Men's 18 EHF EURO

MONTENEGRO

Spain secure European title in Podgorica

With a 34:32 win against Sweden in the M18 EHF EURO 2022 final in August 2022, Spain became the first country in history to complete the EHF EURO double in two Younger Age Categories – M18 and M20 – in the same year.

'Los Hispanos' had previously won the gold medal at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 in July, after another nail-biting final against Portugal, 37:35. Germany won the M18 bronze medal match 29:22 against Hungary, who suffered their third loss in the competition.

Germany have now won six medals at the M18 EHF EURO, one fewer than Spain and Sweden, who have won seven. Spain previously won the tournament in 1994, having lost another two finals. They also have three bronze medals.

It was a historic tournament for Spain, who delivered a total masterclass throughout the matches played in Montenegro, with another golden generation being born on the courts of the Verde Complex and the Moraca Sports Centre in Podgorica.

“Los Hispanos” had a tournament for the ages, winning all of their seven games played, scoring an average of 35.4 goals per game. They had just one game where they did not score at least 30 goals, the last one from the main round against Denmark, where they scored 29.

Two Spanish players reached the All-star Team, right wing Unciti Gonzalez and right back Djordje Cikusa Jilicic. They were joined by fellow finalist Axel Månsson of Sweden, who was named All-star centre back and who scored 13 goals in the final. Sweden’s Pelle Segertoft was the best defender.

The Faroe Islands’ Oli Mittun became the player with the most goals scored in a single edition of the M18 EHF EURO — 80 — earning him the MVP and top scorer awards. Another four nations were represented in the All-star Team: the best goalkeeper was Portugal’s Diogo Rema Marques; David More of Germany was All-star left wing; Hungary’s Kirstof Csörgo was named best left back; and Norwegian line player Lars Eirik Larsen completed the team.

The teams ranked first to 13th at the M18 EHF EURO 2022 qualified for the M20 EHF EURO 2024: Spain, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia. They will be joined by the winners of the three M18 EHF Championship 2022 tournaments: the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, and Austria.

The top 11 teams at the M18 EHF EURO, plus the three M18 EHF Championship winners, qualified for the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, including hosts Croatia.