StarTopic 2022 European Men's Handball Championship | ST | Hungary for Some Handball

[Chaotic Neutral]

​

Am I the only handball aficionado on the forum? Maybe. Probably. But the worst case scenario is that this thread just tanks and I still enjoyed doing it! The 15th edition of the Men's Handball Euros are hosted this year by Hungary and Slovakia between January 13th and January 30th. With the COVID-19 pandemic looming, this edition of the tournament will be more interesting than ever as it has severely impacted national teams' preparations, player squads and travels. Will that affect the results, and if so, how? There's only one way to find out!
​

​

TEAMS​

This is the second time 24 national teams are included in the final tournament. While Hungary is a fixture in international tournaments, Slovakia has secured its first appearance for 10 years by winning the hosting bidding process. Three teams are appearing for the second time in the competition, with Lithuania showing up for the first time since 1998, which by my calculations is before many in the community here were born. Without further ado, here are the teams:​

Spain ​

What is there to say about the Spanish national team that hasn't been said? The current European champions are looking to secure their third title in a row, having appeared in every single iteration of the cup. Having finished 3rd in the World Cup last year, the Spanish national team will be looking to get back to winning ways.​

Croatia ​

Having finished as runners-up in the 2020 Euros, this old powerhouse will be hoping to lift the title this year. Even though they are a staple in international tournament and have figured in all Euros, they haven't won a major title since the 2004 Olympics and will be looking to amend that in the upcoming weeks.​

France​

Speaking of powerhouses, whew! The last but not least team to figure in all tournaments, the reigning Olympic champions will be hoping to avenge for a more-than-disappointing early exit in the 2020 Euros and a 4th place finish in last year's World Cup. Arguably the greatest player in history (Handball's Messi, so to speak), centre-back Nikola Karabatić, is turning 38 years old this year and doesn't have many tournaments left in him. Will he be able to add a medal to his collection this year?​

Denmark​

Certainly a team to watch this tournament, the back-to-back World Champions will be looking for their first European title in 10 years. Everyone knows what they can do. But that was also the case in 2020 when they were eliminated in the preliminary round and ranked 13th inbetween World Cup wins. What Danish team will we see this time around?​

Sweden​

Poor Sweden. Inaugural champions and winning 3 out of the first 4 Euros, they haven't seen a major tournament win for 20 years, when they won the Euros in their own home country. Always a force to be reckoned with but hardly ever the favourites, Sweden lost the World Cup final last year to neighbours and rivals Denmark and will hopefully be inspired to perform this year.​

Germany​

It's been 6 years since the inaugural both Olympics and World Cup winners took a gold medal home from the Euros. Germany is to handball what England is to football. Glorious past and arguably the best domestic league in the world but major titles are few and far between. Not many people will be putting their money on the Germans, but there is always room for some romance in sports.​

Russia​

Oh, dear. Banned from the 2021 World Championship by the World Anti-Doping Agency for government tampering with laboratory data but still controversially competing under the name RHF Team, the Russian team doesn't exactly have a good reputation within sports these days. Will the men's handball team be able to redeem it this year?​

Hungary​

The more successful host country, Hungary has still not won a major international tournament. With a 6th place finish being their best result in the competition, the team will be hoping playing in their home country will provide them the boost they need to reach the final stages of the tournament for the first time.​

Slovenia​

Having reached the semi-finals in the last iteration and gotten a bronze in the 2017 World Championships, the Slovenian team will be hoping to reach the final stages of the tournament again. Having won their group in the qualifying stages on goal difference, they face an uphill battle - but you never know.
​

Iceland​

Perennial underdogs in everything we do due to our tiny population, we were so proud of our national team for getting a silver during the 2008 Olympics that we awarded everyone on the team the country's highest-ranking medal. The coach that managed that feat is now back in charge and bringing up a new generation of players after most of the golden boys have retired. Will this be the year we manage to get some results again? We don't expect it, but will be proud of our boys regardless.
​

Czech Republic​

With not a single medal to its name, having withdrawn from last year's World Cup, and having placed 3 points behind Russia during qualifying, good old Bohemia is not expected to go very far this year. Czechia will be looking towards veteran left-winger Jakub Hrstka, who is still in his prime and has 392 goals in 121 international matches. If the competition turns out to be tight, such players can make a whole lot of difference.
​

