Handball U20 European Championship

Ländle-Youngsters in the fight for the semi-finals

Lennio Sgonc's qualities are well known in Hard and the wing is also making his mark in the U20 team.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Three wins, one draw and only one defeat! So far, the U20 European Championship is going very well for Austria's men's handball team. A record that could be improved even further today with a win against Portugal - especially as a complete success would also secure a place in the semi-finals.

"What we didn't manage against Spain worked against Portugal. We had a very good retreat, were excellent in defense and made it really difficult for Iceland," said Austria's team boss Michael Draca after the clear 34:26 (16:10) victory in the U20 European Championship match against the Vikings.

Ländle-Boys in the middle instead of just being there
With Marko Bogojevic from Bregenz and Hard wing Lennio Sgonc, two Vorarlberg players are also part of the red-white-red team in Slovenia. While the 20-year-old Sgonc has scored eight goals so far, Bogojevic even leads the goalkeeping statistics. As back-up to Fivers goalkeeper Leon Bergmann, the 18-year-old - who will play for the Würzburger Wölfe in the new season - has kept 43.5 percent of shots on target in Slovenia so far.

Portugal a tough task
This is one of the reasons why Draca's team is back in the race for the semi-finals. The top two teams in each of the two main round groups qualify for the semi-finals. The ÖHB team is currently in third place in Group G, level on points with Spain and one point behind leaders Portugal. This means that a victory over the Portuguese today (12) could secure them a place in the semi-finals.
"We now have a great chance of reaching the semi-finals, but we also know what a tough task awaits us," explains Draca, whose lads can at least celebrate a top 8 place either way.