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EHF EURO 2020 champions Spain showed how valuable their vast experience can be as they completed a remarkable comeback against Sweden, joining France, Denmark and Egypt in the semi-finals of the men’s handball tournament at Tokyo 2020.
QUARTER-FINALS
France vs Bahrain 42:28 (21:14)
- the fairy tale for Bahrain comes to an end as they were outclassed by a tuned-in French side
- France took control of the game late in the first half and never looked back as every court player got his name on the scoreboard
- Kentin Mahe had a day to remember with nine goals, leading a prolific French attack
Sweden vs Spain 33:34 (20:18)
- Sweden looked set for a place in the semi-finals when Hampus Wanne extended their lead to 29:25 with a quarter of the match left to play
- Gonzalo Perez de Vargas finally found some form between the Spanish goalposts as they turned the game around , using every ounce of their collective nous and experience
- Alex Dujshebaev once again proved his ability to rise in pressure situations as he took over in the final minutes and scored the winning goal
Denmark vs Norway 31:25 (13:12)
- Denmark went one step closer to retaining their 2016 gold medal with a confident victory over their Scandinavian neighbours
- in the battle of two of handball’s biggest stars, Sander Sagosen had the edge over Mikkel Hansen in the first half, before being left frustrated and eventually receiving a red card in the second
- Hansen and Jacob Holm led Denmark in attack with eight goals each, supported well by Mathias Gidsel at right back
Germany vs Egypt 26:31 (12:16)
- Egypt made history on Tuesday by reaching the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time
- The African challengers controlled the game from the very beginning against Germany, who they outmuscled and outwitted throughout the court
- Karim Hendawy was brilliant in goal, producing 18 saves as Egypt took another step towards becoming the first non-European team to medal at the Olympics since South Korea’s women in 2008
Semi-finals – 5 August
France vs Egypt (10:00 CEST)
Spain vs Denmark (14:00 CEST)
Detailed results and schedules are available on the official Olympics homepage.
All Tokyo 2020 photos courtesy of IHF.
TEXT: European Handball Federation
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