Poland​

After a decent 2016 Olympics and a 4th place finish, Poland failed to qualify for the 2020 edition and had disappointing tournaments in the 2020 Euros and 2021 World Cup. Qualifying to this edition through the ranking of 3rd place teams, not many will be putting their money on the Polish. They do have some history though, with 4 major bronze medals and 1 major silver medal to their name, which is more than can be said for some of the "bigger" teams this time around. There is history to be channeled here.
​

Norway​

While not sporting the tournament history of sister countries Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, Norway is a team very much on the rise on the international scene and a modern powerhouse. Having won the bronze in the tournament's 2020 edition and silver in the 2017 and 2019 World Cups, it is only a matter of time when they claw through a tournament win. Many eyes will be on left-back Sander Sagosen, who has a whopping 655 goals in 128 international matches despite still being 26 years old. Betting odds are 9/2 that he will be able to finally lead the team to a tournament victory this year.
​

Serbia​

JFC, kids. After an impressive, to say the least, qualifying group 1 win over the institution of France, the Serbians have an astonishing 15 COVID cases in their national team (9 players) with only 2 days to go to their first match. Serbia will be hoping this sorts itself out quickly if they are to have legitimate chances of results this year. The rest of us hope that they will be able to field full teams when the curtains open, because they can be a dark horse on their day.
​

North Macedonia​

Not maybe known for great results, but very much so for its great fans, North Macedonia has now qualified for 5 Euros in a row. They'll be hoping to turn around some disappointing exits in recent tournaments and will be looking towards legendary veteran right-back Kiril Lazarov who has an absolutely amazing 1.443 goals in 207 international games. He's getting on a bit, turning 42 this year, but a track record like that cannot be bought. He'll be hoping to finish a stellar career here soon and that might prove some inspiration.​

Ukraine​

Ukraine has seen better days and has not qualified to a World Cup since their relative golden years during the naughties. Still, they have managed to qualify for the last two Euros, so things are looking up. There are many relatively young and inexperienced players on the team. It is always possible they will have a breakthrough tournament here in the next few years. Never say never!
​

Belarus​

This will be Belarus' 5th Euro in a row, which is a very consistent and good record for a team that was hardly seen at a tournament between the '90s and '10s. They did match Norway on points during the qualifying rounds, with a similar attacking record but a worse defensive record placing them 2nd in the group. There are eight players on the team with international goal counts in the hundreds, so the experience is there. If they can shore up their defense, we might see some upset performances here.​

Portugal​

Coming in hot! Portugal have only qualified to major tournaments sporadically throughout the years but are picking up the pace, achieving 6th place in the 2020 Euros and 10th place in last year's World Cup. With a 5-1 record in the qualifying stages, they won group 4 over Iceland after beating us in one of the matches with an impressing 26-24 win at home. They will, however, be sorely feeling the loss of amazing goalkeeper Alfredo Quintana who had a stellar career before tragically passing away prematurely last February. May he rest in peace. Nevertheless, there is potential here with many experienced goal scorers on the team and I could see some performances here.
​

Montenegro​

Unfortunately for Montenegro, this is unlikely to be a good tournament for them. With only a single World Cup qualification and a 22nd place finish in its history in 2013, since then the country has managed to qualify for 5 Euros in a row but only won a single match out of the 12 they've played there. Only beating Kosovo twice and Romania once in the qualifying process, they trailed group winners Sweden by half the amount of the latter team's points. With no player on the team having reached 100 matches and only three having reached 50 matches, there is also a lack of experience here. That being said, qualifying for 5 Euros in a row is definitely a promising sign of consistency in a tumultuous sport and there is always the off-chance they manage to transfer that consistency in the qualifying process into the tournament itself.
​

Austria​

Austria is another team that has started to build up some steam after a long period of little to nothing. They'll be hoping to build on their 8th place finish in the last edition after a disappointing record last year. Similar to Montenegro, they trailed group winners Germany by half the amount of the latter team's points, only beating Estonia twice and Bosnia Herzegovina once. However, they do have many experienced players and goal scorers on the team, so they are a bit of a wild card here.
​

