Romania, Portugal surprise with W19 EHF EURO semi-final berths

The semi-finals will be played on Friday in the Pitesti Arena, with a true regional derby between Hungary and Romania yielding a final. Denmark and Portugal will battle for the other spot, as the latter side have already secured their best finish ever at a W19 EHF EURO.

• Romania are in the semi-finals for the first time since 2007, when a generation led by Cristina Neagu secured the bronze medal; in the main round, they took high-scoring wins over Sweden (42:34) and Switzerland (41:36)
• Hungary are the only team to enter the semi-finals on a five-game winning streak, following a 28:25 win over Montenegro and a 41:23 win over Denmark in the main round
• in spite of their loss, Denmark made the semi-finals for the first time since 2017 on the back of some excellent performances of the top scorer of the competition, Julie Mathiesen Scaglione, who scored 43 goals in five matches
• the biggest surprise of the tournament is Portugal, who made the semi-finals for the first time, with a four-game winning streak after their opening-game loss against Germany, sealing a 38:25 win over Switzerland and a 30:23 win over Sweden in the main round
• Hungary can become the first team in history to register a three-peat at the W19 EHF EURO after their 2019 and 2021 triumphs, now boasting a 19-game winning streak in the competition
• the W19 EHF EURO 2023 is still the highest-scoring edition of the competition, despite the average dropping to 58.8 goals per game after the first 40 games after the preliminary round concluded with a 59.2 goals per game average
• Romania have scored the most goals by far: 189 – 15 more than Portugal (174) and 20 more than Hungary (169)
• France face Switzerland and Sweden meet Montenegro in the cross matches for the positions fifth to eighth; Czech Republic play against Netherlands and Germany face Norway in the cross matches for ninth to 12th; all sides have clinched their place at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship

Big surprises and powerhouses confirming their status

A record streak, which was extended in Mioveni, helped Hungary remain the only unbeaten side at the W19 EHF EURO 2023. The 2019 and 2021 champions delivered a flawless 41:23 win over Denmark in a battle between two previously undefeated sides on the last day of the main round.

With all outfield players scoring at least one goal, Hungary looked like a true machine, boasting the best defence in the competition and the third-best attack, looking increasingly like the big favourites to retain their title.

The biggest surprises of the main round were Romania and Portugal, both sealing wins against Switzerland and Sweden to progress to the semi-finals. Boosted by a crowd of over 2,500 fans, Romania, which had started the main round on zero points, had meaningful contributions from backs Diana Lixăndroiu (38 goals in the tournament) and Alisia Boiciuc (36 goals) to progress.

Portugal are also a big dark horse, as this generation, led by right back Luciana Rebelo and centre backs Constanca Sequiera and Carmen Figueiredo, came of age and delivered a four-game winning streak to shock their opponents, with constantly excellent performances.

The competition runs through to Sunday 16 July and all matches are live streamed on EHFTV.

photos © Marius Ionescu, Mihai Nitoiu