France and Montenegro threw off the Women’s EHF EURO 2018 main round with clear wins over their respective Scandinavian opponents, Denmark and Sweden, on the evening of December 6. Neither of the Group I sides had great difficulty taking control of their match, leading for most of the 60 minutes and earning important points towards to the semi-final race.

 

At the end of the main round, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the penultimate phase. Starting with zero points carried from the preliminary round, Montenegro could not afford to lose against Sweden, while France were in a more favourable position thanks to their preliminary round win versus Montenegro in Nancy.

 

Competing in main round Group I, the two Group B sides both proved stronger than their Group A opponents. France opened the main round with a 29:23 result against Denmark, led by an exceptional performance from player of the match Amandine Leynaud. The goalkeeper – who made the critical save in the last seconds that earned France their second world title last December – recorded a rate of 43%.

 

Montenegro also relied on a great performance from their keeper, Marina Rajcic, as well as nine goals from captain Jovanka Radicevic and the creative direction in attack from centre back Milena Raicevic. For her 10 assists, Raicevic was awarded player of the match.

 

The main round continues on Friday December 7 with Group II throwing off in Nancy, where Spain will open versus Germany at 18:00 local time before Hungary meet record champions Norway at 21:00. Norway, who have won seven of the last eight European titles, face an unfamiliar situation – they must take victories in their three main round matches and also rely on the results of the other teams to have a chance to reach the semi-finals.

 

All matches will be streamed free and live on ehfTV.com. 

Photo: EHF/kolektiff