Slovakia​

Firmly the less successful of the two host-countries, Slovakia is appearing in a major tournament for the first time since 2012 after a decent run of 3 appearances in 4 Euros and two World Cup appearances in a row. The team has now qualified as a co-host of the competition and will be hoping that home ground matches will provide them the boost they need in the uphill battle they face. They do have an experienced 110-cap goalkeeper in Teodor Paul and a 310-goal-man in right winger Tomas Urban, both of which will need a stellar tournament for the team to get some good results.
​

Bosnia Herzegovina​

Two teams are appearing for the second time ever in consequent tournaments and Bosnia Herzegovina is one of them. Unfortunately, they are unlikely to have a good tournament having gotten through as a ranked 3rd place team and not having won a single game in the 2020 Euros and with only 1 win in 8 lifetime major tournament matches. They do, however, have a lot of players in their squad born after the turn of the century, so maybe we will see some promising talent on display that might go on to elevate the team in the years to come.
​

Netherlands​

The other team appearing for the second time ever in a consequent tournament is the Netherlands. Unlike Bosnia Herzegovina, however, they have some steam building up behind them. Having equaled group winners Slovenia on points in the qualifying stage, placing 2nd on goal difference, the team recorded a first major tournament win in the 2020 Euros and has 8 players with international goals in the hundreds on their team sheet. Having a worse goal difference than 3rd placed Poland, however, they might want to take tactical approaches to their games this time around. It will be interesting to see if they can record another major tournament win or two in the upcoming weeks.
​

Lithuania​

A blast from the proverbial past! The Lithuanians have reached the Euros for the second time ever and are appearing for the first time since the '90s, when they also appeared in their only-ever World Cup. After reaching the tournament through placing 3rd in the group with Portugal and Iceland with four points and a goal difference of -30, they will have a lot to prove. But it is not all bleak! They managed to beat both Iceland and Israel at home during the qualifying rounds and have 9 international goal scorers in the hundreds, including centre-back Aidenas Malasinskas, who has the impressive record of 420 goals in only 92 matches. These are experienced players and they can cause an upset on their day.

THE COMPETITION
​

The Euros start with the preliminary round with 6 groups of 4 teams playing each other once. The top two teams in each group qualify two the two main round groups, carrying over points and goals against the other team that advances from the groups. There they play against the other four teams in their main round group, with the top two main round teams from each group qualifying to the semi-finals and the third-placed teams playing for the fifth place. The semi-final winners then play the final on January 30th, with the losers playing a match for the bronze earlier the same day.

Preliminary Round​

​

Group A

1. Denmark - 6 pts (+30)
2. Montenegro - 4 pts (-4)
3. Slovenia - 2 pts (-10)
4. North Macedonia - 0 pts (-16)

Group B

1. Iceland - 6 pts (+6)
2. Netherlands - 4 pts (+3)
3. Hungary - 2 pts (-3)
4. Portugal - 0 pts (-6)

Group C

1. France - 6 pts (+22)
2. Croatia - 4 pts (+11)
3. Serbia - 2 pts (+1)
4. Ukraine - 0 pts (-34)

Group D

1. Germany - 6 pts (+16)
2. Poland - 4 pts (+7)
3. Belarus - 2 pts (-10)
4. Austria - 0 pts (-13)

Group E

1. Spain - 6 pts (+10)
2. Sweden - 3 pts (+8)
3. Czech Republic - 3 pts (+6)
4. Bosnia Herzegovina - 0 pts (-24)

Group F

1. Russia - 6 pts (+12)
2. Norway - 4 pts (+15)
3. Slovakia - 2 pts (-14)
4. Lithuania - 0 pts (-13)

Main Round​

Group I

1. France - 8 pts (+17)
2. Denmark - 8 pts (+26)
3. Iceland - 6 pts (+14)​
4. Croatia - 3 pts (-12)
5. Netherlands - 3 pts (-19)
6. Montenegro - 2 pts (-26)​

​

Group II

1. Spain - 8 pts (+8)
2. Sweden - 8 pts (+17)
3. Norway - 6 pts (+18)
4. Germany - 4 pts (-7)
5. Russia - 3 pts (-7)
6. Poland - 1 pts (-29)

