Sunday, 20 December (Herning, Denmark)
All Times Local (CET) / US ET is -6 hrs)
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
Bronze Medal Match 15:30 Croatia vs Denmark (-5.5) (Live on ehfTV)
(Commentary: Paul Bray)
The bronze medal match features hosts Denmark vs “just happy to be here” Croatia. Going into the tournament my one prediction was that this tournament would be unpredictable. And, I guess I was somewhat right. Croatia making the semifinals is a truly out of nowhere outcome that no one saw coming. They came back down to earth on Friday vs France and they would surely like to put on a better show today vs Denmark.
Denmark is surely smarting from the loss to Norway. A game that looked liked within their reach, but gradually slipped away. I suspect, however, that they will shake off that disappointment for a bronze medal. 5.5 goals seems about right to me, though, and I’m staying away from any wage on this match.
Gold Medal Match 18:00 France vs Norway (-2.5) (Live on ehfTV and beIN Sports Xtra: How to watch) (Commentary: Paul Bray)
EHF Euro website preview: Link
Well, it took awhile for everything to sort itself out, but the 2 strongest favorites going into the tournament will indeed meet each other in Final. Norway looked unstoppable until Friday when they had to dig themselves out of a 3 goal halftime hole vs Denmark. They erased that deficit and went on to win, 27-24. Meanwhile France had no problems whatsoever in their semifinal, easily defeating Croatia, 30-19.
I like France in this match, mostly for their tough, physical defense that can cause real problems for Norway in their set offense. How good can France’s defense be when they put their mind to it? They held Croatia to 5 goals in the first half. Now, obviously, Norway has quite a bit more firepower than Croatia, but that same type of defensive effort should give France a leg up in this match. I like France (+270) to win this match outright.