Both groups open after Faroe Island upset Greece

The first place in both groups in Qualification Phase 1 for the Women's EHF EURO 2018 in France is still open ahead of the final games on Sunday.

Greece could have secured top spot in Group A on Saturday but was edged by Faroe Islands (25:24). And Kosovo earned a big 30:19 win over Georgia, the only team who are now officially out of the race.

GROUP A
Faroe Islands vs Greece 25:24 (15:10)

After their clear win against Finland on Friday, Greece could clinch their next-round berth with another win against another Nordic opponent.

However, the Faroe Islands put a stop to the Greek dreams with their narrow win Saturday.

The Faroe Islands seemed to have read the Greek game very well, and they came on court with a lot of spirit and obvious self-confidence.

The Faroe Islands were ahead all the way, leading 3:0 and 4:1 at the start, and the hosts never got any closer than one goal down a few times in the first half.

After the break, a Greek 5-1 defence seemed to disturb the Faroe Islands´ attacking play to a certain extent, and Greece managed to reduce the distance to one goal several times in the last 10 minutes.

However, their last goal that reduced the deficit to one (25:24) once again, came too late to affect the final result.

A victory or a draw in Sunday’s match against Finland will hand Faroe Islands a place in the next qualification phase. If Finland win, all three teams would have one victory, and goal differences would become the decisive factor.

GROUP B
Kosovo vs Georgia 30:19 (16:7)

Kosovo are ready for the group final against Israel Sunday.

After both teams have earned clear wins against Georgia, they will fight out the ticket for the next round between them.

Just like in their Friday match against Israel, the young Georgian team, which almost entirely consist of teenagers, fought well. And even though they got 10 goals down already in the first half, they never gave up.

In the second half, they managed to reduce the gap to eight goals a couple of times before Kosovo tightened the grip again.

While Israel and Kosovo meet in the deciding match for the first place Sunday - Israel must win, Kosovo could do with a draw - Georgia are on their way home after two defeats.