"You couldn't lose in front of such an audience!"
We are past the first real top matches of the EHF EURO 2022 in Hungary. Reviews from Debrecen and Szeged.
North-Macedonia–Montenegro 24-28 (8-11)
Bozo Andjelic, player of Montenegro:
’First of all, we are very satisfied, because we won a great battle. Everybody from our team could be proud of themselves. We will have the chance against Slovenia to go to the Main Round. Finally, my message for the FTC and Hungarian fans is that I wish all the best for them.’
Group A, Debrecen, Főnix Arena
North-Macedonia–Montenegro 24-28 (8-11)
Bozo Andjelic, player of Montenegro:
’First of all, we are very satisfied, because we won a great battle. Everybody from our team could be proud of themselves. We will have the chance against Slovenia to go to the Main Round. Finally, my message for the FTC and Hungarian fans is that I wish all the best for them.’
Nikola Mitrevski, player of North Macedonia:
‘We started slowly and could not really keep up with Montenegro during the whole game. The most important differences between the teams were speed and rhythm. We should learn from them. Also, we missed some key players which made this game very hard for us, even if our huge crowd of supporters stood behind us like a plus one player.’
‘We started slowly and could not really keep up with Montenegro during the whole game. The most important differences between the teams were speed and rhythm. We should learn from them. Also, we missed some key players which made this game very hard for us, even if our huge crowd of supporters stood behind us like a plus one player.’
Slovenia–Denmark 23-34 (14-16)
Borut Mackovsek, player of Slovenia:
‘We have already played some matches in Debrecen with the national team and it’s always good to play here, because there are a lot of handball fanatics. It is not so close to Slovenia, but the atmosphere is fantastic. We tried to do our best today, but we had just a small chance to win, obviously Denmark was the better team. We will focus on the next game against Montenegro, we have to hope!’
Borut Mackovsek, player of Slovenia:
‘We have already played some matches in Debrecen with the national team and it’s always good to play here, because there are a lot of handball fanatics. It is not so close to Slovenia, but the atmosphere is fantastic. We tried to do our best today, but we had just a small chance to win, obviously Denmark was the better team. We will focus on the next game against Montenegro, we have to hope!’
Gasper Marguc, player of Slovenia:
‘I think the first half was good, we were in the game for thirty minutes. In the second one we were six goals behind them. The match was so hard and difficult, we fought for every chances and goals. We allowed them a lot of easy attacks, today they were the better team.’
‘I think the first half was good, we were in the game for thirty minutes. In the second one we were six goals behind them. The match was so hard and difficult, we fought for every chances and goals. We allowed them a lot of easy attacks, today they were the better team.’
Niklas Landin Jacobsen, player of Denmark:
‘The first half of the game was very balanced between the two teams; at the beginning we had some problems with the defense. Slovenia played well, Mackovsek had a really good day and they were able to stay close to us for a long time. I think our defense improved a lot in the second half and I had some saves and that is why we could finally take the lead and win the match. The Danish fans gave us strength when we needed, it has been very boring to play in empty arenas for a long time. They made the atmosphere incredible for us.’
‘The first half of the game was very balanced between the two teams; at the beginning we had some problems with the defense. Slovenia played well, Mackovsek had a really good day and they were able to stay close to us for a long time. I think our defense improved a lot in the second half and I had some saves and that is why we could finally take the lead and win the match. The Danish fans gave us strength when we needed, it has been very boring to play in empty arenas for a long time. They made the atmosphere incredible for us.’
Group C, Szeged, PICK Arena:
France–Ukraine 36-23 (17-11)Thibaud Briet, player of France:
‘It was my first time in an international competition and I wanted to play my game without feeling the pressure. I have waited five years for this opportunity, and it is a pleasure I was able to do well. The next game against Serbia is going to be tough as they have a lot of fans at the arena, and it is almost like they are playing at home. We have a revenge to take for the defeat in the qualifiers.‘
Dylan Nahi, player of France:
‘We have two victories that is the most important. We expect big fight against Serbia from the first minute till the last. We remain humble and we can’t wait to play that game.’
Kasai Oleksandr, plyer of Ukraine:
’It was a good game, and to play before such supporters, amazing…. It was just crazy, that Croatian supporters cheered for us, it gives you so much power you know. Yesterday, I celebrated my 25th birthday with some training. So I did last year, but I do not mind. We must focus on the fact, that still one match has left from the tournament for us. And who knows, we might have a chance to beat Croatia on Monday.’
‘We have two victories that is the most important. We expect big fight against Serbia from the first minute till the last. We remain humble and we can’t wait to play that game.’
