Iceland, Czech Republic and Switzerland through

GROUP 2 
Finland vs Serbia  29:30 (17:14)

Patrik Roslander will never forget this match, as the Finnish goalkeeper had an outstanding performance, saving a total of 20 Serbian shots for a 57% save rate is simply world class! But, even Roslander could not stop the comeback and the eventual victory for the visitors, who were down by 14:17 at the break, after Finland had turned the match around in the middle of the first half.  

Knowing that a win against the already qualified Serbs could be the key for their first ever EHF EURO ticket as one of the four best third ranked teams, the Finnish players fought like lions - despite an early red card against Frederik van Troil in minute 24. But, Serbia struck back with a 5:0 run to turn a 16:19 deficit into a 21:19 lead. The match turned into a roller coaster ride in the opposite direction with Finland seizing momentum with a 5:0 run and a 28:24 lead. Still, nothing was decided in this thriller at Vantaa: Boosted by top scorer Nemanja Ilic (8 goals in total), the visitors again managed to level the result in the final minute at 29:29. After a Finnish time-out with 46 seconds left, Max Granlund (top scorer with nine goals) caused a turnover. After another time out this time for Serbia with 14 seconds left on the clock Vukasin Vorkapic made the Serbs happy with a buzzer-beater goal for the 30:29 win. A Finnish attempt by Granlund's came too late. 

GROUP 3 
Estonia vs Czech Republic 30:32 (14:18)
The fourth victory in five qualification matches has earned the Czechs their 12th participation at an EHF EURO final tournaments. After winning the first leg against Estonia at home 31:23, the team of head coach Xavier Sabate almost left no doubt for the EHF EURO 2024 ticket in the reverse match. Backed by 13 saves from goalkeeper, Tomas Mrkva and the top scoring duo of Jakub Hrstka and Matej Klima, who combined for 14 goals, the visitors were dominant from the start.  

Their 12:6 advantage in the first half was the foundation for the win and later in the second half with the score 26:19 the winners seemed to be confirmed early. But, the hosts staged a strong comeback, and with the score at 29:30 they were close to turning the match around, before a double strike from Tomas Babak sealed the deal for the Czechs. It was their fifth straight victory against the Estonians, who remain on two points in the current qualifiers. Kasper Lees and Mikhel Lopp were the top scorers for the hosts with five strikes each.  

Israel vs Iceland 26:37 (11:19) 

Iceland cruised to Germany after winning a one-sided encounter vs Israel similar to their 36:21 win in the first leg. For the 13th ^consecutive time, the “Vikings” are part of the EHF EURO final tournaments. Israel kept it close most of the first half and were trailing just 9:11 with 11 minutes in half, but then Iceland closed out the half with an 8:2 run to decide the match early. While Snir Natsia was the best scorer for Israel with seven strikes, Iceland could afford to give European League top scorer. Odinn Thor Rikhardsson time to rest, as Kristjan Örn Kristjansson was on fire, scoring six of his eight goals in the first half. Like Estonia, Israel remain on two points and on the bottom of the group table - and will travel to the Czech Republic for their last match on Sunday.  

GROUP 6 
Lithuania vs Hungary 31:46 (14:22) 

Hungary kept their clean record with their fifth victory in five matches - although they had already booked their EHF EURO ticket after round 4. The hosts, who had lost the first leg at 23:36, were chanceless again and remain on two points. This result, however, decided the second EHF EURO spot in this group, as now Switzerland are confirmed participants at Germany 2024.  

Lithuania stood strong until minute 17 and the score of 11:12, but then Hungary strengthened their defense and added more spice in attack to pull ahead decisively at the break (22:14) The visitors only needed four minutes after the break to have their first double-figured advance at 26:16, and then cruised to another victory, their ninth against Lithuania in ten matches. Miklos Rosta (9 goals) and Bence Imre (8) topped the list of 12 Hungarians, who scored in this goal-fest, while Aidenas Malasinskas netted seven for the hosts.