Romania defeated North Macedonia 31-23, Montenegro defeated Poland 26-23, France defeated the Netherlands 26-24 and Spain defeated Germany 23-21 in the final group stage of the Championship European women’s handball.
| Even Angela Malestein’s goals weren’t enough for the Dutch success (Photo: Imago Images) |
In group C the two hitherto unsuccessful national teams, North Macedonia and Romania, clashed. Our eastern neighbors played better than their opponents throughout the match: this was reflected in the exploitation of the situation, in fact the Yugoslav successor state lost almost double the chances of the Romanian team. The Romanians scored the first goal of the match. The Macedonians have managed to equalize six times, they also led for a short time at 4-3, but after the break the scoreboard showed only the advantage of the opponents. Romania took a confident lead early on, eventually winning with eight goals and finishing in third place to qualify for the next round. Cristina Neagu He took part in the success with 10 hits.
In the other match of the four, France and the Netherlands played a very tight match for the group win. The French never managed to pull off with more than three goals, but the Dutch did not have the lead in the match, even though Ferencváros with nine goals Angela Malstein he was the most successful player of the match. France won the match and its group: they contributed a lot to its success Cleopatra Darleux defenses.
In group D Poland was the field picker in the battle against co-organizers from Montenegro. The extremely tight match ended in a 12-12 draw at half-time, and while the Poles had the upper hand before half-time, the second half was more than the Montenegrins. The Poles, who received several performances in the match (4×2 minutes, against Montenegro’s 2×2), were already at a significant disadvantage with ten minutes remaining, which they failed to overcome. Montenegro won the group, while the Poles had no hope of advancing, but their dreams were shattered by the Spaniards!
Spain, without a point so far, scored their first victory against the Germans. Emily Bolkek they led only once, at 4-3, and after the interval they managed to equalize only once. With their success, the Iberians jumped to second place, followed by the Germans, and the Poles greeted the continental tournament.
HAND BALL
WOMEN’S EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP, GROUP
LAP 3
GROUP C (Skopje)
North Macedonia-Romania 23-31 (12-13)
France-Holland 26-24 (14-12)
| 1. France | 3 | 3 | – | – | 85–59 | +26 | 6 |
| 2. Netherlands | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 83–69 | +14 | 4 |
| 3. Romania | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 80–87 | –7 | 2 |
| 4. North Macedonia | 3 | – | – | 3 | 52–85 | –33 | 0 |
GROUP D (Podgorica)
Poland-Montenegro 23-26 (12-12)
Germany-Spain 21-23 (10-11)
| 1. Montenegro | 3 | 3 | – | – | 85–71 | +14 | 6 |
| 2. Spain | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 67–73 | –6 | 2 |
| 3. Germany | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 71–75 | –4 | 2 |
| 4. Poland | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 68–72 | –4 | 2 |
