Summary: France unbeaten; Iceland, Croatia end with wins
The Men's EHF EURO 2024 main round ends on Wednesday in Cologne, with three teams still in the running for the semi-finals - every game will count.
17:09 | FULL-TIME
Austria 24:26 Iceland
Austria will not be playing the semi-finals here. But it was a good performance by both teams - a bit scrappy, as often happens at the end of a tournament, but full of grit.
Constantin Möstl receives his fourth Grundfos Player of the Match award for making 20 saves (44 per cent). Viktor Hallgrímsson ends with 13 (46 per cent). Sigvaldi Gudjonsson is top scorer with eight goals from eight shots, while Tobias Wagner scored seven from 10.
17:02
Austria lose Lukas Hutecek, their hardest-working player, for the final 80 seconds as he's suspended. Viggó Kristjánsson scores and Iceland have a 26:24 lead going into the final minute - is it enough?
16:59
It's very difficult to stop Tobias Wagner when he wants to shoot, and he's scored seven goals today.
16:56
Heading into the 25th minute Boris Zivkovic scores for Austria, and in the transition Elliði Viðarsson receives his third two-minute suspension and is off for the rest of the game.
16:51
Aron Pálmarsson regains the lead for Iceland, but they can't extend it further as Constantin Möstl makes his 18th (yes, eighteenth!) save of the game. After a drought for Iceland the goals are now coming faster and easier, perhaps as the Austrian defenders become more fatigued. It's 21:20 to Iceland right now.
16:47
Viktor Hallgrímsson has been replaced by Björgvin Pall Gustavsson after making only a couple of saves in this half. It's still very level with 11 minutes to play.
16:43
It's again a level game at 17:17.
You can vote for the Grundfos Player of the Match in the Home of Handball app!
16:40
Austria has a 16:15 lead and Iceland have not scored for well over 10 minutes. Mistakes are creeping into the Icelandic game and they can't seem to stop them.
16:35
What a turnaround! At the end of the first half, Iceland were running away with the game, but now, Austria have closed back up to 14:15 and Iceland's attack has fallen apart. Four saves from Constantin Möstl to one for Viktor Hallgrímsson doesn't hurt either. Iceland have taken a timeout.
16:28
This has been an excellent start to the second half by Austria, whose defence has tightened. It's 4:1 in the six minutes since the restart to the Austrians.
16:22
The Icelandic attack is flowing - what tools does Ales Pajovic have to stop it? We haven't seen much seven-on-six yet tonight and that may well happen, if the tired Austrian legs allow it. Once again, Austria's key players - Lukas Hutecek, Nikola Bilyk, Robert Weber and Sebastian Frimmel - played the whole of the first half, as they have done throughout almost all the tournament.
16:10 | HALF-TIME
Austria 8:14 Iceland
Iceland are flying into the second half with a significant lead. A huge 10 saves (59 per cent) from Viktor Hallgrímsson and too many Austrian mistakes are making life tough for Austria, despite Constantin Möstl's nine saves (41 per cent). In any other game that would be match-winning.
EHF journalist Adrian Costeiu has more:
"A battle of strong attacks, which delivered impressive performances so far at the EHF EURO 2024, became a battle between two excellent goalkeepers in Constantin Möstl and Viktor Hallgrímsson. Therefore, it was about which team was going to be better in attack and that was Iceland, who have carried their form from their win against Croatia and had a 6:0 run to end the half. This was Austria’s worst first half so far in the competition, and their chances of progression to the semi-finals is likely to stay a dream, as they prepare to concede their second loss in as many matches to end the EHF EURO 2024."
16:01
The Icelandic defence is doing a great job at stopping Austria's attacks, and they have eked out a 10:8 lead. On the other hand, the Austrian defence isn't half bad either, and prevents Iceland going further ahead.
15:54
Few have managed to stop a Bjarki Mar Elisson fast break this tournament, but Nikola Bilyk chases down the Icelandic wing and steals the ball from him. And again we have a period with absolutely no goals, because either a shot is saved, or someone turns over the ball. Iceland lead 8:7, after 21 minutes.
15:50
Three goals now for an in-form Aron Pálmarsson, as Iceland lead 6:5.
15:42
If the goalkeepers go on like this we're set for a low-scoring game. Helped by their defence, Constantin Möstl has stopped six shots and Viktor Hallgrímsson five in just 10 minutes. Austria equalise with a penalty and a Nikola Bilyk goal. You can see there is a little more pressure on the Austrians, who can still finish better than the eighth place they managed in 2020 when they hosted the preliminary and main rounds of the EHF EURO.
15:35
It's a clash between two 23-year-old goalkeepers at the moment, both of whom have performed beyond their years at this EHF EURO - Constantin Möstl and Viktor Hallgrímsson. They've both managed to stop half of the shots they've faced after five minutes.
Iceland lead 3:2, with Aron Pálmarsson leading from the front by scoring the first two goals for Iceland.
15:30
We are ready for the last day of the main round - are you? The teams are throwing off.
Follow along with the live Twitch show!
15:20
The teams are being announced - Iceland definitely for the last time, Austria ... we'll find out. They need a win here to maximise their semi-final chances. A loss would rule them out for certain and a draw would give them a nervous few hours waiting for the result of the next two games.
To follow the match live, click here: Austria vs Iceland
15:05
We're in the LANXESS arena for the last time in the main round and Iceland and Austria are warming up for only their third EHF EURO match. Iceland won by six goals the last time they met, in the main round in 2014.
Iceland will miss line player Ýmir Gíslason, suspended for one match after receiving a direct red card for a foul in their last game. They're brought in right back Teitur Örn Einarsson, who plays for SG Flensburg-Handewitt, as Gisli Kristjansson is injured. But the good news for Iceland is that Ómar Ingi Magnusson, who was ill on Monday, is back for this one.
14:20
Right, we're off to the arena, but we'll leave you temporarily with the stat of the day - showing just how many passes Austria make, compared to their opponents this afternoon, Iceland.
14:00
Before tonight's games, here's how the standings look in main round group I. France are safe at the top of the group, but everyone else's fate rests on both their own performance and that of their opponents.
13:30
Looks like the German goalkeepers are ready for a big game. The German federation has shared some video of their team's preparation for the last main round match, against Croatia.
13:00
We had to say goodbye to three more teams yesterday - here's the Netherlands' recap of their EHF EURO and the fun they had.
12:30
Technology is driving sport forward at a rapid pace, and the EHF is looking to keep on track with that pace - yesterday there was a workshop in the LANXESS arena testing out new ways to bring the game to spectators and fans, using cameras in the goal and on referees. Here's what happened and why it matters.
12:10
There are lots of ways to win official EHF EURO merchandise during the tournament - like the match predictor on the Home of Handball app, or our memory game. Click here to play!
11:40
Germany will come into today's game against Croatia knowing what they need to do to progress to the semi-finals - if Austria have beaten Iceland, a win will be important.
One of their key players throughout has been right back Kai Häfner, who had a mini-break near the start of the tournament as his wife gave birth to their second child, but was back and ready to play in Berlin. EHF journalist Kevin Domas spoke to Häfner after Germany's last game on Monday.
