2012 European Men's Handball Championship
The 2012 EHF European Men's Handball Championship was the tenth edition of the men's continental handball tournament, which was held in Serbia between 15 and 29 January 2012. Sixteen teams qualified for the event, including host nation Serbia, defending champion France and fourteen national teams through the qualifying tournament. The teams were split into four groups of 4, with the top 3 teams of each group advancing to the main round, carrying the points won against other qualified opponents. Going to the main round with no points, Denmark ended up winning the championship after defeating Serbia in the final with a scoreline of 21–19.[1]
| Европско првенство у рукомету 2012 | |
|---|---|
EHF Euro 2012 official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Serbia |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 4 host cities) |
| Dates | 15–29 January 2012 |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Denmark (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | Serbia |
| Third place | Croatia |
| Fourth place | Spain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 47 |
| Goals scored | 2,508 (53.36 per match) |
| Attendance | 302,688 (6,440 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Kiril Lazarov (MKD) (61 goals) |
| Best player | Momir Ilić (SRB) |
The bronze medal was claimed by Croatia, who defeated Spain 31–27 to win their second bronze and fourth European medal overall.[2] In the placement match for the 5th position Macedonia proved to be too strong for Slovenia and won the match by 28–27. Macedonian right back Kiril Lazarov led his team with 8 goals to success and took the top scorers' award with a European Championship record of 61 goals.[3] Over 300,000 spectators were present in 47 matches during the tournament, which was also a new championship record.[1]
By winning the European title, Denmark directly qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, while Serbia and Macedonia secured a spot in the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Thanks to the Danish triumph, Poland also made it to the qualifiers as the eighth ranked team of the 2011 World Championship.[4]
Denmark, Serbia and Croatia as three best-ranked teams qualified directly for 2013 World Men's Handball Championship.
The championship was somewhat overshadowed by incidents that occurred during the final week of the event. On 26–27 January, in violent attacks, cars were damaged or set on fire, and several Croatian supporters were injured. In the semifinal match between Serbia and Croatia, Žarko Šešum, the back player of the Serbian team had his eye severely injured after a bottle intended for Croatian player Ivano Balić and coach Slavko Goluža was thrown at him.[5]
Bidding process edit
The bids were as follows:
Serbia was awarded the championship on the EHF Congress in Vienna 27 September 2008, narrowly defeating the French bid by three votes. Serbia would host the tournament in the cities of Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad and Vršac.
Qualification edit
The 2012 Championship was the second for which the new qualification system was used.
Qualified teams edit
| Country | Qualified as | Date qualification was secured | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | Host | 27 September 2008 | 1 ( 2010) |
| France | Defending Champion | 31 January 2010 | 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Hungary | Group 1 winner | 13 March 2011 | 7 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Croatia | Group 2 winner | 13 March 2011 | 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Sweden | Group 4 winner | 8 June 2011 | 8 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010) |
| Denmark | Group 7 winner | 8 June 2011 | 8 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Russia | Group 7 runner-up | 8 June 2011 | 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Norway | Group 6 winner | 8 June 2011 | 4 (2000, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Germany | Group 5 winner | 8 June 2011 | 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Slovakia | Group 4 runner-up | 9 June 2011 | 2 (2006, 2008) |
| Spain | Group 2 runner-up | 9 June 2011 | 9 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Czech Republic | Group 6 runner-up | 11 June 2011 | 6 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010) |
| Macedonia | Group 1 runner-up | 12 June 2011 | 1 (1998) |
| Poland | Group 3 winner | 12 June 2011 | 5 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Slovenia | Group 3 runner-up | 12 June 2011 | 8 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Iceland | Group 5 runner-up | 12 June 2011 | 6 (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
- 1 Bold indicates champion for that year
Squads edit
Venues edit
| Preliminary round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgrade | Novi Sad | Vršac | Niš |
| Pionir Hall Capacity: 8,150 | SPENS Capacity: 11,500 | Millennium Center Capacity: 5,000 | Čair Sports Center Capacity: 5,000 |
| Knockout stage | |||
| Belgrade | |||
| Belgrade Arena Capacity: 20,000 | |||
- Source: Serbian Handball Federation: Euro 2010[permanent dead link]
Audience edit
- Belgrade Arena.
- Маscot Tasa (eagle) with Macedonian fan in Belgrade Arena
- Serbian and Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena
- Serbian and Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena, Serbia vs Germany
- Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena.
