SUMMARY: Three teams suffer first defeats in thrilling day of Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024

• day 2 of Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024 main round, intermediate round and elimination round
• all throw-off times in CET
• main round (Arena Zlatorog):
  • Group G: Austria dominated Iceland 34:26 for first main round win; Portugal beat title holders Spain 38:37 in the fantastic Iberian derby
  • Group H: Sweden celebrated a thrilling last-minute win 30:29 vs Denmark; Germany produced defensive masterclass in beating Norway 25:21
• intermediate round (Tri Lilije, Lasko):
  • Group I: Romania - North Macedonia 26:31; Poland - France 27:41
  • Group J: Croatia - Slovenia 28:26; Serbia - Hungary 25:26
• elimination round (Golovec Celje):
  • Group K: Ukraine - Faroe Islands 27:35; Israel - Czechia 27:28
  • Group L: Greece - Italy 27:27, Montenegro - Switzerland 13:39
• read the round preview and watch all the matches live on EHFTV (subject to geo-restrictions)
• follow the official EHF EURO socials on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook

21:00

That's it for today, dear handball friends! Wednesday is day off for all the teams as they prepare for further battles on Thursday. Still all to play for in Slovenia, so make sure to join us in two days time as well. See you then!

20:53

Check out how the entire day at the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024 unfolded in our day review:

20:40 | FULL-TIME

SERBIA - HUNGARY 24:25

Incredible comeback from Hungary who take both points! Serbia were in front 23:20 and 24:22, but Hungary somehow managed to turn it around in the final few minutes. Molnár's gol 15 seconds before the end brought huge joy to the Hungarians.

20:36

Switzerland in the end fell short by a goal of equalling Iceland's record win of this tournament, by 27 goals against Ukraine (49:22).

20:35

Huge win for Germany, a pure defensive masterclass from their side. With this win, they completely turn this group on its head because now all four teams have two points each ahead of the final day on Thursday.

Norway kept pushing with everything they had, but Germany was the better team today and kept their focus on both ends of the court. Frederik Höler was again brilliant with 13 saves, while Dávid Móré scored six goals.

20:34 | FULL-TIME

GERMANY - NORWAY 25:21

MONTENEGRO - SWITZERLAND 13:39

20:21

Germany are once again pulling away from Norway, who remain on 17 goals. Germans are on 22 with only nine minutes left on the clock.

In other matches Hungary are getting closer and closer to Serbia, who still lead (22:20), while Switzerland have a huge advantage versus Montenegro 36:10.

20:17

It's getting interesting in Zlatorog Arena. Norway score three goals in a row, and Syvertsen strings together a couple of world-class saves. Germany still lead though - 20:17.

20:13

In comparison, Norway's goalkeepers have saved only three shots in total. It's plus five now for Germany (19:14) after Móré's penalty shot.

20:11

Meanwhile in Lasko, Filip Milovanovic is stepping it up in the second half. Serbia still in the lead against Hungary 21:16.

20:10

Germany have limited Norway to only 14 goals in 42 minutes. Defensive stability gives them a lot of confidence in attack so for the very first time they lead by four goals, 18:14. Höler is still excellent between the sticks with 11 saves.

20:00

Incredible scenes in Golovec. Switzerland lead Montenegro 24:6 after 38 minutes! Needless to say it's all over.

"Ihr rockt das!" says the banner from German fans in Arena Zlatorog. Indeed, their team is really rocking it at the moment, they lead Norway 14:11 in the opening minutes of the second half.

19:54

We enter the final 30 minutes of the day. Germany with the first possession.

The other two matches have already resumed.

19:42

Germany erased Norway's three-goal and even scored in the final second (Móré from the wing) to take the lead at the break. This was Norway's lowest scoring half of the tournament. Usually they have no trouble finding several different solutions in attack, but today Germany are defensively doing an excellent job, particularly with Frederik Höler in goal who's made six saves.

