But 2019 and 2021 champions Hungary have missed the semi-finals for the first time in five editions of the tournament. A loss to France in the group phase, followed by the 24:24 draw with Denmark in the main round, meant that even their 34:22 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday was not enough to put them through.
In the game against Denmark, Hungary took nearly 10 minutes to score, but held a 10:9 lead at half-time. They stretched that out to four goals halfway through the second half, but Denmark held firm to come back and centre back Andres Sofie Vejsgaard netted the equaliser with 28 seconds to play.
Germany came to the main round with two wins and a draw against hosts Montenegro. They started out the main round with a big 34:18 win over Serbia, and followed that up by defeating Croatia 27:22 to book their spot in the semi-finals.
They will face France next; the French team beat the Netherlands 32:18 in their first main round match before losing 20:25 to Denmark. That result gave the Danes the main round group win and put France second.
Croatia will play Denmark in the semi-finals, after they edged out Montenegro 27:25 in their first main round match. Montenegro took the early lead before Croatia drew level and then ahead; in the second half, Montenegro fought back to equalise, but Croatia were again too strong when it mattered.
Of the four semi-finalists, Denmark are the most decorated at this level with three prior W17 EURO trophies. Germany have won gold (2017), two silvers (2001 and 2021), and two bronze medals (1992 and 1999).
France were champions in 2007, third in 2005 and 2019, and fourth in 2009 and 2017. Croatia have reached the semi-finals just once before, in 2001, and ultimately finished fourth.
After scoring 14 goals in the intermediate round, together with 21 across the three group phase matches, Swiss left wing Era Baumann is now the tournament's top scorer. She edged ahead of Hungarian right back Virág Fazekas, whose tally is now 34 goals after 10 scored in the main round.
The W17 EHF EURO resumes on Friday 11 August with cross-matches for places 5-8 and 9-12, as well as the semi-finals. Romania and the Czech Republic won the two intermediate round groups with two wins apiece.
Full standings can be found here. The medal matches are scheduled for Sunday 13 August.
All matches of the W17 EHF EURO 2023 in Podgorica are streamed live on EHFTV, and the official EHF EURO channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook offer additional coverage.
