Two teams that know each other well and played in the same group in the preliminary round – Spain and Sweden – progressed to the final of the M18 EHF EURO 2022 in Montenegro after recording dominant wins in Friday's semi-finals.
Sweden controlled the second half of the game against Hungary to take a 33:30 win, while Spain secured their sixth win in a row, 32:29, against reigning champions Germany to seal a berth in the final for the first time since 2010.
- both Sweden and Spain qualified for the M18 EHF EURO final for the fourth time, only one appearance shy of the record set by Croatia – with five appearances in the last act of the competition
- backed by a seven-goal outing from their top scorer Axel Månsson, Sweden cancelled Hungary's 16:15 lead at the break and clinched a 33:30 win after taking control of the second half in the first semi-final
- Germany mounted a comeback in the second half against Spain to erase a five-goal half-time deficit, but “Los Hispanos” used a late 8:2 run, spurred by four goals from Ferran Castillo Oliveras, to seal a 32:29 win
- the two finalists have already met in the preliminary round, when Spain took a clear 40:33 win in a dominant performance
- after scoring 12 goals in another outstanding performance against Montenegro, Faroe Islands’ back Óli Mittun is virtually assured of the top scorer crown. Mittun improved his overall tally in the tournament to 69 goals, 19 more than Italy’s Tomasso De Angelis, who has scored 50 goals
Spain and Sweden to deliver mouth-watering final
Only one month after their resounding success at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, where they won gold in emphatic fashion, with a superb comeback win against Portugal, Spain are in the mix for another gold medal at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, which would cap off a perfect summer for them in the Younger Age Category events.
In Montenegro, “Los Hispanos” have been nothing short of amazing until now, winning all of their six games in a dominant manner. They have scored an average of 35.7 goals per game, an outstanding feature at a competition like the M18 EHF EURO.
Unfortunately for Spain, their goalkeeper Pol Amores Hernandez, who saved 12 shots for a 35.3 per cent save efficiency, suffered a knee injury in the 55th minute of their win against Germany. Hernandez will miss the final against Sweden, which could prove to be a blow for the unbeaten side.
Having dominated against Sweden in the preliminary round, Spain are favourites on Sunday to clinch their second M18 EHF EURO title.
