The 2020 Men’s European Handball Championships continues today with the final 6 matches from Groups B, D and F. Here are the video links, odds and some predictions for those matches.

How to Watch Spoiler Free: Link

Tuesday, 14 January
All Times Local (CET) / US ET is -6 hrs)
Odds courtesy of 10Bet <Open an account>

IHF Preview of day’s matches: Link

Group B (Vienna, Austria)

18:15 Austria (-1.5) vs N. Macedonia
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)

20:30 Czech Republic (-2.5) vs Ukraine
Match Video (On Demand): Link (No Commentary)

If you’re looking for drama with every team having a chance to qualify, look no further. Here’s the current standings.

And, what are the scenarios for advancing? It’s complicated, and got its own article to explain: Link

Group D (Trondheim, Norway)

18:15 Bosnia & Herzegovina vs France (-5.5)
Match Video (On Demand): Link ( Commentary: Paul Bray )

20:30 Norway (-5.5) vs Portugal
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Paul Bray)

Well, if at the start of the tournament somebody told me that the France-Bosnia game would have no bearing on which teams went through I wouldn’t have been surprised. Just mighty France resting some players after beating Portugal and Norway. Of course, the opposite is true in reality. Meanwhile, Portugal and Norway will essentially play their first Main Round match. Who would have thunk it?

Group F (Gothenburg, Sweden)

18:15 Switzerland vs Slovenia (-4.5)
Match Video (On Demand): Link (No Commentary)

20:30 Sweden (-6) vs Poland
Match Video (On Demand): Link (Commentary: Clayton Lucas)

Here’s the current standings:

In theory, every team can advance today, but the scenarios for Switzerland require and Poland require some big upsets and some big margins of victory. Barring some crazy outcomes Slovenia and Sweden will advance today. The scenarios are here: Link

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: 681.30 Euros
– Yesterday’s Result:  Belarus (-2.5) vs Montenegro. Bet 100 Euros to win 81.30. Won 81.30 as Belarus easily won 36-27. I guess I should have gone with that alternative point spread.
– Today’s Pick: Czech Republic (-2.5) vs Ukraine; Bet 100 Euros to win 82.64; I think the Czech Republic is clearly a better team than the Ukraine. And, with advancing to the Main Round on the line they will seek to put Ukraine out of the match early. My only second thoughts; The outcome of the first match. A Macedonian victory over Austria could possibly render the match meaningless to the Czech Republic. (and… if one were to make a bet after that match quickly it might be a smart opportunity)

Samo’s Pick(s):
– Current Bankroll: 1,089.36 Euros
– Yesterday’s Result: Two event parlay; Belarus to win (-370/1.27) vs Montenegro (Tie is no bet) and NL (+10.5 goals) vs Spain (-265/1.37); Wager 100 Euros to win 74. Lost 100 Euros The perils of parlay bets. Belarus came through, but the Netherlands lost 36-25. One measly half goal.
– Today’s Picks: Group F is all but decided and because of this I see several nice opportunities there:

Bet 1: Switzerland’s Marvin Lier under 3.5 goals scored (+100/2.0) Bet 100 Euros to win 100; I don’t think Switzerland will be getting a lot of fast breaks today. It also looks like Schmid is taking the penalty shots now so I don’t see how Lier can score 4+ against probably the best defense in the tournament so far.

Bet 2: Slovenia’s Blaz Janc under 4.5 goals scored (-120/1.83); Bet 100 Euros to win 83.33; In the first two matches Slovenia played with a pretty limited roster so today we should see some new rotations. RW, Blaz Janc, is a key player for Slovenia and he needs a bit of rest before the important Main Round games. Šoštaric is also a solid RW and I expect that Vranješ will give him at least 20 minutes today.

Bet 3: Poland-Sweden; Over 54.5 goals (-114/1.87); Bet 100 Euros to win 87.71; Slovenia should win the first match over Switzerland, so we can say Sweden is already in Main Round as they won’t lose by 11+ goals (the only way for Poland to advance to the Main Round). Sweden loves to play fast handball and we should see a lot of goals in game where the result is not important. Especially after they scored just 19 against Slovenia, they need to gain some confidence, fans love fast handball as well so I think 54.5 is a bit too low of a line for such match.