Summary: Norway, Sweden and Spain add points
Group II take to the court again on Friday 21 January, as Spain look to extend their winning streak and grab two more points in their bid to defend their title.
Sometimes you have to win exactly those matches, when you want to proceed. We still have not reached the semi, but we can seal it against Norway. We are unbeaten for 17 matches, this is a great story. We can go through the gate on Sunday, but our coach always tells us to keep the feet on the floor.
When two of the best four attacks in an EHF EURO meet, one would expect goals galore, right? Well, not precisely. At least in the match between Norway and Germany. It might have something to do with the two goalkeepers – Germany’s Johannes Bitter saved nine shots, while Norway’s Torbjoern Bergerud had seven saves. But it’s still anyone’s game, despite Norway looking slightly better when talking about depth and experience. Certainly they will need more from Sander Sagosen, who scored twice from six shots in the first half. One thing’s certain, though, that this game is crucial for both sides.
Poland’s hopes of progressing to the semi-finals are virtually over after this first half, as there is little hope of coming back against Sweden. The tournament started excellently for Poland, with two wins, but they are heading to the third loss in a row, with another disappointing outing after yesterday’s painful 11-goal defeat against Norway, one of their worst at the EHF EURO 2022. Sweden are looking better and better, especially in defence, where they prevented Poland from scoring for more than 12 minutes in this first half, also forcing a whopping 11 turnovers in the first half.
Okay, so this was pretty good for Russia, especially in defence, where they managed to keep Spain to only 12 goals scored. Credit to an amazing performance from goalkeeper Victor Kireev, who saved eight shots, six of which were one-on-one with his opponents. Spain boast a slight lead, but their depth is better than Russia’s. And they should improve that 46 per cent attacking efficiency which is totally uncharacteristic for the reigning champions. It’s still Spain’s game to lose at the break.
