It was Hungary’s first medal in any competition since 2012, and the first for this generation of players. It was the second consecutive Women’s EHF EURO where France ranked fourth.
Klujber was named Grundfos Player of the Match after scoring nine goals, delivering four assists and even preventing a long-range goal in the last minutes, proving her value in the high-pressure end stage.
3/4 PLACEMENT MATCH
France vs Hungary 24:25 (12:13)
- the goalkeepers stood out in the first half in particular, with France’s Laura Glauser and Hungary’s Zsófi Szemerey saving at over 40 per cent in that period; while Glauser came off with 11 saves at 35 per cent for Hatadou Sako at the 50-minute mark, Szemerey counted 13 stops and was key in crunch time
- France opened the first two-goal distance of the game at 5:3 just past the 10-minute mark, before Hungary took the upper hand, always scoring first or leading, from the end of the first quarter of the match until the final buzzer
- with an assist from EHF EURO 2024 All-star Team right back Klujber to a goal from All-star right wing Gyori-Lukács, Hungary created the first three-goal score line at 10:7 in the 25th minute, but France came back for a difference of one at half-time
- Hungary again created a temporary three-goal advantage early in the second half and kept the edge as a thrilling match unfolded, but when the final 10 minutes began, it was still anyone’s game at 20:20
- Klujber’s nine goals took her overall tally at the EHF EURO 2024 to 60, seeming to cement her place in first on the top scorer list — but the individual title can only be confirmed beyond doubt after the final between Norway and Denmark
Hungary celebrate first medal in over a decade
Although Hungary have been a successful nation in women’s handball, with a collection of 16 medals, one World Championship win and one EHF EURO title, they have waited a long time to celebrate some silverware. Hungary are one of only five nations to have won the Women’s EHF EURO before, raising the trophy in 2000.
The current team have long played under the weight of expectation, and have come close to breakthrough performances, as they reached the quarter-finals of the last two Olympic Games. At Paris 2024, they lost to Sweden in overtime and were knocked out of the competition after a strong campaign.
At the EHF EURO 2024, which Hungary co-hosted with Austria and Switzerland, everything clicked into place for the side. They arrived at the semi-finals with only one loss behind them, against none other than France in the main round, and were defeated by Norway in the semi-final, when key goalkeeper Szemerey was sidelined with a minor injury. On Sunday, Hungary played a superb game to earn the bronze medal as they won the rematch of the main round encounter.
It's almost impossible to describe how I feel right now. This is the best Christmas present I have ever gotten. And I'm so proud of our team. We work really hard and today we went and fought from the first second to the last one. I think that the key was our team spirit.
Fighting, that was the only difference today. It's a way of life. We worked hard, we have no compensation for this, but my heart is big. I'm proud of my players because we did what we talked and this is sport. Hungary won this game by only one goal, we were so close and I will see later what we could have made in this game. But it's done. This championship is finished. We are fourth and this is our place.
