Czech Republic and Austria cruise to group victory

After five rounds of matches at the Men’s EHF Championship in Tulln, Austria, the host nation and Czech Republic have emerged as the two standout teams.

The neighbours have racked up five largely comfortable victories and are just one match away from Sunday’s final.

Group A

Little stood in the way of Czech Republic’s rise to the top of the group, until the very last match on Thursday evening.

Turkey offered a genuine test for the Czechs, before going down 26:23, but they had still done enough to progress to the semi-finals in second place, with goal difference giving them the edge over Ukraine in third.

Montenegro finished fourth, despite displaying a very impressive defence, while Great Britain’s first victory of the tournament against Ireland put them in fifth spot.

Group B

Austria were simply dominant in their group, with only the Netherlands capable of coming within 10 goals of the hosts, 27:18.

The Dutch held on to second place after passing tough tests against Slovakia and Latvia, who finished third and fourth respectively, and Bulgaria hit form at the right time to beat Kosovo in their final group match and claim fifth.

Final weekend

All 12 teams enjoy a rest day on Friday as they prepare for their final two matches over the weekend.

Turkey will attempt to spoil the hosts’ party in the first semi-final, while Czech Republic vs Netherlands promises to be a fascinating clash. All of Saturday’s matches as well as the final games on Sunday 19 August will be live on ehfTV.com.

Saturday 18 August (all times local – CEST)
Cross matches 9-12 place 
10:00 hrs – Ireland vs Bulgaria
12:00 hrs – Great Britain vs Kosovo

Cross matches 5-8 place
14:00 hrs - Montenegro vs Slovakia
16:15 hrs – Ukraine vs Latvia

Semi-finals
18:30 hrs – Turkey vs Austria
20:30 hrs – Czech Republic vs Netherlands

Follow the Men’s 18 EHF Championship in Austria

Official website: https://www.championship2018.at/
Playing schedule: http://www.eurohandball.com/ech/01-01/18/men/2018/round/1/Championship+-+AUT
ehfTV: https://www.ehftv.com/int/league/men-s-18-ehf-championship-2018-austria/792