The Swiss handball team started the main round of the European Championship with a draw. Coach Andy Schmid's team had to settle for a 29:29 draw against Hungary despite taking a clear lead.
23.01.2026, 20:01
23.01.2026, 20:33
SDA
The Swiss almost experienced déjà vu. In the preliminary round, they were 23:14 ahead against Slovenia and still lost 35:38. Against Hungary, they led 25:18 in the 38th minute and still almost came away empty-handed. Although they pulled away from 25:24 (46') to 28:24 (51'), they then trailed 28:29 (57') for the first time after going 1-2 (2') behind. However, they kept their nerve this time: Mehdi Ben Romdhane equalized at 29:29 at the start of the 58th minute. The Swiss were unable to capitalize on the last action, with Ben Romdhane committing an attacking foul seven seconds before the end.
Hungary conceded just 71 goals in the three preliminary round matches - fewer than any other team. However, they were unable to find a recipe against the SHV selection in the first half. The Swiss pressed the pace as planned and scored 20 goals in the first 30 minutes with an attacking efficiency of 63%. They were also solid in defense and led 20:14 at the break. The Swiss pulled seven goals ahead three times at the start of the second half. However, they then let up, with the Hungarians defending much more aggressively.
The Swiss' top scorer was Lenny Rubin, although he needed 16 shots to score his seven goals. Noam Leopold scored six times and missed one shot. Goalkeeper Nikola Portner made twelve saves, nine of them in the first half.
"We get a point against Hungary in the main round of the European Championship, so I'm very satisfied," Schmid told Swiss television. "But after the way the game went, there are a few things to criticize. We were well back in the game in the second half, but at the moment when we could decide the game, we conceded from the wing and missed counter-attacks. We make too many technical mistakes in the second half." However, after the déjà vu, they managed to prevent the game from tipping over. "We could collapse after what we experienced, but we didn't."
On Sunday, the Swiss will face last year's World Cup finalists Croatia, who won their first game of the main round against Iceland 30:29. In their last encounter last November, the Swiss won 30:28 - their first success in their tenth match against the Croatians.
