Hungary retained their status as one of the teams that have qualified for every edition of the Women's EHF EURO after sealing their fourth win in five games in group 5 of the qualifiers, 30:18, against Portugal.
GROUP 5
Portugal vs Hungary 18:30 (9:14)
- Portugal enjoyed a 3:2 lead early in the game, but a 6:1 run from Hungary, fuelled by three goals from centre back Csenge Kuczora, turned the game on its head
- after four consecutive wins, two in friendly games against Austria last November and two against Slovakia in this group, Portugal finally lost
- this was Portugal's biggest loss in a competitive match since a 39:18 drubbing at the hands of Sweden in phase 2 of the EHF EURO 2020 qualifiers in September 2019
- in only her fifth match for Hungary’s national team, centre back Csenge Kuczora was the top scorer of the match, with seven goals
- Hungary tied Spain for first place in group 5 with eight points from five games, and they also hold the tiebreaker over “Las Guerreras” after earning a three-goal away win in March
Hungary set to aim high at EHF EURO 2022
Back into the Hungarian squad for the first time since October 2021, when she played against Portugal, goalkeeper Kinga Janurik was instrumental in her team's win on Thursday evening in Loule. With 14 saves and a 45 per cent efficiency, Janurik stopped Portugal in their tracks.
Hungary sealed their 15th consecutive Women's EHF EURO berth to join Denmark, Norway and Germany as the only nations to secure their presence at every edition of the European championship. After previously winning one gold and three bronze medals, Hungary will be chasing their fifth EHF EURO medal in November — but their first since 2012.
