A new-look Serbian team entered big favourites against Iceland, only to fail against the Nordic side, who won their first game, 23:21, in the EHF EURO Qualification Phase 2 since March 2016.

GROUP 6

Iceland vs Serbia 23:21 (10:8)

• Serbia only led the game once, 15:14, in the second half, but Iceland quickly bounced back and delivered a superb defensive performance to clinch the 23:21 win
• the Serbian side scored the lowest amount of goals in an EHF EURO Qualification Phase match since March 2014, in a 18:18 draw against Sweden
• back Ragnheidur Juliusdottir was Iceland’s top scorer, with five goals
• Serbia’s undoing was their attack, which had a lowly 48% attacking efficiency in the 60 minutes played against Iceland
• Iceland tied Serbia in the standings, with the two teams standing at two points each, behind Sweden, who are leading the group with four points

Serbia stumble without their stars

As stars Andrea Lekic and Dragana Cvijic announced their retirement from the national side, Serbia have entered a new phase, but the learning curve is steep.

After a clear win against Turkey in the first round, the Serbian side registered one of the most shocking losses in their history, being outplayed in a packed arena in Hafnarfjordur.

It was Iceland’s third win in the past two years, as the Nordic side dreams of their first berth for the EHF EURO since 2012.