Russia, Spain, Greece, and Hungary finished atop their respective groups and qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2nd Men’s U15 European Championship in Loule (Portugal).
The group stage has been almost completed. One match is remaining (it’s rescheduled for tomorrow), but the score of that game can change nothing. Fifteen teams, which were split into four groups in the preliminary phase, take part in the tournament. The four group winner advanced to the quarterfinals directly, while 2nd placed and 3rd placed will have a chance to reach the top eight through the playoffs.
2021 Men’s European U15 Championships, Loule, Group Stage
A group
Group A featured only three teams – Russia, Montenegro and host Portugal. Germany was also drawn into this group, but the Germans announced withdrawal a few days before the start of the European Championship because the number of coronavirus cases in Portugal increased rapidly in the days before the tournament.
Russia won 1st place. The Russians practically secured 1st place in the uncommon derby of Day 1 against Montenegro. The match saw 34 goals. Russia defeated Montenegro 18:16. Russia had a 6-goal lead (17:11) early in the fourth period, and after that, the Montenegrins reduced the gap.
Both Montenegro and Russia convincingly beat host Portugal.
Day 1
Montenegro – Russia 16:18 (6:6, 2:4, 2:5, 6:3)
Day 2
Montenegro – Portugal 26:1 (7:0, 8:1, 5:0, 6:0)
Day 3
Portugal – Russia 5:31 (0:8, 1:7, 2:6, 2:10)
1 Russia 2 – 6
2 Montenegro 2 – 3
3 Portugal 2 – 0
B group
One of the most exciting games of the group phase was a clash between Italy and Spain, which determined the winner of Group C. After a hard battle, Spain defeated Italy 11:10. The Spaniards had troubles in the game against Romania, but they recorded a 10:9 win,.Today, they trashed Malta to book a ticket for the quarterfinals.
Day 1
Italy – Malta 19:6 (5:3, 4:1, 5:2, 5:0)
Spain – Romania 10:9 (2:1, 1:4, 3:1, 4:3)
Day 2
Romania – Malta 6:5 (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 3:2)
Italy – Spain 10:11 (2:3, 1:2,3:2, 4:4)
Day 3
Italy – Romania 15:8 (5:2, 4:3, 3:1, 3:2)
Spain – Malta 14:8 (5:1, 3:1, 3:1, 3:5)
1 Spain 3 – 9
2 Italy 3 – 6
3 Romania 3 – 3
4 Malta 3 – 0
C group
The competition in Group C hasn’t been completed yet, because the match Greece – France, originally scheduled for today was postponed for Wednesday.
But, the score of that encounter can change nothing in the standings. Greece finished atop of the group. On Day 1, the Greeks beat Turkey 15:7. The most important match was played on Day 2 when Greece faced Serbia. The Greeks dictated the pace and recorded a 10:7 victory to secure 1st place.
Serbia finished 2nd, after beating France (20:2) and Turkey. The Turks are in 3rd place.
Day 1
Greece – Turkey 15:7 (3:2, 5:2, 3:0, 4:3)
Serbia – France 20:2 (6:1, 2:1, 5:0, 7:0)
Day 2
France – Turkey 9:10 (1:2, 2:2, 3:0, 3:6)
Greece – Serbia 10:7 (3:2, 2:1, 2:0, 3:4)
Day 3
Greece – France on Wednesday
Serbia – Turkey 11:8 (4:2, 2:2, 3:3, 2:1)
1 Greece 2 – 6
2 Serbia 3 – 6
3 Turkey 3 – 3
4 France 2 – 0
D group
The question “who will win 1st place in Group D” was answered in the game that opened the Championship, Hungary – Croatia. Hungary led for most of the time, and went into the fourth period with a 10:7 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, the Hungarians increased the margin to four (11:7) and Croatia couldn’t come back.
There were no surprises in the second and the third round. Croatia and Hungary easily beat Georgia and Poland.
Poland secured a spot in the playoffs with a 14:6 win over Georgia.
Day 1
Hungary – Croatia 13:10 (4:3, 3:2, 3:2, 3:3)
Georgia – Poland 6:14 (2:4, 1:2, 2:5, 1:3)
Day 2
Poland – Croatia 4:20 (3:4, 1:7, 0:3, 0:6)
Hungary – Georgia 23:3 (9:1, 6:0, 3:2, 5:0)
Day 3
Hungary – Poland 32:3 (5:1, 10:1, 7:0, 10:1)
Georgia – Croatia 4:15 (1:4, 2:5, 0:3, 1:3)
1 Hungary 3 – 9
2 Croatia 3 – 6
3 Poland 3 – 3
4 Georgia 3 – 0
Playoffs
Montenegro – Turkey
Serbia – Portugal
Italy – Poland
Croatia – Romania
Quarterfinals
Hungary – Montenegro/Turkey
Spain – Serbia/Portugal
Greece – Italy/Poland
Russia – Croatia/Romania
Malta, France and Georgia will play in the classification 13th – 15th.
