Serbia and Greece have completed the quarterfinal line-up at the European U20 Championships in Varna, joining group winners Spain and Italy in the last eight.
Greece secured second place in Group A after defeating Croatia 16-14, before Italy completed a perfect group stage with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Hungary.
Croatia made the stronger start against Greece and led 6-3 early in the second quarter, but the Greeks responded with a 6-2 run to move ahead 9-8. Croatia levelled at 9-9 before half-time, but Greece struck twice at the beginning of the third period and remained in front for the rest of the contest.
Greece eventually closed out a 16-14 victory, with Karatzas scoring three times. Dragosevic and Skejic also finished with three goals each for Croatia.
Italy’s victory over Hungary then guaranteed Greece second place. The Italians built a 9-5 half-time advantage before Hungary fought back, eventually drawing level at 12-12 early in the fourth quarter.
Italy immediately restored a two-goal cushion and held on despite an outstanding seven-goal performance from Hungarian captain Botond Balogh. Antonio Di Simone led Italy with four goals as they finished Group A with three wins from three.
Serbia claimed second place in Group B following another dramatic encounter, defeating Montenegro 17-15 after penalties.
The Serbs led 13-10 during the fourth quarter and were still two goals ahead with just over a minute remaining. Montenegro responded, with Ognjen Moracanin equalising at 14-14 with 23 seconds left.
Serbia could not convert its final possession, sending the match to penalties, but recovered to win the shootout 3-1. Miljan Djokanovic scored five goals for Serbia, while Moracanin finished with four for Montenegro.
Spain secured first place in the group with a convincing 19-11 victory over Germany.
The crossover round will now determine the remaining four quarterfinalists. Montenegro face Malta, Germany meet the Netherlands, Hungary take on Turkiye and Croatia play France on Thursday.
Results
Group A
Croatia 14-16 Greece
Italy 18-17 Hungary
- Italy – 3 – 9 pts
- Greece – 3 – 4 pts
- Croatia – 3 – 3 pts
- Hungary – 3 – 2 pts
Group B
Serbia 17-15 Montenegro (14-14, Serbia won 3-1 on penalties)
Spain 19-11 Germany
- Spain – 3 – 8 pts
- Serbia – 3 – 6 pts
- Montenegro – 3 – 4 pts
- Germany – 3 – 0 pts
Group C
Turkiye 26-8 Slovenia
Bulgaria 11-13 France
- Turkiye – 3 – 9 pts
- France – 3 – 6 pts
- Bulgaria – 3 – 3 pts
- Slovenia – 3 – 0 pts
Group D
Netherlands 20-6 Czechia
Romania 12-13 Malta
- Netherlands – 3 – 9 pts
- Malta – 3 – 6 pts
- Romania – 3 – 3 pts
- Czech Republic – 3 – 0 pts
Crossover round – August 13
Montenegro v Malta
Germany v Netherlands
Hungary v Turkiye
Croatia v France
Quarterfinals – August 14
Italy v Germany/Netherlands
Greece v Montenegro/Malta
Spain v Hungary/Turkiye
Serbia v Croatia/France
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