Podium decided in sensational Sunday matches
Future finalists Slovakia and Latvia started the Men’s 20 EHF Championship 2024 as rivals in group D of the preliminary round. In their first encounter, Latvia relied on a strong attack led by young stars Andis Bors and Valdis Kalnins and secured a clear win (30:26), which helped them claim the top spot in the group.
In the final weekend the two sides met again after getting past Finland and Luxembourg in the semi-finals. This time around, Slovakia managed to change the narrative of the story - they took the lead in the first minutes and stayed in control of the game from start to finish to secure the trophy after a 31:25 win.
In the bronze medal match, Luxembourg didn’t want to waste any occasion to score and quickly built a safe lead. Finland found themselves forced to overcome a four-goal advantage after the break and started to reduce the gap slowly but steadily. Excitement levels increased in the final minutes of the game, as Finland picked up the pace to get the score to a tie and then to a penalty shoot-out. A few mistakes on Luxembourg’s side helped Finland celebrate the well-deserved bronze medal.