Knockout Round

Semi-Finals
FRA 33 - 34 SWE
ESP 29 - 25 DEN

Fifth Place Match
ISL 33 - 34 NOR

Bronze Match
FRA 32 - 35 DEN

Final
SWE 27 - 26 ESP

- - -

Final Ranking​

1. Sweden
2. Spain
3. Denmark
4. France
5. Norway
6. Iceland
7. Germany
8. Croatia
9. Russia
10. Netherlands
11. Montenegro
12. Poland
13. Czech Republic
14. Serbia
15. Hungary
16. Slovenia
17. Belarus
18. Slovakia
19. Portugal
20. Austria
21. Lithuania
22. North Macedonia
23. Bosnia Herzegovina
24. Ukraine

 

[MissingNo.]

Never been all that interested in Handball, and definitely not knowledgeable about it. But when the Euros/Worldcup rolls around, I enjoy watching them very casually. They always manage to sneak up on me, too.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Never been all that interested in Handball, and definitely not knowledgeable about it. But when the Euros/Worldcup rolls around, I enjoy watching them very casually. They always manage to sneak up on me, too.

I can't say I follow the sport religiously in day-to-day life except for just my local team. But I always watch the major tournaments. It's just so much fun and I love having fun sports tournaments in January and February, objectively speaking the worst months!

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

First matchday today!

These are the fixtures:

Going to watch Spain - Czechia and Croatia - France myself. Spain should beat Czechia but Croatia - France is a killer match to "kick" things off. Two stables in major tournaments who both have a good chance at the title at the start of the cup. With Serbia and Ukraine being in their relative positions (see OP overview), I expect both Croatia and France to go through to the main round. So this match is especially important as the points from it will likely be carried through to the main round, very possibly affecting the semi-final qualification. If you are interested in the competition and have some time to kill, the match is at the Szeged Uj Arena in Hungary and starts at 20:30 CET!

 

[MissingNo.]

Wasn’t able to watch any game today, but there have been some close ones.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Mostly a predictable start to the competition yesterday but some noteworthy points!

27 - 25

30 - 21

28 - 31

31 - 23

22 - 27

28 - 26

30 - 18

29 - 27

35 - 25 ​

Most of these were according to the script, although I did not expect the mainland Nordic countries to all give their opponents such a thrashing. The Netherlands keep building up steam. Hungary maybe isn't the strongest opponent but they are on home ground. If they can beat either Portugal or Iceland now, they'll most likely qualify to the main round, which would be great performance for them. I expected Serbia - Ukraine to be a much closer game and am frankly impressed with the Serbian team considering their problems. Croatia - France was a pretty nasty game - great fun to watch but there'll be a lot of bruises this morning. The red and the blue card on Mandic were more than justified. Hopefully no hard feelings, though. Probably mixed feelings for Lithuania. While they won't be too happy with their loss, a two-goal difference against Russia isn't too bad for their team. At the same time, now their chances at progression will be very low, especially seeing the form with which Norway absolutely thrashed Slovakia.

Three matches today to finish off the first round of fixtures for the six teams that didn't feature yesterday:
​

Germany - Belarus might be an interesting watch. Lots of pundits here are predicting they'll impress beyond many expectations. Then of course Portugal - Iceland. This'll probably be a tight one, as we have played each other three times in the last year with mixed results and know each other very well. On a neutral ground, I'm expecting a nail-biter!​

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

I'm still a nerve wreck from the match v. the Netherlands yesterday. What a nail-biter! Congratulations to Denmark, Spain, Poland, and Germany for all having made it through to the main round already with a match left to play. And condolences to North Macedonia, Austria, Belarus, and Bosnia Herzegovina for their elimination - you'll do better next time around! Spain and Denmark will be carrying 2 pts into the main round regardless, putting both in a strong position to get to the semifinals, as was widely predicted pre-tournament. Here's the roundup for the weekend:​

