Iceland: Siltanews – News Desk
Women’s EHF EURO 2024 group F in Innsbruck almost started with a major sensation: Iceland were close to beating the Netherlands in a classical David-vs-Goliath duel. But outstanding goalkeeper Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir, top scorer Perla Albertsdóttir and their never-ending morale finally were not enough for the unlucky Icelanders in their EHF EURO comeback after 12 years to take their first point ever at a European championship.
On the other side, the Durch side were rattled, but took the 27:25 win thanks to three counter-attack goals in the final stages.
Hendrik Signell did not have a long time to prepare his Dutch team for the EHF EURO 2024. In September, his predecessor and Swedish country-fellow Per Johansson stepped back and only some days later, the former national coach of Sweden and South Korea was appointed.
Signell held his first training camp at the end of October, followed by two preparation tournaments. He left some experienced players such as Estavana Polman, Laura van der Heijden and Kelly Dulfer out of his EHF EURO squad – and the newly formed team obviously had problems with the underdogs from Iceland. But finally, Signell’s first official match – and the 100th international game for goalkeeper Rinka Duijndam, who played only 41 seconds – luckily ended victorious, but with a smaller margin than expected.
On the other hand, Iceland showed maybe their best EHF EURO performance ever, though they still wait for their first ever victory in their third participation after 2010 and 2012. Their seventh ever EHF EURO match was a great comeback after a 12-year absence with a lot of team spirit, individual skills and the endurance to put pressure on the Netherlands almost until the end.