The Spanish handball team, reigning runners-up on the continent, said goodbye to the European Championships in Germany after being eliminated yesterday with a 33-33 draw against Austria in the first phase, in a clash that gave the Hispanics a lesson in character in the second Half. A period in which Jordi Ribera's men had to play without their big star, full-back Alex Dujshebaev, who saw a direct red card three minutes before half-time for an action in which the referees, after reviewing the video images, estimated that he Lukas Hutecek had hit in the face.
The European Championship got off to a difficult start with the clear defeat (29:39) that Spain suffered against Croatia on the first match day. This setback forced the Hispanics to win all their games, which they failed to do this Tuesday against Austria, although they were still able to achieve victory until the last minutes.
In fact, Spain had a lead (33:32) on the scoreboard in the last 45 seconds after a penalty goal by Aleix Gómez, but Austria, which, unlike the Spanish team, was worth a draw, enjoyed a final position that Bozovic managed to let him have not take it to make the final score 33:33, which already made Imanol Garciandia's last last shot fruitless.
Painful end to a tournament and a game in which the Spaniards never found the opportunity to show the solid image that had allowed them to reach the last four continental finals. Yesterday, when he was playing better in defense, Alex Dujshebaev cutting through all the passing lines from the forward position and Viran Morros sweeping everything behind him, came the sending off that changed everything. Without Dujshebaev, he was not only without his big star, but also without the man who led the defense with his legs and hands. A circumstance that condemned Jordi Ribera's team to go to the dressing room with a two-goal deficit (15-17), where the plan was hatched that allowed Spain to respond at the start of the second half. A start to the second half in which the Spanish team reached the score of 28-28 just over nine minutes before the end thanks to the saves of Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas and especially the goals of Ian Tarrefetal. That was the worst. Spain failed to get going and ended up losing by 33 points, eliminating them from the European Championships.
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