Women throw off main round as Spain’s men get under pressure

A total of 24 national teams at the Beach Handball EURO 2019 can still dream of a medal after the preliminary round in both the women’s and men’s competitions came to an end on an action-packed second day of the tournament in Stare Jablonki on Wednesday.

The 12 women’s teams that qualified for the main round earlier in the day returned to the courts late afternoon for their first match in the next phase. The men will start their main round on Thursday.

All pre-tournament favourites have made it through the preliminary groups, but Spain’s men have been struggling following a second defeat, which leaves the defending champions on zero points going into the main round.

All matches are streamed live on ehfTV.com and the scores can be followed on the dedicated beach handball liveticker.

Four teams share early lead in Group I

In Group I of the main round in the women’s event defending champions Norway and three more teams are all square on four points.

Norway started with a comfortable 2:0 win over Portugal while Netherlands - the most scoring team from the preliminary round - handed hosts Poland yet another defeat, 2:0, leaving the runners-up from 2017 with a mountain to climb in order to get to the quarter-final.

Also, Croatia stopped the winning run of Hungary with a straight-set win. The results left Norway, Netherlands, Hungary and Croatia all level in what promises to be a very tight battle in this group.

Denmark and Spain have gained an early advantage in Group II, sharing the lead with six points following 2:0 wins over Italy and Ukraine, respectively.

The leaders are already four points clear of the trio behind them, consisting of Germany, Greece and Ukraine. With Italy, now on zero points, also still in the mix, the fight for quarter-final places will be hot, with reigning world champions Greece far from assured of advancing yet.

Earlier on Wednesday, the preliminary round had ended with three unbeaten teams - Hungary in Group B, Spain in Group C, and Denmark in Group D - which took the maximum four points with them into the main round.

Norway in Group A lost their unbeaten status in the concluding match against Netherlands. Already assured of a place in the main round, the defending champions went 2:1 down against the runners-up in the group. Third-place Croatia also ended on six points.

Portugal and Poland were the next two teams to go through in Group B. The hosts recovered from their two defeats on the opening day as they delivered in the must-win games against Cyprus and France.

Greece narrowly lost their last match in Group C against 2017 EURO bronze medallists Spain but of course the world champions had long booked their ticket to the next round. Italy also advanced after a crucial 2:0 win over Switzerland.

Ukraine beat Germany 2:0 to lock up second place in Group D but both teams joined leaders Denmark into the main round, as Russia stranded in fourth place.

Spain start main round without points

The preliminary round in the men’s event also ended with three unbeaten teams: Germany in Group I as well as Croatia and Hungary in Group II will all start the main round with the maximum of four points.

In Group A Germany remained unbeaten, high on confidence following their victory over 2017 EURO gold medallists Spain in the opening match.

Spain were the most scoring side in the preliminary round - the only team to pass the 200-point mark - but they did suffer a second defeat against Norway on Wednesday, again in a shoot-out, and will start the main round without points.

Russia, the silver medallists two years ago, handed Denmark their first defeat, 2:0. Both teams shared the lead in Group B with Serbia, all on six points, while Portugal and Slovenia missed out on the main round.

Four-time champions Croatia dominated Group C, adding two more clear 2:0 wins, over North Macedonia and Ukraine. Still, Ukraine advanced alongside Croatia and Switzerland, while Italy failed to make the main round, a year before hosting the World Championship 2020.

Hungary extended their unbeaten streak in Group D to four matches and the EURO bronze medallists from 2017 finished first, ahead of hosts Poland and France. Fourth-place Sweden became one of the few unexpected casualties in the preliminary round.

Photos: Uros Hocevar / kolektiff / EHF