Is there any hope left for Montenegro, who trail Switzerland by 10 goals? Not quite at the moment.

Hungary also have a mountain to climb, as Serbia lead by six. Mitrovic and Feješ with four goals each.

19:39 | HALF-TIME

GERMANY - NORWAY 11:10

SERBIA - HUNGARY 14:8

MONTENEGRO - SWITZERLAND 6:16

19:29

Switzerland are obviously determined to secure victory before the break as they've already left Montenegro nine goals behind (13:4). Serbia are also looking good from the start, they lead Hungary 12:6.

19:27

A relatively low-scoring game so far between Germany and Norway, especially in comparison to other matches in the main round. Norway lead 8:6 with seven minutes left in the first half.

19:18

Germany are hanging in there with Norway so far. Halfway through the first period the Norwegians, who have won every match so far, lead only by two goals (7:5).

Serbia and Switzerland are on the other hand unstoppable. The Swiss are dominating Montenegro, it's 7:1 in their favour. The Serbs are 8:3 to the good against Hungary.

19:09

Excellent start from Serbia and Switzerland. Serbia go 5:2 in front against Hungary, while Switzerland hold a 5:1 lead versus Montenegro.

Norway with a slight edge over Germany 4:3, but they're a man down after a two-minute suspension from Skaarnæs.

19:00

Norway with the first possession in Zlatorog.

18:46

We're approaching the final set of matches today, starting from 19:00 CET.

In the main round Norway are favourites against Germany and with a win they would come very close to clinching a spot in the semi-finals.

Serbia meet Hungary in the intermediate round, in the same group where Croatia beat Slovenia, while Montenegro are keen on finally winning in this tournament. They play Switzerland in the elimination round.

18:37

Let's take a trip down photograph lane to see some of the action from the matches that've just recently finished.

18:33

This is what it means to fight for every ball at this tournament. In this particular case Croatia's fighting spirit brought them their first intermediate round win against Slovenia.

18:26

Croatia, however, have taken down the hosts Slovenia and recorded their first win in the intermediate round. Marko Bajan provided valuable offensive assistance to Aleksandar Capric as they ended the match with 14 goals combined.

18:24

We've witnessed another crazy finish in the battle between Sweden and Denmark. As we approached the final two minutes Sweden had a three goal lead (29:26), but suddenly lost two players due to two-minute suspensions.

That opened the door for Denmark, who closed down the gap to 29:28 in the final minute. With a man down, Sweden somehow managed to find the net one more time (Källhage) before Tombak scored the final goal with just a few seconds left on the clock.

With that win Sweden jump to two points, Denmark and Norway also have two, while Germany have none. In the final match of the day in Arena Zlatorog Norway play Germany from 19:00 CET.

18:15 | FULL-TIME

SWEDEN - DENMARK 30:29

CROATIA - SLOVENIA 28:26

18:11 | FULL-TIME

GREECE - ITALY 27:27

A draw in Golovec as both teams had the chance to gain both points in their final possessions. In the end Italy will probably be a bit happier considering they recovered from a six-goal deficit (21:15). De Angelis and Manojlovic scored seven goals each, while Tzanos Batis netted 11 for Greece, who managed to at least score their first point of the tournament, although they are probably disappointed they couldn't keep their huge advantage until the end.

18:03

Denmark wasted a chance to grab the lead at 25:25. Instead, they've lost three straight possessions. Sweden took full advantage and they lead 27:25 with six and a half minutes remaining in this match.

17:58

Incredibly, Italy have recovered from a six-goal deficit to tie the score at 23:23. All still to play for in the Croatia - Slovenia clash as well. The Croats lead 23:21.

17:56

Both set of fans are in full voice in Arena Zlatorog, making their presence felt by their players on the court. So far, Swedish fans have more to cheer for, especially after a great save from Arvid Norén. However, Denmark eventually do score from the next play so it's 25:24 to Sweden. More bad news for Sweden as Pelle Segertoft receives a two-minute suspension.

