Macedonian hosts ensure semi-final spot, joined by Faroe Islands, Switzerland and Belarus

The preliminary round has finished and the semi-finals are now confirmed as the Men’s 20 EHF Championship starts drawing to a close in the Macedonian capital, Skopje.

All games from Skopje will be streamed live on ehfTV.com.

Men’s 20 EHF Championship: FYR Macedonia
Preliminary Round – Matchday 5
Boris Trajkovski Arena, Skopje

Group A
Estonia fell short in their pursuit of a semi-final place, losing 30:29 to Lithuania in the first match of the day in Group A. The game was evenly poised at the break (15:15), but an amazing 12-goal performance from Lithuanian left back Karolis Antanavicius saw him push his side through to a win and give him the best player of the match award as well as making him the new tournament top-scorer.

The Estonians then had to rely on a Belarus win against Faroe Islands in the late game to help them into the last four, but the Faroese showed a ruthless side against already-qualified, and group winners, Belarus, to win by seven 29:22. The Faroes were already up by four at the break as Vilhelm Pouslen put in a best player performance, scoring 10 goals for the tiny nation.

Greece beat Finland by seven (29:22) in the battle of the two bottom teams and the result was not in doubt already after half-time where the Greeks held a 12-goal lead (23:11).

Group B
FYR Macedonia ensured they grabbed a semi-final spot at home as Mario Tankoski and his teammates put on a dramatic show, coming from behind at the break (15:14) to beat Ukraine 28:27, with Tankoski taking the best player award with 10 goals, equalled by Ukraine’s Vladyslav Kobzii. Ukraine could have qualified themselves with a win, but the home court advantage proved too strong in the end.

Italy could have then qualified themselves had they beaten Switzerland in the final group B match, but they fell short, losing 34:23 which meant the Swiss took the second place in the final four. Italy had been behind by just one goal at the break, but a best player of the match performance from Switzerland’s Manuel Zehnder with five goals set up a semi-final date for his side.

Hitting the net
Lithuanian Karolis Antanavicius now tops the scoring charts with 36 goals, while Estonian right back Sander Sarapuu drops into second with 32 strikes. Nicolo D’Antino for Italy is one behind, on 31.

Next steps
A rest day today is followed by the 5-8 and 9-11 cross matches, and semi-finals tomorrow (Saturday 28 July) which will see Faroes Islands play FYR Macedonia and Belarus against Switzerland.

Men’s 20 EHF Championship – FYR Macedonia: Results – Matchday 5

Thursday 26 July

Group A
Estonia vs Lithuania 29:30 (15:15)
Finland vs Greece 21:35 (11:23)
Belarus vs Faroe Islands 22:29 (12:16)

Group B
FYR Macedonia vs Ukraine 28:27 (14:15)
Switzerland vs Italy 34:23 (14:13)

Follow the Men’s 20 EHF Championship in FYR Macedonia
Playing Schedule: http://eurohandball.com/ech/01-01/20/men/2018/round/1/Championship+-+MKD
Official website: https://m20championship2018.mk/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m20EHFChampionship2018/
ehfTV: https://www.ehftv.com/int/livestream-schedule/2018/july

Photos: Filip Viranovski