New Men’s 20 EHF EURO champions to be crowned

Earlier in the day, at 16:00 CEST, four-time M20 European champions Denmark will meet 2018 champions Slovenia in the bronze medal match. France will play against Germany for the 5/6 placement match, current titleholders Spain will go against Switzerland in the 7/8 placement match, while Croatia and Israel will try to book the last ticket to the 26th IHF Men's Junior (U21) World Championship in 2027, in the 15/16 placement match. 

There were 15 places in total up for grabs for a championship held in North Macedonia next year, so it’s left to see if Croatia or Israel join the 14 already qualified teams. Those are Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Slovenia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Austria, the Faroe Islands, Romania and Iceland. 

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH 

Denmark vs Slovenia

Sunday 19 July, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• the last time these two teams met was at the Men’s 20 EHF EURO 2024, when Denmark beat Slovenia 34:25 (13:12); this will be the second consecutive bronze medal match for Denmark
• on their way to the 2026 bronze medal match, Denmark topped group D, winning all three matches; they lost by a single goal (24:25) to Spain in the main round and continued with a convincing win against Switzerland in the quarter-finals, but failed in the end against Sweden in the semis
• similar to their senior national team, Denmark have won many medals at the M20: four gold (1996, 1998, 2008, 2010), one silver (2004) and two bronze medals (2006 and 2024)  
• Slovenia can also be proud of their under-20 heritage, as they won the competition in 2018, were runners-up in 2002, and have won the bronze medal match three times, in 2004, 2010 and 2012
• Slovenia booked their quarter-final appearance as one of the two best third-ranked teams in the main round, and then went on to win (30:23) against titleholders Spain with a superb performance in defence, but ultimately failed against Hungary in the semi-final

FINAL 

Sweden vs Hungary

Sunday 19 July, 18:30 CEST, live on EHFTV

• the two have already met at this year’s competition, in the main round group III, when Sweden won by 40:24 (18:12); the game on Sunday will be Sweden’s third final appearance after 2006 and 2014 and the first one for Hungary. Both teams are yet to win their maiden title
• Sweden are the only unbeaten team in the competition; from the start of the competition, they were considered one of the favourites for the title. The generation that won M18 two years ago has just built on their success, keeping most of the key players in the roster 
• Swedish goalkeeper Viggo Håkansson and centre back Liam Hultberg, as well as Hungary’s back players Márkó Eklemovic and Máté Fazekas, are the team’s leading figures on court
• Håkansson has recorded some of the best goalkeeping performances in the competition: 22 saves against France in the quarter-final and 17 saves against Denmark in the semi-final
• Hungary have won all matches in the competition, apart from the main round match against Sweden; they also beat Slovenia twice, once in the preliminary round and then again in the semi-final of the competition
• Hungary have the chance to win their maiden M20 title. The match on Sunday will be their first-ever final, after finishing third in 1998 and fourth in 2004

Main image: Simion Sebastian Tataru / FRH