17:47

Superb second half from Croatia so far. From three goals behind at the break they've now come to four goals in front, 21:17! Bajan scored from fast break.

It's almost the exact same score in the elimination round match where Italy have pulled a few goals back against Greece. It's 21:18 for the Greek side.

17:42

And just like that, it's 20:20 in Arena Zlatorog as Schmidt leveled the match for the first time since 10:10. Impressive fightback from Denmark, a 4:0 run in less than five minutes!

17:40

Powerful start from the Swedes who race off to a four-goal lead (20:16), but now the Danes respond with three goals in a row. Twice Lykke, once Pedersen.

Croatia have caught up with Slovenia, it's 16:16 now, while Greece increased their advantage against Italy to six goals (19:13).

17:30

We're back for the second half.

17:20

Denmark scored the opening goal of the match and that was their only lead so far. Sweden controlled the scoreline, but failed to move away from their opponents by more than three goals. In the final seconds of the half Sweden's goalkeper Arvid Skoog scored a spectacular goal over the whole court to make it 16:14.

Another goalkeeper impressed in Golovec. It was Greece's Georgios Daios who ended the first half with nine saves (52.9 per cent success rate) and therefore helped his team build a four-goal lead (12:8).

Slovenia hold a three-goal lead against Croatia in Lasko. Croatia's Aleksandar Capric the leading scorer in that game with six goals.

17:18 | HALF-TIME

SWEDEN - DENMARK 16:14

CROATIA - SLOVENIA 11:14

GREECE - ITALY 12:8

17:07

Hosts Slovenia are slowly beginning to form a gap between themselves and Croatia, they lead 10:7 after two successive goals from Zajc.

Greece have started well in search for their first win. Georgios Daios has already saves seven shots out of 13 as the Greeks lead Italy 10:6.

17:00

Sweden are still nurturing that one goal advantage, but Denmark are pushing hard to level the match (9:8). Andersson and Segertoft scored three goals each for the Swedes, just like Pedersen for the Danes.

16:50

Sweden just slightly in front after 10 minutes (6:5), but it's basically a 50-50 match so far. Only four goals in the Slovenia - Croatia match (2:2) and six in Greece - Italy (4:2).

16:40

Here we go, third set of matches today is under way! The focus will be on the Sweden - Denmark clash in Arena Zlatorog, but of course we will keep an eye what's going on between Slovenia and Croatia, as well as Greece and Italy.

16:34

Photos from the Iberian derby, as well as France - Poland and Israel - Czechia, are here. Check them out:

16:27

Coming up in less than 15 minutes time we start group H of the main round. Sweden need a win or at least a point to have any chance on progressing to the next round, considering they lost to Norway yesterday. Denmark, however, took both points against Germany and are hoping to secure their semi-final spot today.

In the intermediate round the hosts Slovenia play against Croatia, while Greece and Italy take the stage in Golovec in the elimination round.

16:08

It was a truly fantastic match between Portugal and Spain, probably the best of the tournament so far, worthy of a medal match. But, so far neither of the teams have reached the semi-finals.

The situation in this group is now completely open as all four teams could still reach the semi-finals. Portugal lead with three points, Spain and Austria have two each, while Iceland with one point could still go through as well.

16:02 | FULL-TIME

SPAIN - PORTUGAL 37:38

What a shocking finish and Portugal's win!

Escobedo Romero's two-minute suspension and a following goal from Brandão decided the winner of the feisty Iberian clash! Portugal took a three-goal lead (37:34) with two minutes left, however Spain never gave up and came within a goal from a draw after Barrufet's goal.

In the final 20 seconds Portugal lost the ball, but Castillo couldn't convert Spain's final possession in the last few seconds.

