Brno looks forward to 2011 Women’s 17 European Championship Final

All 16 teams have now played five games each, with all but four teams having one placement match left.

Russia, Hungary, Norway and Demark are the four teams who have two games remaining, starting with their semi-finals on Friday 1st July and all four teams will be hoping that their second game is the final at the Brno City Hall on Sunday at 17.30 (local time).

These medal matches will be full of atmosphere as was witnessed during the early stages when all the games featuring these teams were full of chanting, cheering and noise.

Russia, Denmark, Norway and Hungary have performed consistently at a high level throughout the tournament, but who will be crowned Women’s 17 European Championship Champions on Sunday night?

Brno

In the Group, Main and Intermediary rounds in Brno the best team have been Norway. Coach Jensen’s team are mentally strong with quality play and performed well against the Hungarians in their Main Round match, winning on a free throw after the playing time had elapsed.

The Hungarians, meanwhile, are in a good mental condition following their crunch match victory against the Netherlands which was essentially a play-off match for the semi-finals. "I'm proud of my players," said Hungarian coach Kálmán Roth following the match.

Russia had already progressed to the semi-finals ahead of their final Main Round match against Romania. This allowed Russian coach Kirilenko to rest their key players and during the championships so far his team has not been beaten yet, despite facing Denmark and Sweden.

The Russians have not made any mistakes in defence, whilst attacking impressively, not moving any inch for their rivals to even think about winning.

Denmark, have been equally impressive although their winning run was interrupted by their loss against the well-prepared Russians 31:26. Their modern and energetic handball has been a pleasure to watch and their participation in final rounds looks set to promise a great show.

The clash of playing styles is not just reserved for the semi-finals though as the matches for 5th – 8th place; which start with Sweden v Netherlands and Romania v France, will feature power versus athleticism which is particularly interesting at the EURO 17 age level.

Zlin

Zlin will witness the 8th to 16th placement matches, essentially the bottom eight places of the 2011 Women’s 17 European Championship.

These matches mean that Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will all be competing to finish as high as they can and to gain extra, valuable international experience.

The Czech Republic team have given the home fans something to cheer about with a draw against Germany and victories over Portugual and a decisive victory over Austria in their last Intermediate Round match on Thursday.

The team played without influential left-back Eliška Jačková in that 31:27 victory over their neighbours and if the players can concentrate and execute the tactical instructions of their coach then they will be able to gain a high placing in the 9th – 12th placement and leave the home fans happy.

Find all results from the Women’s 17 European Championship 2011 here.

Free Live Streaming

The Women’s 17 European Championship 2011 will provide handball fans with free live streaming of the whole tournament. The matches can be viewed on the official website.

Further Information

For all information on the event please visit the official event website.
http://www.euro2011.cz/en/index.aspx