Friday

24 - 28

33 - 29

31 - 36

Saturday

24 - 28

23 - 34

36 - 23

23 - 20

27 - 19

32 - 28

31 - 26

22 - 23

Sunday

30 - 31

29 - 28

34 - 29

20 - 29 ​

Shocker of the weekend in my opinion is Russia beating Norway. I really expected the Norwegians to win that one. Also, I have to say, I hope this Dutch team qualifies (sorry, Hungary and Portugal!). The match yesterday was the most exciting handball match I've seen in a long, long time and tbh I thought Kay Smits deserved MOTM ahead of Sigvaldi Björn Guðjónsson, impressive as the latter was. 13 goals in a single match and he very nearly won the game on his lonesome - he absolutely deserves a run in the main round. And to absolutely honest, the Portuguese team has disappointed at this tournament (due largely to factors outside their control), so I don't see them beating this in-form Netherlands team.​

These are the matches ahead of us today:

I'd put my money on France beating Serbia, Croatia beating Ukraine, Russia beating Slovakia and Norway beating Lithuania, allowing France, Croatia and Norway to progress to the next round. But if you can, watch Montenegro - Slovenia and Czechia - Sweden as both are pure competitions for who progresses, and the latter especially should be a good match!​

 

[MissingNo.]

Germany with a total of 6 covid cases now. :/

 

[Sheldon]

Indoor sport, no bubbles, no masks, arenas at full capacity ... when I started reading up on this I was suprised the tournament has had over twenty registered Covid cases. Now I'm surprised it's not more given the half measures.

Usually if places go that heavy "I don't care" about the pandemic, they also eliminate testing so at least there's less documentation of how much they're failing by.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Congratulations to France, Croatia, Montenegro, Russia, Norway, and Sweden for their qualifications to the main round!

33 - 32

21 - 31

25 - 38

29 - 25

24 - 28

27 - 27

27 - 36

29 - 35 ​

We got our first tournament draw between Czechia and Sweden and the Czechs will be absolutely brokenhearted over such a narrow exit from the tournament. Montenegro will be happy about their one-goal win against Slovenia, securing them a qualification ahead of the last cup's semi-finalists. Other results are according to the script, although big kudos to Bosnia Herzegovina for their performance against Spain, even though the latter eventually managed to win the match.

The preliminary rounds are almost done, with only two groups remaining to be finished. In group D, Poland and Germany are already through but will play today to decide who takes the points with them to the main round. Group B is the only question mark left, with all four teams theoretically able to qualify. These are the matches today that will settle the main round:

18:00 CET

Group B: Iceland - Hungary
Group D: Poland - Germany

20:30 CET

Group B: Netherlands - Portugal
Group D: Belarus - Austria

I'll be watching the group B games with all my nerves on edge. But no matter how this goes, the main round is shaping up to be something fierce!
​

Germany with a total of 6 covid cases now. :/

Oof, yeah. Huge players out after yesterday's events too. The replacements seem good, though, especially Johannes Bitter. But if Germany doesn't beat Poland tonight, that main round is going to be a steep uphill climb.​

Indoor sport, no bubbles, no masks, arenas at full capacity ... when I started reading up on this I was suprised the tournament has had over twenty registered Covid cases. Now I'm surprised it's not more given the half measures.

Usually if places go that heavy "I don't care" about the pandemic, they also eliminate testing so at least there's less documentation of how much they're failing by.

It's scandalous how the COVID preparations for the cup have been. Teams put together in hotels and in the same dining halls. Packed stands, up to and over 20.000 while just a year ago at the World Cup in Egypt the matches were closed and there were issues if even a few locals tried to peek in. I understand that there is a lot riding on this financially for the EHF but it's just irresponsible for public health and it creates an unjust, basically luck-based disadvantage in the tournament itself for teams like Serbia, now Germany etc. I really think they should've bitten the bullet and done a WC Egypt again.​

 

[MissingNo.]

It's scandalous how the COVID preparations for the cup have been. Teams put together in hotels and in the same dining halls. Packed stands, up to and over 20.000 while just a year ago at the World Cup in Egypt the matches were closed and there were issues if even a few locals tried to peek in. I understand that there is a lot riding on this financially for the EHF but it's just irresponsible for public health and it creates an unjust, basically luck-based disadvantage in the tournament itself for teams like Serbia, now Germany etc. I really think they should've bitten the bullet and done a WC Egypt again.​

Yeah, I absolutely don't get this. Football stadiums in the Bundesliga are either empty or at a very limited capacity, while they pack their halls in the EHF. I don't know how this is reconcilable with COVID protocol, but it shouldn't be.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Yeah, I absolutely don't get this. Football stadiums in the Bundesliga are either empty or at a very limited capacity, while they pack their halls in the EHF. I don't know how this is reconcilable with COVID protocol, but it shouldn't be.

