Spain claimed a dominant victory in Sunday’s final EHF EURO 2022 qualifier, but as Hungary had beaten Slovakia earlier, second place was the best finish available.
Even so, Jose Ignacio Prades’ team were fully motivated and continued their winning series against Portugal, their fifth victory in six EHF EURO 2022 qualification matches.
GROUP 5:
Spain vs Portugal 31:21 (14:11)
- leading 6:5 was the last time Portugal led before the Portugal-born Alexandrina Barbosa drew Spain level
- a 5:1 run to 10:6 boosted Spain, but did not shock Portugal, who stayed in touch on the scoreboard until the break
- from the start of the second half, Spain increased the intensity to lead 20:13, helped by goals from Ona Vegue I Pena, who finished as the leading scorer with seven, including the last four of the match
- Portugal finish third with those four points from their victories against Slovakia
- Portugal’s leading scorer was Bebiana Rodrigues, with seven goals
One defeat that truly hurts
Spain were dominant in their EHF EURO 2022 campaign and had made a crucial step to finish on top of their group with a 30:28 home victory in the crucial double-header against Hungary. But they lost the second leg on home ground 30:27 and as both sides before and after won their respective matches, Hungary finished on top, equal on points with Spain.
As the Spanish side finished EHF EURO 2020 in ninth, they will be seeded in pot four at the draw event on Thursday in Ljubljana - which might mean a really tough preliminary round group.
