Portugal beat EHF EURO champions to reach U21 World Championship Semi-finals
Portugal beat EHF EURO champions to reach U21 World Championship Semi-finals
Despite 13 goals from Slovenia’s Grogor Ocvirk, it was Diogo Valerio who was hailed a hero as Portugal pulled off another big win in the knockout phase of the Men’s U21 World Championship.
Having beaten Germany after-extra-time in the previous round, the Portuguese continued their brilliant run with a 26:25 win over last year’s Men’s 20 EHF EURO champions.
They will face Croatia in Saturday’s semi-finals, after they beat Tunisia 27:24. The Croatians will be hoping to finally get their hands on a medal in this competition at the eighth time of asking.
France find form
Following two losses in the preliminary round, Men’s 20 EHF EURO 2018 silver medallists France have finally hit their stride.
They beat hosts Spain in the Last 16, before turning the tables against Denmark on Thursday, coming from behind to win 35:32. This sets up a semi-final date with Egypt, who themselves had to come from behind to beat Norway 29:27 and maintain their perfect winning record at the championship.
Follow the championship
The semi-finals take place on Saturday evening in Pontevedra, with Egypt taking on France at 18:00 hrs local time and Portugal vs Croatia at 20:30 hrs.
Watch the games live on the IHF’s YouTube channel and follow live updates and news on the competition’s microsite.
Photo credit: RFEBM / J. L. Recio