It's weird, but I guess regulations differ widely. In football, EPL matches this season have buzzing stadiums - attendance measured between 17k and 73k fans so far this season. At the same time, matches are being postponed due to the situation almost every round.

 

[MissingNo.]

German team should just withdraw at this point. Two new cases of COVID, they are down to 14 players, with only one goalie for the match against Poland.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

And that's a wrap on the preliminary round! Congratulations to Iceland and the Netherlands on being the last two teams to qualify to the main round!​

31 - 30

32 - 31

23 - 30

29 - 26 ​

Also, huge kudos to Germany on the resounding victory over fellow qualified team Poland in spite of their plethora of Covid-cases, putting them at the top of their main round group! My nerves are still aching from yesterday's Icelandic win over Hungary on their home turf. What a match with a full stadium of enthusiastic home supporters. You could hear the atmosphere and the buzz over the ocean.

These are the two main round groups heading into the next phase of the tournament, then:
​

Group I

1. Denmark - 2 pts (+9)
2. France - 2 pts (+5)
3. Iceland - 2 pts (+1)
4. Netherlands - 0 pts (-1)
5. Croatia - 0 pts (-5)
6. Montenegro - 0 pts (-9)

Group II

1. Germany - 2 pts (+7)
2. Spain - 2 pts (+4)
3. Russia - 2 pts (+1)
4. Norway - 0 pts (-1)
5. Sweden - 0 pts (-4)
6. Poland - 0 pts (-7)

Each team will now play each of the other teams in the group that they didn't already play in the preliminary round, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals and the third-placed teams advancing to the 5th place match. There are no matches today but this is the agenda tomorrow, January 20th 2022:
​

15:30 CET

Group 1: Montenegro - Croatia
Group 2: Russia - Sweden

18:00 CET

Group 1: France - Netherlands
Group 2: Germany - Spain

20:30 CET

Group 1: Denmark - Iceland
Group 2: Poland - Norway

If I had to pick matches, I'd say go for Russia - Sweden, Germany - Spain, and Denmark - Iceland!

German team should just withdraw at this point. Two new cases of COVID, they are down to 14 players, with only one goalie for the match against Poland.

Well, I think the response from Germany yesterday was more than excellent. What a team! Hope they manage a top 6 finish!

 

[MissingNo.]

Well, I think the response from Germany yesterday was more than excellent. What a team! Hope they manage a top 6 finish!

Yeah, it really was. They played their best match of the tournament yesterday, despite all hardship. Did not see that coming.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Yeah, it really was. They played their best match of the tournament yesterday, despite all hardship. Did not see that coming.

I think it just shows great character, rising up to the challenge like that. I'm very impressed!

 

[MissingNo.]

De Vargas OP, send help.

But now they are just disintegrating anyway.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Well, shit - Covid got Iceland too. It was a good run, though.

32 - 26

23 - 29

34 - 24

23 - 29

28 - 24

​

31 - 42 ​

Holy hell, Norway! 42 goals, will you chill out? I missed this one as I was watching Denmark - Iceland at the same time and crying about all of our A-team being sidelined by Covid, but I now kind of wish I had watched that instead. I also continue to be surprised by Montenegro, who are having a monster tournament. A 6-goal victory over Croatia is a feat and I happily eat crow having given them little chances before the tournament started. I am a bit surprised how one-sided so many matches were, with all matches being won by between 4 and 11 goals. Hopefully we'll see some closer contests here in the remaining three Main Round matchdays, with the tables currently looking like this:​

Group 1

1. France - 4 pts (+15)
2. Denmark - 4 pts (+13)
3. Montenegro - 2 pts (-3)
4. Iceland - 2 pts (-3)
5. Netherlands - 0 pts (-11)
6. Croatia - 0 pts (-11)

Group 2

1. Spain - 4 pts (+10)
2. Norway - 2 pts (+10)
3. Sweden - 2 pts (+2)
4. Germany - 2 pts (+1)
5. Russia - 2 pts (-5)
6. Poland - 0 pts (-18)

