Greece power past Finland

The Greek side remain on course for the next stage of the 2021 World Championship qualification. On Thursday, Ioannis Arvanitis' team secured their third victory from three matches in group 2, defeating Finland by an unexpectedly clear margin (36:22).

Below the Greek side, Israel moved into second place after a hard-earned, but ultimately clear, 33:23 victory away at Cyprus.

Only the winners of the four qualification groups make it to the intermediate qualification stage in April. The final decision on the 10 European spots for the 2021 IHF Men's World Championship in Egypt will be taken in the play-offs in June.

Groups 1 and 3 will be decided in tournaments in Luxembourg and Italy from 10 to 12 January. In Group 4, hosts Turkey already clinched the berth for the next qualification stage back in October.

GROUP 2

Greece vs Finland 36:22 (17:13)

Seven goals from Charalampos Mallios and an incredibly strong defence after the break were the reasons why Greece are top of the group with the maximum of six points after three rounds. After their initial defeat at Israel, followed by a victory against Cyprus, Finland remain on two points.

Finland, who are coached by Swedish four-time EHF EURO champion Ola Lindgren, had the better start but lost their pace after leading 5:3.

Netting seven straight times within only six minutes, Greece turned the match around and did not let the lead slip.

Finland reduced the gap to three goals either side of half-time, but the Greek defence then stood like a rock-solid wall – and allowed only eight goals in the last 28 minutes of the second half.

By the time Greece extended their lead to double figures, 27:17, the result was all but confirmed.

Bearing in mind that direct head-to-head could be important, Greece remained in express mode until the finish, ultimately sealing a 14-goal win.

Dmitrios Tsiras scored six goals for the victorious hosts, while Helander also netted six times for the Finnish side. Finland will host Greece on Sunday in the rematch.

Cyprus vs Israel 23:33 (15:13)

After losing the first two matches against Greece and Finland by a difference of at least 10 goals, Cyprus were supposed to be underdogs against Israel.

Israel coach Oleg Boutenko announced a rotation before the away match. In a match not truly reflected by the final result, Israel were nearly outplayed by the hosts.

Cypriot head coach Andreas Andreou saw his team ahead by four goals at one stage in the first half, 12:8, and they held a two-goal margin at the break (15:13).

After the break, Israel seemingly took the match more seriously, turning the tide quite early on. But they needed 50 minutes to reach their first five-goal lead (25:20).

As the hosts scored only three goals in the last 10 minutes, the match ended again with a double-figure win for Israel.