While their nations were on their path to the trophy match at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in Spain, Croatia and France already had reason to celebrate, as their U17 teams won the gold medals at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku. 

Croatia claimed the title in the men’s U17 category with a 29:28 victory over Germany in the final on July 27, while France won the women’s competition courtesy of a 23:21 win versus the Netherlands in the gold-medal match. 

In the men’s event, the bronze medal went to Denmark, who won the 3/4 play-off against France 28:21. Hungary recorded a similar clear win in the women’s bronze-medal game – 30:20 against Switzerland. 

France recover from preliminary loss 

Just like the France men’s U21 team, the road to the final at the EYOF was not free from obstacles for the women’s U17 side. They ranked second in their preliminary group, after being defeated 27:31 by the team they would go on to beat in the final, the Netherlands. However, wins against Spain and Romania were enough to earn France a place in the semi-finals. 

The Netherlands also won their preliminary game versus Spain, but lost to Romania. Both France and the Netherlands thereby finished on four points from two wins, and the Netherlands secured first place in Group A based on their victory over France. 

Hungary were the only team to win all their preliminary round matches, taking three straight victories, versus Switzerland, Czech Republic and Azerbaijan. Switzerland defeated Azerbaijan and Czech Republic to finish second in Group B and follow group winners Hungary to the semi-finals. 

In the semi-finals, the Netherlands beat Switzerland 23:19, and France defeated Hungary 26:24. 

The top scorer of the women’s tournament was the Netherlands’ Kim Molenaar, with 38 goals. 

Top scorer and gold for Croatia

On the path to the men’s title, the story for Croatia was similar to France’s in the women’s competition. Croatia placed second behind France in Group B, after opening with a draw against Slovenia, followed by a loss to France then a victory over Iceland that earned them a place in the semi-finals. Though they were defeated by Iceland in what was a highly competitive group, one-goal wins against Croatia and Slovenia were enough to earn France first place on the table. 

Group A was won by Denmark, who beat Germany, Serbia and Azerbaijan to finish with the maximum six points. Germany joined Denmark in the semi-finals with their victories over Azerbaijan and Serbia. 

The semi-finals saw Germany take a five-goal win, 30:25, versus France. The semi-final between Croatia and Denmark was decided through a penalty shoot-out, after a level score of 34:34 at the end of regular time and 39:39 following the second overtime period. In the end, Croatia won 42:39. 

The top scorer in the men’s tournament was Croatia’s Fabijan Grubisic, with 39 goals. 

More information on the European Youth Olympic Festival can be found on the official website of the European Handball Federation: women’s and men’s competition. 

Photo: Baku 2019 /AZERTAC