In the game against the Faroe Islands, shortly before the end it looks like a win for the favorites. But then things get dramatic.
Norway’s handball players surprisingly stumbled against the Faroe Islands at the European Championships. Led by Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu from the German record champions THW Kiel, the Faroese wrestled a point from the former European Championship third-placed team at the last second at 26:26 (12:13) in Berlin. Norway still has to worry about progressing in the last matchday of Group D against the Slovenians, who have already qualified for the main round.
In the last action of the game, Ellefsen a Skipagötu equalized with his sixth goal from seven meters. Previously, the Norwegians, for whom Alexander Blonz (eight goals) was the most successful thrower, seemed to have pulled their heads out of the loop again after a consistently close game. But even a three-goal lead three minutes before the end wasn’t enough.
In contrast to Norway, two other Scandinavian teams moved into the main round with confident victories on Saturday evening. Defending champion Sweden had no trouble in Group E with a 42:26 (23:9) win over Georgia, as did world champion Denmark in a 40:28 (20:13) win over Greece in Group F. For the Danes, Michael Damgaard from the Champions League winner stood out SC Magdeburg scored ten goals, while Sebastian Karlsson (seven goals) was Sweden’s most successful thrower.
Slovenia had already won confidently against Poland in the afternoon with 32:25 (20:14). At the same time, the Netherlands and Portugal had already celebrated their entry into the main round. In Sweden’s Group E, the Netherlands defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 36:20 (17:7), Denmark’s group opponent Portugal beat the Czech Republic 30:27 (13:7).