The 2020 Men’s European Handball Championships continues today with matches main Main Round Group I. Here are the video links, odds and some predictions for those matches.
How to Watch Spoiler Free: Link
Thursday, 16 January
All Times Local (CET) / US ET is -6 hrs)
Odds courtesy of 10Bet <Open an account>
EHF Preview of day’s matches: Link
Main Round Group I (Vienna, Austria)
16:00 Croatia (-3) vs Czech Republic
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
18:15 Spain (-5.5) vs Belarus
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
20:30 Germany (-3) vs Austria
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)
Main Round Group I continues, but after Croatia’s victory over German on Saturday there’s not a whole lot of drama left. Croatia has already qualified for the semifinals and Spain can join them with a win or draw vs Belarus. In fact, Belarus is the only team remaining with a “realistic” chance of taking Spain’s place. All they need to do is upset Spain, beat Austria in their final match and get Croatia to beat Spain. Not easy, but easier than Germany’s path which requires those things to happen and for Belarus to beat Spain by 7.
In short, the remaining drama is mostly waiting for the Croatia-Spain match on Wednesday to determine who will finish first and likely avoid Norway in a semifinal. The only other side drama will be the battle for the 2 Olympic Qualification slots. The nations in Main Round Group I that need a slot (Austria, the Czech Republic and Belarus) will likely need to take 3rd in the group to compete with the nations in Main Round Group II that need an Olympic slot (Slovenia, Hungary, Iceland and Portugal). Those nations seem poised to likely finish 2nd and 3rd, meaning that a 3rd place showing in Group I would set up a 5th place match for the last Euro placement qualifying slot.
Betting Predictions
For this tournament we’re doing some betting predictions using an imaginary starting bankroll of a 1,000 Euros. Joining me will be professional handball bettor, Samo Košmerl, from Slovenia.
Odds are from the 10 Bet Sportsbook <Open an account>
John’s Pick(s):
– Current Bankroll: 843.94 Euros
– Yesterday’s Result: Money Line bet: Iceland (to win) vs Portugal 2.70/+170; Bet 100 Euros to win 170; Won 170 Euros as Iceland beat Portugal 28-25
– Today’s Pick: Austria’s Nikola Bilyk (Under 5.5 goals) 1.80/-125; Bet 100 Euros to win 80; Bilyk scored 6 goals or more against weaker opposition, but managed only 3 goals against Spain and Croatia. Germany has little chance of making the semifinals, but they will stay play hard on defense and make it tough for Bilyk to score.
Samo’s Pick(s):
– Current Bankroll: 1,623.61 Euros
– Yesterday’s Results:
Sweden(+4) vs Norway (-119/1.84); Bet 100 Euros to win 84: Won 84 Euros as Sweden lost by 3, 23-20
– Today’s Pick: Croatia vs Czech Republic (over 52.5); 1.8/-125; Bet 100 Euros to win 80 Euros; Absolutely meaningless game for Croatia today against the Czech Republic. Coach Červar will look to avoid injuries and rest key players… But, they still have just 16 players available, so there is no B team that can play today. This will mean a lot more playing time for players like Šarac and Matanović. The over/under goal line looks a bit low for match like that.