Iceland secure first place in the group with clear win over Estonia
A strong start helped Iceland seal a 30:23 win over Estonia, taking the first place in the group, with the Czech Republic finishing second, after their 27:24 win over Israel.
GROUP 3
Czech Republic vs Israel 27:24 (15:13)
Israel also needed a win to earn a maiden EHF EURO berth, but could simply not pull it together when it mattered the most, as the Czech Republic delivered a great defensive game when they needed it to stop the challenge from their opponents. Stanislav Kasparek and Matej Klima each scored six goals for the hosts, as Israel’s attacking efficiency dropped to only 43% in the last 20 minutes of the match, with the hosts finishing on the second place in the group, while Israel are out of contention. Martin Galia, Czech Republic’s goalkeeper, also bid farewell to his career in this game. In his 219th match for the national team, Galia had three saves for a 60% saving efficiency to help his side give him a winning goodbye.
Iceland vs Estonia 30:23 (17:10)
Still searching for their new head coach, after Gudmundur Gudmundsson exited his position after the World Championship in January, Iceland’s young and talented generation produced another big win against Estonia, taking the first place in the group. There was no question about the winner, as the hosts jumped to a 10:4 lead and never looked back. Left wing Bjarki Mar Elisson scored eight goals, taking his overall tally in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers to 33 goals, as Iceland dealt Estonia another blow, eliminating the Baltic side from contention, in what could have been their first-ever EHF EURO berth.
Photo: Icelandic and Czech handball federation
A loss is never pleasant, but we did give a really good fight. We kept running back to the defense and kept the opponent at bay. It was super good to see everyone fight. Yes, our level is not enough yet to beat teams like Iceland, but we will keep training hard.