Next matchday is tomorrow, January 22nd 2022, and the schedule looks like this:

15:30 CET

Group 1: Montenegro - Netherlands
Group 2: Russia - Spain

18:00 CET

Group 1: France - Iceland
Group 2: Poland - Sweden

20:30 CET

Group 1: Denmark - Croatia
Group 2: Germany - Norway

Croatia is going to need to fight off the Danish juggernaut here if they want to have a chance at the knockouts, otherwise it's probably game over. The same goes for Poland against Sweden, but unfortunately for the Polish, I just do not see that happening. On the other ends of the tables, Spain will probably have secured themselves a spot in the top 6 with a win against Russia. But everything can still happen!​

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Matches are coming thick and fast now and we've had some bangers!

Group I

Matchday 2

30 - 34

21 - 29

27 - 25 ​

What a day! Iceland's monumental eight-goal win with eight of the country's best players out with Covid against the Olympic champions and international powerhouse France is locally celebrated as being one of the greatest sports achievements in the country's history. This unexpected victory turned the group on its head and alongside Netherlands' win over Montenegro has ensured that the group is still completely open with everyone still able to reach the upper half of the table. However, Denmark's win over Croatia means they can now at best reach the group's 3rd place and compete for the tournament's 5th place.
​

Group II

Matchday 2

25 - 26

18 - 28

23 - 28

Matchday 3

29 - 29

21 - 25

23 - 27 ​

Group II on the other hand is settling down. It is now clear that Norway, Sweden, and Spain will divide the top three places between them somehow, with the rest being eliminated from the tournament after tomorrow's final matchday regardless of results. The question now is which two teams will advance to the semifinals and which team will compete for the 5th place. The Sweden - Norway derby tomorrow will send the winner to the semi-finals, with the loser dependent on Spain's result against Poland and goal differences.​

As it stands:

Group I

1. Denmark - 6 pts (+15)
2. France - 4 pts (+7)
3. Iceland - 4 pts (+5)
4. Netherlands - 2 pts (-7)
5. Montenegro - 2 pts (-7)
6. Croatia - 0 pts (-13)

Group II

1. Norway - 6 pts (+19)
2. Sweden - 6 pts (+16)
3. Spain - 6 pts (+7)
4. Russia - 3 pts (-6)
5. Germany - 2 pts (-8)
6. Poland - 1 pts (-28)

Today, we finish up the 3rd matchday in Group I with the following matches:

15:30 CET: Iceland - Croatia
18:00 CET: Denmark - Netherlands
20:30 CET: Montenegro - France

Iceland will be hoping for some of its main players to come back to even the odds against Croatia, who will now be trying their best to secure a 5th place ranking. Denmark is able to cement a qualification with a win over the Netherlands, who are now without superstar Kay Smits and will have to compensate somehow. Montenegro desperately need a win against France, who will be wanting to make up for an embarrassing match against Iceland ahead of a difficult final match against Denmark in two days time.​

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Oof! Yesterday's matches put Group I in an interesting situation!
​

22 - 23

35 - 23

27 - 36 ​

These results mean that (A) Denmark has qualified to the semifinals; (B) France has qualified to at least the 5th place match; and (C) Croatia, Montenegro and Netherlands can progress to the 5th place match but are not in contention for the semifinals. Iceland still has a chance to reach the semifinals but will need (A) to beat Montenegro tomorrow and (B) that Denmark beats France. If neither works out, they are out, but if only (A), then a 5th place match is in the cards. As it stands:

Group I​

1. Denmark - 8 pts (+27)​
2. France - 6 pts (+16)​
3. Iceland - 4 pts (+4)​
4. Croatia - 2 pts (-12)​
5. Montenegro - 2 pts (-16)​
6. Netherlands - 2 pts (-19)​

Group II

1. Norway - 6 pts (+19)​
2. Sweden - 6 pts (+16)​
3. Spain - 6 pts (+7)​
4. Russia - 3 pts (-6)​
5. Germany - 2 pts (-8)​
6. Poland - 1 pts (-28)​

Last matchday of the main round starts today in Group II. These are the matches:
​

15:30 CET: Poland - Spain
18:00 CET: Germany - Russia
20:30 CET: Sweden - Norway

Given that Spain beats Poland in the first match of the day, Sweden - Norway is a pure knockout for who reaches the semifinals and who advances to the 5th place match. Germany - Russia, however, considering how the groups are looking, is de facto a contest about who ranks 7th in the tournament - and of course for bragging rights!​

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

And that's a wrap on the final main round matchday in Group II!

