France made no mistake at the end of the European Championship main round and secured a 35:32 win against Hungary on Wednesday (January 24, 2024). Austria had previously had to bury its dreams of reaching the round of 16. Due to the defeats of Hungary and previously Austria, Germany has definitely qualified for the semi-finals.
France quickly pulled away, but Hungary held on bravely. At halftime it was 20:18 for France. After the break, the Hungarians took the lead for a short time before the French team prevailed towards the end.
Austria eliminated – Germany now against Denmark
Austria had previously lost its final main round game on Wednesday against Iceland with 24:26 (8:14) and therefore no longer had a chance of one of the top places.
Only the best two in the group qualify for the semi-finals. Before the final German main round game this evening (8.30 p.m./ARD) against Croatia, the DHBteam second in the group behind France – the game is now meaningless in terms of sport. On Friday, Germany will meet Denmark and fight for a place in the final.
Austria with a surprisingly good tournament
Austria was one of the surprises at this European Championshipteams and sparked a small handballboom in the homeland. With a win over Romania and a draw against the former world champions Spain and Croatia, the ÖHB selection qualified for the second phase of the tournament. There seemed to be a place in the semi-finals after the success over Hungary and one draw against Germany very close. But defeats against France and Iceland caused the dream to collapse.
Iceland’s Sigvaldi Bjorn Guojonsson celebrates.