30.06.2018, 07:48
Germany take spots in Men's and Women's 18 Beach EURO semi-finals

DAY REVIEW: Three of the men's semi-finalists were decided after shootouts, while the women had an easier progression on day two of the 18 Beach EURO in Ulcinj

Germany take spots in Men's and Women's 18 Beach EURO semi-finals

Germany will feature in the semi-finals of both the men’s and women’s U18 Beach EURO tomorrow after the women’s team produced a decisive quarter-final win over Spain, and the men prevailed in a shootout against Russia.

Spain are the only men’s semi-finalists to have topped their group, with Saturday’s action in Ulcinj proving tough for the other group winners.

Italy secured their place in the quarter-finals after winning all their group matches, but an on-fire Croatia – who finished second to Russia in Group D – dominated in a high-scoring quarter-final. The Croatians took the first set 28:26 and won the second 29:22.

After not dropping a single set during the group matches, Hungary went out to Poland in the quarter-finals in a tight game. Hungary took the first set 15:12, but Poland edged the second 16:14 and won the shootout by a single goal.

Poland will play Croatia on Sunday morning for a place in the final.

The other two quarter-finals also went to shootouts. Spain looked to have stamped their mark on their match against Iberian rivals Portugal by winning the first set 26:7, but Portugal were undaunted, taking the second set 18:16.

In the shootout it was Spain who triumphed, scoring seven times to Portugal’s four and securing their semi-final spot.

Germany’s only group phase loss was against Italy, while quarter-final opponents Russia had won all four of their matches. The first set went to Russia, but Germany won the second and then took the shootout 7:5 to secure a semi-final place against Spain.

The men’s semi-finals are played at 12 noon local time on Sunday, with the final at 18:00.

Schedule and results of the men's competition

In the women’s competition, Germany and Russia had already booked their quarter-final places yesterday. They were joined after Saturday morning’s action by the Netherlands, Croatia, Portugal, Ukraine, Hungary and Spain.

All four quarter-finals were won in straight sets. The Netherlands had one of the closest matches, but prevailed over Croatia (18:14, 19:16). There was more distance between Portugal and Ukraine, with Portugal winning the second set 19:14 after securing a seven-goal win in the first.

Despite knowing yesterday they had made it to this stage, Russia were unable to progress further and they lost to Hungary. In the final quarter-final there was better news for Germany, who beat Spain in straight sets.

Sunday’s semi-finals pit the Netherlands against Germany, and Portugal against Hungary. The ties mean a repeat of last year’s Women’s 17 Beach EURO 2017 final, in which the Netherlands beat Portugal, is still a possibility.

The women’s semi-finals will be played at 11:00 local time on Sunday, with the final at 17:00.

Schedule and results of the women's competition

All matches are streamed live on ehfTV

Follow the results with the EHF's beach live ticker

Photos: Marcio Menino

TEXT: Joanne Harris