15:55 | FULL-TIME

ISRAEL - CZECHIA 27:28

Czechia and Faroe Islands reach the 17-20th place semi-finals in the elimination round. After Faroe Islands beat Ukraine earlier today, Czechia took both points against Israel, who in the end made them work hard for it.

It seems as though the match was close, but the truth is Czechia were up 27:22 before Israel started mounting a comeback. They scored two goals in the last minute and eventually ran out of time.

Israel and Ukraine are both without a single point in this tournament and they'll try to change that on Thursday when they play each other.

15:50 | FULL-TIME

POLAND - FRANCE 27:41

France take another expected win in the intermediate round, with Naël Tighiouart leading the way with 12 goals. In this group France and North Macedonia are through to the placement matches between 9th and 12th, while Poland and Romania will fight for places between 13th and 16th.

15:48

Portugal are now seriously on the verge of victory as they took a five-goal lead (35:30) with less than seven minutes remaining.

15:42

Final 10 minutes in the Iberian derby. Portugal lead 32:29, but after everything we've seen today it's still too soon to call the winner.

France are in a league of their own against Poland (36:23), and Czechia are also close to victory versus Israel (27:22).

15:36

And now Portugal step it up with a couple of quick goals to go four goals up (31:27)! This is amazing stuff from both teams. The level of quality is like it's a medal match.

15:30

Terrific match in Arena Zlatorog. The momentum is switching back-and-forth and now it's Spain's turn to shine. They close the gap to a single goal, 26:25 after a 5:1 run, despite one of their star players Victor Romero being ejected after receiving a red card.

15:26

The match in Lasko is virtually over as France are now 10 goals to the good, 27:17. Naël Tighiouart is on seven goals from seven attempts.

Czechia are also pulling away from Israel. Daniel Bláha is on seven goals there as Czechia lead 23:16.

15:19

Rafael Vasconcelos scores his first goal of the game to take Portugal five goals ahead of Spain (23:18). Let's see if the Portuguese have learned something from yesterday's match when they let a six-goal lead slip against Iceland.

15:15

We resume play in Arena Zlatorog, Golovec and Lasko.

15:00

It's heating up in the Iberian derby as Cikusa i Jelicic received a two-minute suspension in the final seconds. However, Portugal were unable to capitalise on it so the first half finished with their lead of two goals (19:17).

We're watching a brilliant, high-paced and intense match with plenty of goals. More of that in the second period, please.

France are in full control against Poland, and so are Czechia, although their opponents have shown glimpses of good play.

14:58 | HALF-TIME

SPAIN - PORTUGAL 17:19

POLAND - FRANCE 10:17

ISRAEL - CZECHIA 12:17

14:55

Final three minutes of the first half and Portugal have just opened up their biggest gap, 18:14.

14:50

Spanish fans, some 20-30 of them, are in a good mood in the stands of Arena Zlatorog. And why shouldn't they be. They've got a lot to be happy about lately as their national football team won the European Championships in Germany and tennis player Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, both of which happened on Sunday.

14:45

Now it's Portugal's turn to strike back. A 5:1 run in almost seven minutes means they're again in front (13:12), after a goal from Freire Mendes in counter attack. Timeout Spain.

14:41

Excellent stuff from Czechia as well. They immediately gain a foothold in their clash against Israel (11:4).

14:40

France are looking quite good at the moment and it doesn't seem the Poles have the firepower to stop them. Zuzo's goal gives the French a 10:5 lead, and also their goalkeeper Soullier is on 44 per cent succes rate with four saves.

14:36

Complete turnaround in Arena Zlatorog. First timeout for Portugal as Spain take a 11:8 lead. Their goalkeeper Pérez Méndez and then Gonzalez scored from their own halves back-to-back into an empty net, to make things worse for the Portuguese. We're in the 14th minute.

14:32

Spain have recovered and tied the score at 7:7, mostly by concentrating on their line player Victor Romero who's already scored three goals. Petar Cikusa i Jelicic is also reaching his form. You can check out one of his goals right here on our X account.

