Poland, the Faroe Islands and Montenegro secure Men’s 19 EHF Championship 2021 titles

23 Aug. 2021

Poland, the Faroe Islands and Montenegro secure Men’s 19 EHF Championship 2021 titles

While Germany won the Men’s 19 EHF EURO 2021 title, three other tournaments were hosted throughout Europe, as Poland, the Faroe Islands and Montenegro secured the Men’s 19 EHF Championship 2021 titles.

As the top 16 teams in Europe qualified for the Men’s 19 EHF EURO 2021, the others were divided into three other tournaments, hosted under the Men’s 19 EHF Championship brand, in North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Latvia.

In the first tournament, hosted by North Macedonia between 9 and 15 August, seven teams took part, being divided into two groups.

In Group A, Poland (+6) and North Macedonia (-1) qualified to the semi-finals, after winning one game each, as they had a better goal difference than Greece (-7).

Switzerland swept their opponents in Group B, while Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second, to qualify for the semi-finals.

The first semi-final, which pitted hosts North Macedonia against Switzerland, was a true roller-coaster and needed a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner after the game ended in a 28:28 stalemate.

The hosts, powered by the MVP of the competition, Marko Mitev, won the shoot-out 6:5 to hand Switzerland the first loss and qualify to the final.

Poland, who won their game against North Macedonia in the group phase (30:25), also went on to play in the final, after a 41:29 drubbing of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It was another high-scoring game, where Poland’s attack was nearly unstoppable. After a 17:17 draw at the break, the Polish side relied on its amazing efficiency, 70% over the whole 60 minutes, to take a 35:33 win and seal the title.

Switzerland won the bronze medal, after a 31:30 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were the side to boast the top scorer of the tournament, Ivano Pavlovic, with 35 goals.

Faroe Islands write history once again

Seven other teams met in Bulgaria, while also being divided into two groups, one of three teams and the other one of four teams.

In Group A, the Faroe Islands, an emerging nation who are getting better and better, swept their opponents in emphatic fashion to seal first place, followed by the Czech Republic, who won against hosts Bulgaria.

Group B saw Belarus and Slovakia proceed to the semi-finals, as the Belarussian side won two games and drew the other, against Slovakia.

The semi-finals in Varna were also highly contested, as the Czech Republic mounted a challenge against the Belarussian side, only to come up short, 31:33.

The Faroe Islands continued their march to the gold medal, as they secured a crucial 29:22 win against Slovakia, helped once again by a fine outing from back Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu, who scored 44 goals throughout the tournament and won the top scorer award.

Played on Sunday, 22 August, the final was another entertaining affair, with the Faroe Islands facing a two-goal deficit at the break (16:18), only to come out as winners after a flawless second half.


On the back of a 13-goal outing from Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu, the Faroese side became the champions, four years after their junior side reached the Round of 16 at the IHF Men’s Junior (U21) World Championship.

The Czech Republic won the bronze medal after a tough 27:26 win against Slovakia.

Flawless Montenegro secure title in emphatic fashion

Another seven teams met in Latvia’s capital Riga, also divided into two groups, one of three teams and the other one of four teams.

A strong defensive side in Montenegro won Group A, with a flawless display against the Netherlands, Turkey and Kosovo, as the Dutch side dropped only one game to progress to the semi-finals.

In Group B, Romania took two easy wins against hosts Latvia and Luxembourg to seal first place, as the hosts secured the second spot with a 31:28 win against Luxembourg.

In another dominant display, Montenegro jumped to a 30:25 victory against Latvia, while the Dutch secured a 28:24 win against Romania, to set up a rematch of their meeting in the group phase in the final.

After the 31:30 win in the group phase, it was once again a difficult game for Montenegro, which were down 13:14 at the break.

With Luka Vukicevic and Arsenije Dragasevic combining for 15 goals, it was too much for the Dutch side, who could only rely on Niko Blaauw, who scored 10 times.

Montenegro sealed the title with their fifth win of the week, 30:28, while Romania overwhelmed Latvia 38:35 to win the bronze medal.

Latvia’s back, Endijs Kusners, was the top scorer of the competition, with 46 goals.

For more information, visit the European Handball Federation website.

Photo: European Handball Federation