Referees edit
On 12 September 2011, 12 couples were announced in Vienna.[6]
| Country | Referees |
|---|---|
| Czech Republic | Václav Horáček Jiří Novotný |
| Denmark | Per Olesen Lars Ejby Pedersen |
| France | Nordine Lazaar Laurent Reveret |
| Germany | Lars Geipel Marcus Helbig |
| Iceland | Hlynur Leifsson Anton Pálsson |
| Macedonia | Slave Nikolov Gjorgi Nachevski |
| Norway | Kenneth Abrahamsen Arne Kristiansen |
| Romania | Sorin-Laurențiu Dinu Constantin Din |
| Russia | Yevgeniy Zotin Nikolay Volodkov |
| Serbia | Nenad Nikolić Dušan Stojković |
| Slovenia | Nenad Krstić Peter Ljubič |
| Spain | Óscar Raluy Ángel Sabroso |
List of broadcasters edit
Seeding edit
The draw was held on 15 June 2011 in Belgrade at 12:00 local time.[7][8] The seeding was announced on 13 June 2011.[9]
Group stage edit
The match schedule was released and confirmed on 18 April 2011.[10] Four teams were selected to play in the four venue cities, Serbia in Belgrade, Macedonia at Niš, Hungary at Novi Sad and Croatia in Vršac.[11] The playing schedule was announced on 1 July.[12][13]
All times are UTC+1.
| Team advanced to the Main Round |
Group A edit
Venue: Pionir Hall, Belgrade
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 61 | +6 | 5 |
| Poland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 72 | +14 | 4 |
| Denmark | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 78 | 76 | +2 | 2 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 70 | 92 | −22 | 1 |
| 15 January 2012 18:15 | Poland | 18–22 | Serbia | Attendance: 8,000 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Bielecki 4 | (7–11) | Vujin, Nikčević 6 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 15 January 2012 20:15 | Denmark | 30–25 | Slovakia | Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Zotin, Volodkov (RUS) |
| Lindberg 7 | (15–12) | Valo 6 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 2× 2× |
| 17 January 2012 18:15 | Slovakia | 24–41 | Poland | Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO) |
| Kukučka 5 | (13–17) | Tkaczyk 8 | ||
| 3× 5× 1× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 17 January 2012 20:15 | Serbia | 24–22 | Denmark | Attendance: 8,100 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA) |
| Ilić 8 | (10–12) | Christiansen, Hansen 4 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 19 January 2012 18:15 | Poland | 27–26 | Denmark | Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL) |
| Tkaczyk 7 | (10–14) | Mogensen 4 | ||
| 3× 5× | Report | 3× 5× |
| 19 January 2012 20:15 | Serbia | 21–21 | Slovakia | Attendance: 4,900 Referees: Zotin, Volodkov (RUS) |
| Prodanović 5 | (13–6) | three players 4 | ||
| 3× 5× | Report | 3× 3× |
Group B edit
Venue: Čair Sports Center, Niš
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 77 | 74 | +3 | 4 |
| Macedonia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 76 | 71 | +5 | 3 |
| Sweden | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 83 | 84 | −1 | 3 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 84 | −7 | 2 |
| 15 January 2012 17:20 | Germany | 24–27 | Czech Republic | Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Kaufmann 5 | (9–14) | Jícha 7 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 15 January 2012 19:30 | Sweden | 26–26 | Macedonia | Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA) |
| Ekberg 6 | (14–13) | Aluševski, Lazarov 7 | ||
| 3× 6× | Report | 3× 6× |
| 17 January 2012 18:15 | Macedonia | 23–24 | Germany | Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL) |
| Lazarov 7 | (12–12) | Kaufmann 6 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 3× 7× 1× |
| 17 January 2012 20:15 | Czech Republic | 29–33 | Sweden | Attendance: 2,050 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Jícha 7 | (17–19) | Ekberg 10 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 4× 6× |
| 19 January 2012 18:15 | Germany | 29–24 | Sweden | Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO) |
| Gensheimer 9 | (20–15) | Ekdahl du Rietz 8 | ||
| 3× 5× | Report | 3× 2× |
| 19 January 2012 20:15 | Czech Republic | 21–27 | Macedonia | Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Jícha, Horák 5 | (12–12) | Lazarov 7 | ||
| 3× 6× | Report | 2× 3× |
Group C edit
Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 77 | +6 | 5 |
| Hungary | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 81 | 78 | +3 | 4 |
| France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 79 | −2 | 2 |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 89 | −7 | 1 |
| 16 January 2012 18:15 | France | 26–29 | Spain | Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Dinu, Din (ROU) |
| Fernandez 7 | (13–15) | three players 4 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 16 January 2012 20:15 | Hungary | 31–31 | Russia | Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| Császár 8 | (19–19) | Chipurin 5 | ||
| 3× 6× | Report | 3× 7× |
| 18 January 2012 18:15 | Russia | 24–28 | France | Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| Chipurin 7 | (11–16) | Narcisse 6 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 1× |
| 18 January 2012 20:15 | Spain | 24–24 | Hungary | Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Cañellas 6 | (11–12) | Császár, Mocsai 7 | ||
| 3× | Report | 4× 5× 1× |
| 20 January 2012 18:15 | Spain | 30–27 | Russia | Attendance: 4,000 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| García Parrondo 6 | (17–11) | Igropulo 8 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 4× 4× 1× |