France lead Poland 4:3, and Czechia have had a bright start leading Israel 6:3.

14:25

Watching Spain play on Monday was like watching a YouTube video set on 1.5 speed, but for now Portugal are the ones playing too quickly for Spain! After only five minutes they already lead 5:2.

14:20

And we're off in Arena Zlatorog. Spain won yesterday against Austria by 11 goals, while Portugal ruined their mostly very good performance and had to settle for only a point against Iceland, even though they had a penalty shot in the final second.

France are looking to beat Poland and thereby book their spot in the placement matches (9th to 12th), while Israel need a win against Czechia to stay in the hunt for a place between 17th and 20th.

14:14

Let's take a look at some of the photos from the first three games of the day.

13:50

Coming up at 14:20 CET in the main round we have a hopefully spectacular Iberian derby between Spain and Portugal.

France and Poland meet in the intermediate round, while Israel and Czechia fight for points in the elimination round.

13:38 | FULL-TIME

ROMANIA - NORTH MACEDONIA 26:31

The game in Lasko ended a bit later than the first two. North Macedonia have maintained their unbeaten record at this tournament by beating Romania. Their run 6:0 at the beginning of the second period proved crucial, as they took a 23:17 lead.

Both of their goalkeepers deserve high grades. Ivan Galevski and David Brestovac combined for 15 saves, while in offence Dimitar Uzunchev and Valentin Karasmanakis enjoyed the best success scoring six and five goals respectively.

North Macedonia now have four points in the intermediate round, while Romania are still without a point.

13:32

It was an excellent second half from Faroe Islands who record their second win in the main round. Vedelsbøl and Mittún scored six goals each and goalkeeper Aleksandar Lacok made 10 saves. Ukraine have suffered their fifth defeat in as many matches in Slovenia.

13:30

There was no Iceland's miraculous comeback this time. Austria deserve their victory, having dominated the entire match. Once Iceland came within three goals, they didn't panic and instead turned it up a notch.

Austria's back court players impressed, with Felix Bernkop-Schnürch, Gabriel Kofler and Mats Rudnicki scoring 19 goals combined. Line player Clemens Meleschnig also played a terrific match on both ends, ended the match with six goals. Leon Bergmann saved 14 shots on goal, a brilliant performance from him too. His penalty shot save at 26:22 sealed it for Austria.

Austrians are now in full contention to reach the semi-finals ahead of the final day when they play Portugal. Iceland have only a point and they still have to play Spain.

13:28 | FULL-TIME

ICELAND - AUSTRIA 26:34

UKRAINE - FAROE ISLANDS 27:35

13:21

Austria have most certainly won it now. Bergmann saved a penalty shot and then Huber and Wuzella scored to make it 28:22. Less than five minutes left in this match.

13:19

For the first time since very early in the match Iceland are only three goals behind Austria. The scoreline says 25:22 with eight minutes to go.

Faroe Islands are closing in on another victory as they lead Ukraine 30:26, and it's almost all over in Lasko where North Macedonia have a huge 27:19 lead against Romania.

13:10

It's interesting to notice that all three guests on paper have a similar, if not the same lead. Austria are up by five goals (24:19), North Macedonia as well (23:18), while Faroe Islands lead by a goal less, 26:22.

13:06

Once more it's a four-goal cushion for the Austrians, but it's far from over. They lead 23:19 as we approach the halfway mark of the second period.

Now North Macedonia have scored four goals without reply and they lead Romania 21:17, while Ukraine are fighting back against Faroe Islands. They trail 24:22.

12:57

Incredible pace now in Arena Zlatorog, a total of 10 goals in only six minutes. Austria still have a solid lead 20:16, but Iceland are constantly threatening to further reduce the gap.

Faroe Islands are beginning to pull away in Golovec as they take a four-goal lead for the first time today (21:17).

