After a draw against Spain, Austria was surprisingly the last German opponent to make it into the main round of the European Handball Championship. There the DHB selection will also meet Croatia, Hungary and, as their first opponent, Iceland, the home of national coach Alfred Gislason.
The Austrians drew 33:33 (17:15) against Spain on Tuesday (January 16, 2024) and thus threw the Iberians out of the tournament, who only reached third place in Group B.
“That was incredible. We believed in it. We showed the whole world: Austria is alive,” said Robert Weber. “We’re going to Kölle, who would have thought that. It’s unbelievable, I have to process it first.” Eight seconds before the end, Janko Bozovic scored the decisive goal to equalize. Spain took another timeout, but could no longer counter. After the final siren, the Austrians’ celebration of Bundesliga star Nikola Bilyk knew no bounds.
Croatia very solid, Hungary and Iceland early in the main round
The still unbeaten Croatians beat Romania 31:25 in Mannheim and thus secured their ticket to the second phase of the tournament in Group B.
Hungary and Iceland, who played 33:25 in Munich, are definitely there too. Before their duel, both teams had already benefited from Serbia’s 29:30 defeat against Montenegro, both of whom were eliminated from the tournament. Hungary comes to Cologne as the only team with three wins from three games.
Switzerland loses and France also qualifies early
Even before the end of the group against Germany, handball world champion France had secured their ticket to the main round of the European Championship. The pursuers, Switzerland, lost in Berlin against North Macedonia with 27:29 (9:13) and, despite twelve goals from Andy Schmid, missed the victory they needed to be able to overtake France in the event of a heavy defeat against the DHB selection.
France will also be in the group of German handball players, but will not meet the German team there. The 33:30 for France on Tuesday evening will be taken into the main round.
German main round games in Cologne
The DHB selection plays its main round games in Cologne. The top two in the group of six qualify for the semi-finals.