KINEXON data highlights France’s speed and Vamos’ impact

Most interestingly, there are similarities in the statistics where Norway, France and Denmark stand out, while Hungary are more noticeable in different areas. With Norway the defending EURO title holders and gold medallists at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, France the current world champions, and Denmark having taken medals at all three of those competitions won by their fellow semi-finalists, it might seem that the data hints to reasons they have been consistently on top in recent years.

Naturally the particular weapons and strategies favoured by those teams have been a significant contributor to their successes. But playing the way that suits your own team and the individuals within it is more important than following the trends, and no one can argue that Hungary have put on a masterful display at the EURO.

With numerous medals collected in younger age category events and most members of the current line-up well on the radar for years due to their early successes and performances in club competitions, Hungary have long appeared on the cusp of a major success. Everything has clicked into place for the side at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, and that has occurred playing their way, so as we dive into the data, what works for Hungary versus the other teams is the area that emerges as most interesting.

At the end of the main round, the three Olympic medallists all appear among the top 10 for total distance run and maximum speed reached, while Hungary do not. However, Hungary join the three other semi-finalists in the top 10 on the list of most accelerations and sprints, which shows they are not playing without speed in general, but rather highlights their tendency to change pace while playing in positional attack.

As uncovered in the analysis of KINEXON data at the end of the preliminary round, France are far and away the team that employs speed the most, as they lead the rankings of maximum speed and most accelerations clearly. France’s average number of accelerations per match is 430, compared to Denmark with 389, Norway with 388 and Hungary with 354. In total, France have recorded 3,011 accelerations, Denmark 2,725, Norway 2,719 and Hungary 2,479.

When looking at most distance run on average per match, France are the only one of the semi-finalists ranking among the top 10. This shows that Norway and Denmark likely appear near the top of the ranking when considering the total distance run so far at the EURO because they have had some matches where they ran a lot, but they did not do so as consistently as France.

This aligns with France coach Sebastien Gardillou’s comments early in the EURO, when he spoke about this being a key goal for his side — to score as many fast breaks as possible per game. France may also be retreating to the defensive line faster than their fellow semi-finalists. 

While most teams will say they want to play fast, the fact that Norway, France and Denmark are all among the top for distance run and maximum speed does highlight a greater tendency for fast breaks than Hungary — reaching your maximum speed is not possible on a short sprint breaking through the defence, but requires enough distance, as per a fast break.

However, on an individual level, Hungary wing Viktória Gyori-Lukács comes in just behind France’s Coralie Lassource on the ranking of fastest average speed, with the two rounding out the top 10 in this statistic. No individual has compared to Switzerland wing Mia Emmenegger, who recorded an average maximum speed of 28.28 km/h.

Emmenegger and second-ranked Turid Arge Samuelsen from the Faroe Islands were the only two players to record an average maximum speed above 27 km/h, but Emmenegger played four more matches than Samuelsen, making her statistic arguably more impressive and seeming to cement her place as the fastest player at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024.

Concerning Hungary, change of direction is where it gets interesting. France yet again lead this statistic very clearly, with an average of 97 changes of direction per game. Hungary are second with 82, while Norway count 75 and Denmark have 69. Ranking the semi-finalists by match, France count six games in the top 10 for most changes of direction, Hungary have three, and Norway one. This might highlight Denmark and Norway’s tendency to play more straight on the goal with building back-court movements.

Combining Hungary’s statistics for change of direction, sprints and accelerations reflects what we see from them on court, especially the likes of Petra Vamos and Petra Simon. The two are very dangerous on fast feints and breakthroughs, and both appear in the list of top 10 individuals for most changes of direction. Vamos is second with 107, behind only Slovenia’s Nusa Fegic, while Simon is 10th.

Vamos has made the fourth most passes of any player at the EURO, with 1,176 — 30 of which were assists, placing her third overall on this ranking. Vamos also ranks among the top players for ball possession time. She is therefore valuable not only in setting up her teammates with chances, but her ball possession can also reflect time spent drawing defenders to create attacking pressure or breaking through the defence herself.

Returning to some more basic statistics, not provided by the KINEXON technology, the semi-finalists have unsurprisingly scored the most goals in the competition. Norway have netted 239 times, Denmark 219, Hungary 212 and France 209.

However they have scored them, however they have defended against what they have faced and whichever individuals have stood out, it is Norway, Denmark, Hungary and France that have the chance to win the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 trophy. And one of them will do so on Sunday.

Photos © EHF/kolektiff