2021 WCh Egypt – Day 15: Hungary inches away from surprising France, Yahia explodes for 10 versus Denmark
Photocredit: https://www.handballegypt2021.com/en/photos/
All four quarter-final matches are now behind us which means we finally know which four teams will directly fight for medals in Egypt. We’ve seen a lot of splendid performances and narrow matches but what makes us sad is the fact Hungary failed to get past France which means we won’t have our SEHA representative teams in the semis. Let’s get started with our daily recap!
In the first quarter-final duel we’ve seen an amazing battle between Denmark and tournament hosts Egypt who were inches away from stunning favored Danes. Telekom Veszprem’s Omar Yahia delivered an exceptional performance definitely rising up to the occasion with 10 goals. Unfortunately for him and his teammates that was not enough (39:38) with reigning world champions Danes coming a step closer to defending the title. In another nail-biter later on Hungarians were also incredibly close to stunning favored France but unfortunately they failed to do so with France securing a 35:32 win after extra-time. Mate Lekai led his team with five in this one but that wasn’t enough this time which means all four of our SEHA representative nations are now going home. There won’t be much time to rest with Olympic Qualifications a bit over a month away where everyone will look to deliver their absolute best. Spaniards celebrated against Norway (31:26) on wings of an incredible performance from Veszprem’ goalkeeper Rodrigo Corrales and his 19 saves while Jorge Maqueda added four goals. Sweden, on the other hand, reach a dominant 35:23 win over Qatar which means they will in semis face off against France. Second semi-final matchup is Spain versus Denmark.
SCORES & GOALS
Quarter-finals
Denmark – Egypt 39:38 after seven-meter shootout (Yahia 10)
France – HUNGARY 35:32 after extra-time (Mahe 1/Lekai 5)
Spain – Norway 31:26 (Maqueda 4, Corrales 19 saves)
Sweden – Qatar 35:23
Semi-finals: France vs. Sweden, Spain vs. Denmark
President’s Cup
DR Congo – Chile 30:35
Angola – Morocco 29:39 after seven-meter shootout
Tunisia – Austria 37:33 (Jaballah 6)