Spanish eyes were smiling on day two of the Under-17 EHF Beach Handball EURO in Varna as the nation’s men team maintained their unbeaten record to make it four wins from four matches as the competition moved into the main round.

Having won all three matches without dropping a set in the preliminary round, Spain’s youngsters recorded an impressive 18:10, 23:11 win over Poland to throw off their main round campaign in style.

Another team enjoying a fine start in the men’s competition are Sweden, who have won three of their four games so far in Bulgaria. They began the main round with a high-scoring straight-sets win over Germany. Sweden’s Victor Paldanius recorded an incredible 30 points in the 26:18, 34:31 win to give his side the perfect start in the main round.

One team, however, that are not competing for a place in the main round are Hungary. The Hungarians, whose under-17s finished in second place in 2019, lost two games in the preliminary round and will now aim to finish as high as possible in the consolation rounds.

Dutch deny Spain in thrilling shootout

Spain’s women – whose team won the under-17 competition two years ago – have also begun the tournament in good form. Like their male counterparts, the women won all three preliminary round matches.

However, they lost their main round opener against the Netherlands in a dramatic shootout. The result means the Dutch have now won all four of their matches on the shores of the Black Sea and now have solid claims of reaching the semi-finals.

Hungary’s women have made the main round, and the nation whose team were runners-up at the previous younger age category event in 2019, made a winning start in the main round, beating Russia in straight sets.

The race to reach the semi-finals in both genders resumes on Saturday at 09:00 EEST (08:00 CEST). Women’s matches throw-off the day’s action with the Netherlands aiming to make it five wins in a row when they take on France on court 2 at 10:00 local time (09:00 CEST).

The men’s action restarts at 11:00 EEST (10:00 CEST) with Spain also looking for a fifth win in five games when they meet Russia at 12:00 EEST (11:00 CEST).

As competition approaches the knockout stage, don’t forget to follow the action as it happens across various EHF channels.

Watch all matches from the four courts live on EHFTV – subject to geoblocking – while behind-the-scenes coverage, video and interviews can be viewed on Home of Handball social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

All photos © Sasa Pahic Szabo / kolektiff