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
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
