Austria send shockwaves through EHF EURO, eliminating Spain

Austria join Croatia in the main round, with Spain ending up on the 13th place in the final standings, their worst finish ever in the competition and the first time they end outside of the top 10.

GROUP B

Spain vs Austria 33:33 (15:17)

• Spain had qualified for the main round in every edition of the EHF EURO since the format was introduced – 11 tournaments, since 2002
• ‘Los Hispanos’ were also the most consistent team in the past six editions of the EHF EURO, making it to the semi-finals since 2014, with five medals in the past five championships
• with an eight-goal outing, Nikola Bilyk was Austria’s top scorer in the match, improving his overall tally at the EHF EURO to 97 goals. He is only three goals shy of becoming the second Austrian player to hit triple digits
• Austria’s line player, Tobias Wagner, who scored five goals and delivered one assist, was named the Player of the Match, sponsored by Grundfos
• Austria join Croatia in main round group I in Cologne, with both teams starting with one point, after their 28:28 draw earlier in the group
• Spain lost their third player to injury in the first three matches, as centre back Agustín Casado joined left wing Miguel Sanchez and right wing Kauldi Odriozola, who went out against Croatia and Romania respectively

Fantastic Austria down Spain in dramatic fashion

There was drama, twists and turns and tears at the end. Both of joy and of sadness, with Austria detonating a huge bombshell in Mannheim, as Spain were left dejected, without any idea of what really went wrong in this EHF EURO.

The signs were always there for Spain, after they lost 29:39 against Croatia, but full credit here goes to Austria, as they are still unbeaten after three matches in one of the toughest groups at the EHF EURO, having drawn against Spain and Croatia.

It was a collective effort for Austria, with every player chiming in, from Nikola Bilyk, their top scorer, with eight goals, to Player of the Match, Tobias Wagner, as well as veteran Robert Weber, who kept his cool and scored four goals, including a decisive one with 90 seconds to go.

As Austria advance, Spain will be left reeling and wondering how they got one win in three matches, finishing 13th - their worst-ever placement at the EHF EURO.

Photos © Kolektiff Images