual. 2 – Group 5 28:30 (14:13)
14:10 – Sunday
Good afternoon and welcome to Sunday's coverage from round six of the Women's EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers and the EHF EURO Cup 2022.
As you can see from the schedule below, we have busy afternoon and evening of action ahead of us. Of course, as this is the final full round of matches, some games are more important than others. Whilst the action will begin with Hungary vs Slovakia at 14:45 CEST, Romania vs Austria at 17:00 CEST will decide which team qualifies as the runners-up from group 2. Croatia can also book their place at the final tournament in November if they beat the Czech Republic in a group 4 match that begins at 18:00 CEST.
(All times CEST)
Group 5: Hungary vs Slovakia (14:45)
Group 3: Netherlands vs Greece (16:00)
Group 1: Poland vs Switzerland (16:15)
Group 2: Romania vs Austria (17:00)
Group 4: Croatia vs Czech Republic (18:00)
Group 5: Spain vs Portugal (19:00)
EHF EURO Cup: Norway vs North Macedonia (16:00)
EHF EURO Cup: Montenegro vs Slovenia (18:00)
22:00
Here are all of today's articles as well as some photos of the best action from the day's games. Come back tomorrow for more handball as the teams determine who will advance to the final tournament. Have a good night!
21:25
Here is a nice visual of today's results. Congrats to Serbia once again for booking their ticket to EHF EURO 2022!
21:05 FULL-TIME: France 27:18 Ukraine
As the second half waned on, the result was never in doubt. Ukraine tried to get back in the game using the 7 vs 6 method, but that had mixed results. It made it easier to find gaps, but it also led to turnovers and easy goals, and the French could have punished them even more had they not missed the target on a few occasions. Ukraine now rely on a Czech victory or a draw against Croatia tomorrow. A victory for Croatia will knock both teams out of contention.
20:41
The empty goal has now become a detriment to Ukraine. Two goals in succession, including one from goalkeeper Laura Glauser, forces the Ukrainian coach to call a timeout. 19:12 in favour of France.
20:35
Ukraine struggles continue in the second half. The extra player on attack has helped them to some extent, but France have managed to extend their lead to six. It's now 15:9
20:15 HALF-TIME: France 9:6 Ukraine
It has surely been a defensive battle at the Docks Oceane in Le Havre. Ukraine had a decent start, but going 15 minutes without scoring is a no-go at any level of handball, let alone on the international stage. Can they mount a comeback and keep their fate in their hands?
20:05
Ukraine have gone over fourteen minutes without a goal. France are more fortunate as they have just scored two goals in quick succession and are a player up. 9:5 in favour of France with four minutes left in the first half.
19:55
France and Ukraine so far are locked in a close battle, 5:5 midway in the first half.
19:40 FULL-TIME Sweden 33:21 Turkey
Turkey had kept it close in the first half, but Sweden went on multiple runs to ensure themselves a double-digit victory. Melissa Petren and Nathalie Hagman both had five goals each for Sweden, while Yasemin Sahin scored six for Turkey.
19:33 FULL-TIME: Serbia 28:22 Iceland
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is an apt description for this game. What was an attractive, high-scoring affair became an offensive struggle as both teams had difficulty overcoming the defenses, turning the ball over frequently and taking bad shots. Nevertheless, Serbia deservedly seal their spot in the final tournament, marking their twelfth straight appearance in the EHF EURO event. On the other hand, Iceland will have to wait at least two more years before making their third appearance at a European championship.
19:18
The deficit was down to three when Iceland converted a seven-metre penalty, but a Serbian goal from the wing restores the four-goal lead. 25:21 Serbia with eight minutes left.
19:06
Iceland's offence is having the same issues it did at the end of the first half, but Serbia's has not been much better either. It's now or never for Iceland, but a turnover after a timeout doesn't do them any good. 23:18 Serbia with fourteen minutes to go.
18:56
Iceland's poor form continues. They finally score four minutes into the second half, but Serbia now have a five-goal lead with 25 minutes left.
