Day 1 – Debrecen
DebrecenHungarian victory in the opening match despite a sleepy start
The opening match of the Debrecen venue was preceded by a great opening ceremony, but the match started better for the Turks in white. In the second half, however, the Hungarian team left their opponents standing. From the 19th minute onwards, the home team did not concede a goal, thanks to Zsófi Szemerey’s saves, and took a five-goal lead into the break. The second half started in a similar way as the first half ended, with the Hungarians increasing their lead. However, the home team’s mistakes did not allow the gap to grow any further, and in the end the nearly 3000 fans in attendance could applaud Hungary’s 30-24 victory. Viktória Győri-Lukács was voted as Grundfos Player of the Match.
Confident Swedish victory against Northern Macedonia
Sweden did not leave their debut match at the European Championship to chance. The 4th place team at the previous World Cup and Olympics did not play like a typical first game even in the first half. In the second half, Swedish captain Tomas Axnér started to rotate the team, but the North Macedonians could not close the gap thanks to their 15-minute goal drought. In the second half of the second period, the North Macedonians scored as many goals as they had scored before. This was reflected in the difference, as Sweden’s fifteen-goal lead in the 45th minute was reduced to ten by the end of the match, 28-18. Nathalie Hagman was voted as Grundfos Player of the Match.
