Hungary cruise to EURO Cup semi-finals

GROUP 2

Hungary vs Czechia 30:22 (16:13)

Top scorers: Katrin Klujber (Hungary) 8/11, Eliška Desortová (Czechia) 7/14

The task for Czechia was too big: Tomáš Hlavatý’s team needed to win by 12 goals to pass Hungary after losing the reverse fixture 20:31 – but after only eight minutes Hungary led 6:2 and the gap had increased to 15. In their strongest period, the Czechs levelled the result at 9:9 in the 19th minute, but then had a crucial setback, when Hungary answered with a 5:0 run for 14:9. Although the visitors had another comeback early in the second half, closing up to 17:15 after just two minutes thanks to goalkeeper Patricie Wizurova, the decision was taken. Backed by the 10 saves of Zsófi Szemerey (43 per cent efficiency), Vlagyimir Golovin’s squad again pulled ahead with a 9:1 run for their first double-digit lead at 26:16 in minute 44.

For both teams, the overall top scorers were also best scorers on Saturday. At least for 24 hours Czechia’s Eliška Desortová is the top scorer of the competition with 33 goals, while Katrin Klujber (Hungary) has scored 30 times in the six matches played. The result puts Hungary second in the group after two defeats to Denmark, while Czechia are third, having beaten fourth-placed Türkiye twice. On Thursday (18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV), both teams will get to know their EHF EURO 2026 opponents, when the preliminary round groups will be drawn in Katowice, Poland. Hosts Czechia are seeded for the group in Brno, while Hungary will start the tournament in Oradea, Romania.

Photos © HHF