27 - 28

30 - 29

24 - 23 ​

All of the matches were pretty close but Spain's victory ensures them the top place in the group, having a smaller goal difference than Sweden (who follow them into the semifinals after their victory over Norway) but having beaten them in their preliminary round match. Norway will be devastated having lost to Sweden, but their 3rd place ranking in the group ensures them a shot at the 5th place in the tournament against the eventually 3rd ranked team in Group I. Meanwhile, Germany will be hoping their 4th place finish in the group gets them the 7th place in the tournament but that is looking possible but unlikely as group I stands right now. Poland's last place finish with only a single point has ensured that they take the last place of the main round qualified teams, ending in the tournament's 11th place overall (see updated OP).

As it stands:
​

Group I

1. Denmark - 8 pts (+27)
2. France - 6 pts (+16)
3. Iceland - 4 pts (+4)
4. Croatia - 2 pts (-12)
5. Montenegro - 2 pts (-16)
6. Netherlands - 2 pts (-19)

Group II

1. Spain - 8 pts (+8)
2. Sweden - 8 pts (+17)
3. Norway - 6 pts (+18)
4. Germany - 4 pts (-7)
5. Russia - 3 pts (-7)
6. Poland - 1 pts (-29)

Today, we will find out whether Denmark faces Spain or rivals Sweden in the semifinals and whether Iceland or France play the other team. Norway's 5th place match opponents are a lot more open, with almost all Group I being possible opponents. Today, then, we have the last main round matches before the knockout round:
​

15:30 CET: Montenegro - Iceland
18:00 CET: Netherlands - Croatia
20:30 CET: Denmark - France

You shouldn't miss these matches, especially Denmark - France, as that match might very well end up being repeated for the final, depending on results today!

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

Wow, what a day! Iceland's failure to qualify to the semifinals in spite of a 10-goal victory over Montenegro has sparked an international incident, with Icelanders accusing Denmark of throwing away their game after having had a 5-goal lead for a long period, and Danish media picking up on it, resulting in some Danish readers to argue heavily with the Icelandic Twitter community online!​

24 - 34

28 - 28

29 - 30 ​

France's narrow victory over World Cup holders Denmark means that the two teams will go to the semifinals, with Iceland being sent to battle Norway for the tournament's 5th place ranking. Montenegro's heavy defeat against Iceland means that they take the last place of the ones that were still on offer, i.e. the 11th. The Netherlands take the 10th, with Russia taking the 9th. Croatia's draw against the Netherlands means that they take the 8th place after Germany's 7th finish, which is a remarkable success considering how the tournament went down for the Germans.

The final ranking for the main round is as follows:
​

Group I

1. France - 8 pts (+17)
2. Denmark - 8 pts (+26)
3. Iceland - 6 pts (+14)
4. Croatia - 3 pts (-12)
5. Netherlands - 3 pts (-19)
6. Montenegro - 2 pts (-26)

Group II

1. Spain - 8 pts (+8)
2. Sweden - 8 pts (+17)
3. Norway - 6 pts (+18)
4. Germany - 4 pts (-7)
5. Russia - 3 pts (-7)
6. Poland - 1 pts (-29)

These, then, are the semifinals and 5th place match that will be played tomorrow, January 28th:
​

Semi-Finals

FRA - SWE

ESP - DEN

Fifth Place Match

ISL - NOR​

In spite of Norwegian and Icelandic disappointment, the Nordic countries will be collectively very happy to take 4 out of the top 6 places in the tournament, while France and Spain will both be hoping for a Latin showdown in the finals. We're nearing the end and all of the remaining places are up for grabs now - very exciting!

—

Edit 26/3/22: I’m sorry I failed to carry this thread through to completion but real life got in the way. (Nothing dramatic, just work crunch plus family stuff.) I’ve updated the OP to reflect on how the tournament eventually went down. Thanks to everyone who followed!

​