Spain, Croatia, Italy and Montenegro have booked their places in the semi-finals of the European U20 Championships in Varna after a dramatic day of quarter-final action.
Spain produced one of the strongest performances of the day, defeating Hungary 13-7 after taking control from the second quarter onwards.
Hungary led 3-2 after the opening period and moved 5-4 ahead midway through the second, but Spain responded with three unanswered goals and never looked back. A dominant defensive spell kept Hungary scoreless for more than eight minutes, allowing Spain to build a 10-6 advantage by the end of the third quarter.
Five Spanish players — Nunez, Granados, Sabadell, Carrio and Rodriguez — scored twice, while Toth led Hungary with three.
Croatia survived a much tighter contest against Serbia, winning 14-13.
Serbia made the stronger start and led 2-0 before Croatia battled back to level at 4-4 by the end of the opening quarter. Croatia took its first lead through a Burburan penalty in the second period and carried a narrow 7-6 advantage into half-time.
The Croatians eventually moved three goals clear at 12-9 and again at 13-10, but Serbia refused to disappear. The deficit was reduced to a single goal twice in the closing stages, including at 14-13 with more than three minutes remaining.
Neither side scored again as Croatia held on to reach the final four. Maro Susic and Gabriel Burburan scored four each for Croatia, with Djokanovic matching that total for Serbia.
Italy also progressed with a 16-10 victory over Germany, although the final margin did not reflect how competitive the opening half had been.
Germany led by two goals on several occasions, including 6-4, before Italy levelled at 6-6. A 3-0 Italian run at the beginning of the third period changed the momentum and Germany gradually faded during the closing stages.
Diego Tresa led Italy with six goals, while Fabio De Marco scored five for Germany.
The most extraordinary match of the day came between Montenegro and Greece.
The sides were locked at 18-18 after regulation before Montenegro eventually won an incredible penalty shootout 12-11 for a 30-29 final score.
Neither team missed during the opening 11 rounds of penalties. Montenegro goalkeeper Pejovic finally made the decisive save from Belesis in round 12 to end a contest that lasted almost two hours.
Spain will now face Montenegro in the semi-finals, while Italy take on Croatia.
Results
Quarter-finals
Spain 13-7 Hungary
Serbia 13-14 Croatia
Italy 16-10 Germany
Greece 29-30 Montenegro (18-18, PSO 11-12)
9th-12th place classification
Turkiye 18-19 Malta (PSO)
France 9-19 Netherlands
13th-place match
Romania 15-11 Bulgaria
15th-place match
Slovenia 17-13 Czech Republic
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