The Romanian men’s national team ended their participation in the European Handball Championship without a point, after a dramatic defeat, on Tuesday evening, against North Macedonia, score 24-23.
Romania ended its participation in the European Handball Championship with failures on the line, after a dramatic defeat to North Macedonia, score 24-23, in a match decided at the last second, marked by a VAR intervention at the end of the game.
Romania’s national team was very close to getting the first point in the final tournament, but narrowly lost to North Macedonia in the last stage of the group. After setbacks to Portugal and Denmark, the Tricolors put in a solid performance, came back from a five-goal deficit, but were beaten in the end.
The Macedonians broke away in the second half, but Romania stayed in the game and managed to equalize in the end, including after a phase analyzed on the VAR monitor, after which Cumpănici was eliminated, but possession remained in favor of the tricolors. Alex Andrei scored in an empty net, and the end became extremely tense.
The final seconds brought goals from both sides. After Romania restored the tie, North Macedonia quickly put the ball back in play and scored the winning goal in the very last second, setting the final score, 24–23.
Filip Kuzmanowski was the best scorer of the game, with nine successes. For Romania, Ionuț Nistor, with eight goals, and Călin Dedu, author of four successes, stood out, while the goalkeeper Mihai Popescu, who was in the last match for the national team, had a solid evolution, with ten decisive interventions.
Following this result, Romania ended the group in last place and will finish the competition in the lower positions of the general ranking. North Macedonia, for its part, remains dependent on other results for a possible further qualification.
