European trio join history-makers Egypt in semi-finals

EHF EURO 2020 champions Spain showed how valuable their vast experience can be as they completed a remarkable comeback against Sweden, joining France, Denmark and Egypt in the semi-finals of the men’s handball tournament at Tokyo 2020.

QUARTER-FINALS

France vs Bahrain 42:28 (21:14)

• the fairy tale for Bahrain comes to an end as they were outclassed by a tuned-in French side
• France took control of the game late in the first half and never looked back as every court player got his name on the scoreboard
• Kentin Mahe had a day to remember with nine goals, leading a prolific French attack

Sweden vs Spain 33:34 (20:18)

• Sweden looked set for a place in the semi-finals when Hampus Wanne extended their lead to 29:25 with a quarter of the match left to play
• Gonzalo Perez de Vargas finally found some form between the Spanish goalposts as they turned the game around , using every ounce of their collective nous and experience
• Alex Dujshebaev once again proved his ability to rise in pressure situations as he took over in the final minutes and scored the winning goal

Denmark vs Norway 31:25 (13:12)

• Denmark went one step closer to retaining their 2016 gold medal with a confident victory over their Scandinavian neighbours
• in the battle of two of handball’s biggest stars, Sander Sagosen had the edge over Mikkel Hansen in the first half, before being left frustrated and eventually receiving a red card in the second
• Hansen and Jacob Holm led Denmark in attack with eight goals each, supported well by Mathias Gidsel at right back

Germany vs Egypt 26:31 (12:16)

• Egypt made history on Tuesday by reaching the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time
• The African challengers controlled the game from the very beginning against Germany, who they outmuscled and outwitted throughout the court
• Karim Hendawy was brilliant in goal, producing 18 saves as Egypt took another step towards becoming the first non-European team to medal at the Olympics since South Korea’s women in 2008

Semi-finals – 5 August

France vs Egypt (10:00 CEST)
Spain vs Denmark (14:00 CEST)

Detailed results and schedules are available on the official Olympics homepage.

All Tokyo 2020 photos courtesy of IHF.