In Tri Lilije Lasko it's all tied between Romania and North Macedonia (17:17). Dimitar Uzunchev is top scorer over there with six goals.

12:50

We're back. Iceland have the first possession as Austrians begin with a suspended player for about 50 seconds.

Just to remind you that you can watch all the matches live on EHFTV (subject to geo-restrictions).

12:41

Austrians have dominated the first half and should be quite happy with their six-goal advantage, but bare in mind that Iceland came back from exactly six goals behind yesterday against Portugal. Don't count them out just yet.

Romania - North Macedonia and Ukraine - Faroe Islands are pretty evenly matched so far, with no team being able to develop a lead bigger than three goals.

12:39 | HALF-TIME

ICELAND - AUSTRIA 10:16

ROMANIA - NORTH MACEDONIA 15:15

UKRAINE - FAROE ISLANDS 15:16

12:30

Austrians are still in control in Arena Zlatorog, they've just scored their 15th goal to lead 15:7.

Goalkeeper David Brestovac helped North Macedonia turn it around to gain advantage against Romania (13:12), whereas Faroe Islands made a 6:1 run to take a 15:13 lead in the final minutes of the first half.

12:18

Truly impressive play from Austria. Iceland have no idea how to break down their defence and now Austria's goalkeeper Leon Bergmann makes a save and then scores from his own goal! He did that yesterday against Spain as well. Brilliant. Austria lead 11:3.

12:15

As Austria's lead increases to 9:3 after Iceland's Erlingsson failed to convert a penalty shot, let's take a look what's happening in other matches.

North Macedonia opened up with a 3:1 lead, but now Romania are 8:6 in front, while Ukraine lead Faroe Islands by almost the same scoreline (8:5).

Check out one of Ukraine's early goals here.

12:10

First timeout called by the Iceland head coach, his team is down 7:3 after exactly 10 minutes of play. Austria's centre back Felix Bernkop-Schnürch has already scored four goals.

12:05

Much better start from Austria in comparison to yesterday's match. They lead 5:1 after six minutes.

12:00

Matches are all under way! In Arena Zlatorog Austria have the first possession against Iceland.

11:46

In the elimination round group K Ukraine are still in search of a first win against Faroe Islands, powered by competition's top scorer Óli Mittún. On Monday Ukraine lost do Czechia, while Faroe Islands beat Israel.

11:44

In the intermediate round group I Romania will be looking to bounce back after Monday's defeat against France, while North Macedonia hope to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament. So far they've won two matches and drew two as well.

11:38

On the other hand, Austria fell against Spain 37:26, having made 18 technical faults in the match. Six of them in the first five minutes, which enabled Spain to open up a 5:0 lead. Surely today Austria will put extra focus into having a better opening phase of the match, with less mistakes.

11:34

On Monday Iceland produced a superb comeback to snatch a point against Portugal. You can check the late dramatic save by their goalkeeper after the time had already run out right here.

11:10

Today's action starts at 12:00 CET with three matches. In Group G of the main round Iceland meet Austria, in the intermediate round Romania play North Macedonia, while in the elimination round Ukraine and Faroe Islands are the first ones on the court.

11:00

Monday's action saw Spain, Norway and Denmark remain their perfect winning record, but story of the day was Iceland's incredible comeback to win a point against Portugal.

What happened in those matches, but also elsewhere in intermediate and elimination rounds, check in our day review:

10:50

Good day everyone and welcome to day 2 of the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2024 main round in Slovenia. Like previous days, there's plenty of matches across three halls in Celje and Lasko.

Our main focus will be on Arena Zlatorog in Celje where eight best teams are trying to reach the semi-finals through the main round, but that doesn't mean the rest of the field have nothing to play for. Quite the contrary, especially if they're playing their regional rivals, which is the case today in some matches. Also, some teams are yet to win a single point, so there's no questioning their motivation in the games ahead.