Romania recover to hold France to draw

After only two days of competition, the Men’s 18 EHF EURO in Croatia is proving to be tournament full of twists and turns.

Croatia must have been thinking exactly this halfway through their Group A match against Israel, with the match deadlocked at 15:15.

Group A

Croatia took control in the second half, opening up a three-goal lead, but Israel fought back again to leave the teams tied with just over five minutes remaining. Right back Mateo Maras settled the ship as he once again finished as top scorer with seven as Croatia grabbed a late 30:27 win.

Another right back, Serbia’s Jovica Nikolic, was the hero for Serbia with 10 goals as they overcame Portugal 25:21 to lay claim to second place in the group.

Group B

Romania kept their hopes of progressing to the main round alive, thanks to a second half comeback against France.

Leading 15:10 at the break, France looked well on their way to a second consecutive win, but a well-rounded attacking performance from Romania, in which 11 players found the back of the net, saw them claw their way back to claim a 30:30 draw.

The result gave Denmark a chance to claim top spot in the group and they did exactly that, with a commanding 30:24 win over Norway, thanks largely to a strong performance between the posts from Svend Rughave.

Group C

There was not much in the way of drama in Group C as Germany and Spain claimed big victories.

The Germans have a two-point lead at the top after a 29.18 win over Hungary, while Spain are back in contention after a brilliant second half, which they won 21:8, gave them a 32:15 victory against Russia.

Group D

Iceland are in command in Group D, after their second five-goal win in succession against Sweden.

Eight goals a piece from Arnor Oskarsson and Haukur Thrastarson helped Iceland on their way to a 29:24 win. Sweden now find themselves level in second place with Slovenia, who cruised to a 32:22 win over Poland.

All 16 teams have a day off on Saturday, before Sunday’s decisive preliminary round matches in Varazdin and Koprivnica.

Follow the Men’s 18 EHF EURO

Official website: https://m18euro2018.com/
Playing schedule: http://www.eurohandball.com/ech/18/men/2018/round/1/Final+Tournament
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