Two of the RYT players in particular have not only been contributors but leaders for their national teams: Portugal’s Francisco Costa and the Faroe Islands’ Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu. Although it is phenomenal to stand out among the top players at such a young age, it is hardly a surprise that Costa and Skipagøtu have delivered so superbly at the EHF EURO 2024, as both have been established for some time despite being just 18 and 21 years old, respectively.
Costa has been a key player for his club Sporting CP, featuring in the EHF European League in his third season now, scoring 61 goals in the first and 97 in the second. At the EHF EURO 2024, he was Portugal’s second top scorer with 30 goals and a core part of the team with 262 minutes played. He also made 14 assists. Costa’s 30 goals put him in 10th position on the overall top scorer chart as the main round came to an end in Hamburg.
The handball world will not soon forget the antics of Skipagøtu and his teammates, who took a memorable draw against Norway among their preliminary round results. Skipagøtu netted the match decider on a penalty, which was one of his 23 goals in 149 minutes out of the 180 his team had on court. He also dished 24 assists before his side exited at the end of the preliminary round. The fact his statistics were recorded in only three games shows his exceptional value all the more.
Both Costa and Skipagøtu have demonstrated maturity beyond their years at the EHF EURO 2024, with Costa playing his second senior tournament for Portugal after debuting at the World Championship one year ago. For Skipagøtu, it was the first major championship – and surely the first of many.
One player who already grabbed attention on the open-age stage was Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic, who starred for his side at the World Championship one year ago with 98 minutes on court. Kuzmanovic has become more important for Croatia since then, having played 137 minutes at the EHF EURO 2024 and making 32 saves at a rate of 31.68 per cent after three games in the main round.
Kuzmanovic was not the only goalkeeper from the RYT programme ready to shine at the EHF EURO 2024, with another Portuguese player grabbing the spotlight with his performances: Diogo Rêma Marques.
Not only has Rêma Marques played an important part for Portugal, he ends his campaign at the EHF EURO 2024 among the top goalkeepers in the competition, with a total of 51 saves putting him in seventh position on the overall ranking ahead of the last main round day.
Meanwhile, Germany’s David Späth has had a chance for a huge experience on home court. Späth rose to prominence by winning the German Cup with Rhein-Neckar Löwen in 2023 as well as the junior world title, also in front of a home crowd, in Berlin.
As second-string behind the in-form Andreas Wolff, Späth has not had so much playing time, but has racked up 10 saves in the time he has had his chance on court.
For some RYT players, making their name on the big stage will take time, but they have still delivered with the roles they have been given. For Hungary, Zoran Ilic has played 137 minutes, often in a key role in defence, while also scoring three goals and making four assists.
For the Faroe Islands, playing alongside his cousin Skipagøtu, Óli Mittún contributed seven goals and nine assists in 87 minutes on court. For Serbia, Miloš Kos did not get as many chances, as the team relied on their more experienced players in their strong preliminary round campaign in the extremely tight group C, but scored one goal and played 28 minutes.
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