Kasai Oleksandr, plyer of Ukraine:
’It was a good game, and to play before such supporters, amazing…. It was just crazy, that Croatian supporters cheered for us, it gives you so much power you know. Yesterday, I celebrated my 25th birthday with some training. So I did last year, but I do not mind. We must focus on the fact, that still one match has left from the tournament for us. And who knows, we might have a chance to beat Croatia on Monday.’
Serbia–Croatia 23-20
Vladimir Cupara, player of Serbia:
’I’m really, really sorry for the fans to lose this game, because it was really important to us to win. Through the game the atmosphere was fantastic till the last seconds. But I think the referees helped a little bit to the Croatian squad and they had a little luck or something. We missed something in attack and that costs us the victory.’
Zeljko Musa, player of Croatia:
’That was the greatest support what I’ve heard here. We played a good game in defence, but some mistakes in the attack. We had no fear, we always want to win. That was a game “go home or stay” for us. We should stay positive and focused till the end of the last game against Ukraine.’
Vladimir Cupara, player of Serbia:
’I’m really, really sorry for the fans to lose this game, because it was really important to us to win. Through the game the atmosphere was fantastic till the last seconds. But I think the referees helped a little bit to the Croatian squad and they had a little luck or something. We missed something in attack and that costs us the victory.’
Zeljko Musa, player of Croatia:
’That was the greatest support what I’ve heard here. We played a good game in defence, but some mistakes in the attack. We had no fear, we always want to win. That was a game “go home or stay” for us. We should stay positive and focused till the end of the last game against Ukraine.’
Mate Sunjic, player of Croatia:
’Serbia could back in one moment, but we managed to find a force to finish good first half with the two goals. The half time was good for the moral… It is always a story between Croatian public and Croatian players because there are a lot of people from Croatia today here in the hall. For sure it was a team explosion in the second half, special because we were leading with a few scores and with this public we can’t lose this game.’
Bogdan Radivojevic, player of Serbia:
‘It is hard to find the words. We are sad, we will not sleep tonight, and that is for sure. It was more than just a handball game, it was more than that. Obviously, we did not play how we wanted and this result is the cost of that. We need to win against France and I am sure that in the locker room we will speak a lot about how to do it on Monday. We will never give up, to be Serbian is the proudest thing in the world for me. We will keep fighting for Serbia.‘
’Serbia could back in one moment, but we managed to find a force to finish good first half with the two goals. The half time was good for the moral… It is always a story between Croatian public and Croatian players because there are a lot of people from Croatia today here in the hall. For sure it was a team explosion in the second half, special because we were leading with a few scores and with this public we can’t lose this game.’
Bogdan Radivojevic, player of Serbia:
‘It is hard to find the words. We are sad, we will not sleep tonight, and that is for sure. It was more than just a handball game, it was more than that. Obviously, we did not play how we wanted and this result is the cost of that. We need to win against France and I am sure that in the locker room we will speak a lot about how to do it on Monday. We will never give up, to be Serbian is the proudest thing in the world for me. We will keep fighting for Serbia.‘
Top 5 goals of Day 3
Are you ready for the top 5 goals of Day 3? Crazy finishes from the goal machines. On the top of the list is Bogdan Radivojevic who played in front of ‘home crowd’ at the PICK Arena. Enjoy!The bear 🐻 from @chehmedvedi Alexander Kotov went out of his cave to do some damages 💥☄️ #ehfeuro2022
— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) January 16, 2022
1️⃣ Bogdan Radivojevic | @rssrbije 🇷🇸
2️⃣ A. Kotov | Russia 🇷🇺
3️⃣ Mirko Radovic | Montenegro 🇲🇪
4️⃣ Tomas Urban | @SlovakHandball 🇸🇰
5️⃣ Borut Mackovsek | @rzs_si 🇸🇮 pic.twitter.com/wQeGNKMN7a
Top 5 saves of Day 3
How did he do that? What a spectacular save from Kristian Saeveraas! It is a well deserved first place for the Norwegian keeper in the Top 5 saves of Day 3.Your favourite save of the last day? 🧐💥 #ehfeuro2022 #watchgamesseemore
— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) January 16, 2022
1️⃣ Kristian Saeveraas | @NORhandball 🇳🇴
2️⃣ Nikola Mitrevski | 🇧🇦
3️⃣ Mate Sunjic | @HRStwitt 🇭🇷
4️⃣ Nikola Mitrevski | 🇲🇰
5️⃣ Vladimir Cupara | @rssrbije 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/qvsHWQolqL