In the other Group 6 match Sweden leads Turkey 13:9 at half-time. Swedish goalkeeper Evelina Eriksson has nine stops on 17 shots for an excellent 53 per cent save rate, but Turkish player Yasemin Sahin is top scorer with four goals from five attempts.
18:43 HALF-TIME: Serbia 19:15 Iceland
The first half has definitely been hectic. Serbia gained the early lead, but Iceland were able to regain composure and tie the game. Serbia managed to keep the lead for the most part, yet Iceland were never far behind. The suspensions certainly helped the Icelanders, but Serbia's run at the end of the first half does not bode well for the Nordic country. Nevertheless, the half-time break couldn't have come at a better time as Arnur Petursson will need to make adjustments to slow down the Serbian offence.
18:32
Having to deal with yet another suspension, Serbian coach Uroš Bregar calls a timeout. His team has been able to keep its lead, albeit by the narrowest of margins. After the timeout Serbia score a quick goal bolstered by a save from Jovana Risovic and one more goal. Iceland call a timeout now down 15:18.
18:25
Iceland were able to tie it at 9:9, but Serbia scored two goals in a row before Iceland countered with a goal of their own on a fast-break. It's now 12:11 Serbia with seven minutes to go.
Meanwhile, in the other Group 6 match, Sweden lead Turkey 5:2 midway in the first half.
18:17
Serbia had managed to get ahead 8:4, but two Iceland goals in a row cut the lead in half. It's now 9:7 in Serbia's favor with roughly fourteen minutes left in the first half.
18:05
It's the Serbians who are off to a great start, leading 3:1 after five minutes have elapsed, but they're now a player down for the next two minutes.
17:59
Warm-ups are done and we're just seconds away from the start of the crucial match between Serbia and Iceland. It's a full house in Zrenjamin. Can the home crowd will the Serbians to a victory today?
17:42 FULL-TIME: Denmark 26:15 Faroe Islands
The Faroese put up a valiant effort, but in the end Denmark managed to control the second half, in part thanks to Anna Opstrup Kristensen who blocked 10 of 16 sixteen shots for an impressive 62.5 per cent save rate. With the loss the Faroe Islands bid adieu from the competition without a single point, but they can nevertheless hold their heads high after giving the Danes a competitive first half.
17:31
Two Danish goals in quick succession plus back-to-back saves by Anna Opstrup Kristensen force Sonni Vahlgreen Larsen to call a timeout, yet the Faroe Islands are unable to retake momentum. 25:15 Denmark with four minutes left.
17:15
Jesper Jensen calls a timeout. His team has been a bit sloppy with turnovers and technical faults in the second half. 18:13 Denmark.
16:55 HALF-TIME: Denmark 12:9 Faroe Islands
Turnovers have been a huge problem for the Faroe Islands, but in spite of them they are still in the game. Most of the Faroese goals have come from the seven-metre line. Perhaps it is an indictment on the lack of success they have had in open play, but their 100 per cent conversion rate with penalty throws is not something to scoff at.
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16:38
Annika Fridhelm makes another timely save on a Danish fastbreak, but is unable to keep the next attempt by Anne Mette Hansen out of goal. 10:7 Denmark.
16:27
The turnovers are starting to mount for the Faroese, but their goalie Annika Fridhelm has made a couple of big stops to keep her team in the game. 6:4 Denmark.
16:17
Two seven-metres converted by Maria Weyhe give the Faroe Islands an early 2:0 lead, but Denmark are beginning to find their stride: 3:2 in favor of the Faroe Islands.
16:00
We're ten minutes away from the start of our match, Denmark vs. the Faroe Islands. The teams' records are the complete opposite of the other as the Danes have maintained a perfect record during qualifying, while the Faroese have suffered losses in every match. The first meeting had a 20-goal gap, but with the experience the young Faroese team has had, maybe it will not be such a one-sided affair.
15:45
Before today's crucial encounter with Iceland, Serbian goalkeeper Jovana Risovic had an interview with EHF journalist Daniela Vekić. Read her thoughts on today's game as well as the upcoming EHF Champions League Quarter-finals below.