| 20 January 2012 20:15 | France | 23–26 | Hungary | Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD) |
| Barachet 5 | (14–12) | Zubai 6 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× |
Group D edit
Venue: Millennium Centar, Vršac
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 78 | +10 | 6 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 91 | −1 | 2 |
| Iceland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 95 | 97 | −2 | 2 |
| Norway | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 87 | −7 | 2 |
| 16 January 2012 18:10 | Norway | 28–27 | Slovenia | Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| three players 6 | (14–14) | Zorman, Gajić 5 | ||
| 3× 5× 1× | Report | 2× 9× 2× |
| 16 January 2012 20:10 | Croatia | 31–29 | Iceland | Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Štrlek 8 | (14–15) | Sigurðsson 8 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 18 January 2012 18:10 | Slovenia | 29–31 | Croatia | Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD) |
| Gajić 8 | (12–16) | Čupić 9 | ||
| 4× 5× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 18 January 2012 20:10 | Iceland | 34–32 | Norway | Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Olesen, Pedersen (DEN) |
| Gunnarsson 9 | (18–20) | Mamelund 10 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 20 January 2012 18:10 | Iceland | 32–34 | Slovenia | Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Sigurðsson 9 | (13–17) | Gajić, Skube 7 | ||
| 2× 3× | Report | 3× 5× |
Main round edit
Group stage results between teams that qualified for the main round were carried over.
| Team advances to the Semifinals | |
| Team plays in the Fifth place game |
Group I edit
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
Result edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 110 | 104 | +6 | 7 |
| Denmark | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 140 | 133 | +7 | 6 |
| Macedonia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 130 | 127 | +3 | 5 |
| Germany | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 132 | 129 | +3 | 5 |
| Poland | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 132 | 136 | −4 | 5 |
| Sweden | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 124 | 139 | −15 | 2 |
Initial standing and matches edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (B) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 4 |
| Serbia (A) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 4 |
| Poland (A) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 2 |
| Macedonia (B) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 1 |
| Sweden (B) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 1 |
| Denmark (A) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 0 |
(A) and (B) indicates from which group the teams came; in the main round they were playing only against teams from the other group. By three victories and the misfortune of among others Germany, Denmark qualified for the semifinals together with the host, Serbia. Notable results were Denmark's last second win against Macedonia and Poland's turnaround of first-half 9-20 result to win second half by the same numbers to equalize against Sweden.
| 21 January 2012 16:15 | Poland | 29–29 | Sweden | Attendance: 6,003 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA) |
| Jaszka 8 | (9–20) | Ekberg 7 | ||
| 2× 4× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 21 January 2012 18:15 | Denmark | 33–32 | Macedonia | Attendance: 17,000 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Hansen 12 | (16–19) | Lazarov 13 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 2× 2× |
| 21 January 2012 20:15 | Serbia | 21–21 | Germany | Attendance: 20,500 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Ilić 6 | (12–7) | Gensheimer 5 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 23 January 2012 16:20 | Poland | 25–27 | Macedonia | Attendance: 3,700 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL) |
| Jurecki 5 | (12–18) | Lazarov 9 | ||
| 2× 5× | Report | 3× 4× |
| 23 January 2012 18:20 | Denmark | 28–26 | Germany | Attendance: 7,000 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO) |
| Eggert 7 | (17–14) | four players 4 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 23 January 2012 20:20 | Serbia | 24–21 | Sweden | Attendance: 19,000 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Vujin 5 | (14–11) | Ekdahl du Rietz 8 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 25 January 2012 16:15 | Poland | 33–32 | Germany | Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Jurecki, Kuchczynski 5 | (18–17) | Klein, Sprenger 7 | ||
| 2× 4× | Report | 3× 8× 1× |
| 25 January 2012 18:15 | Denmark | 31–24 | Sweden | Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO) |
| Eggert 7 | (18–11) | Andersson 8 | ||
| 3× 1× | Report | 3× 5× |
| 25 January 2012 20:15 | Serbia | 19–22 | Macedonia | Attendance: 24,805 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Vujin 5 | (10–11) | Lazarov 10 | ||
| 4× 1× | Report | 2× 4× |
Group II edit
Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad
Result edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 130 | +13 | 9 |
| Croatia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 137 | 128 | +9 | 7 |
| Slovenia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 153 | 156 | −3 | 4 |
| Hungary | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 125 | 130 | −5 | 4 |
| Iceland | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 143 | 146 | −3 | 3 |
| France | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 128 | 139 | −11 | 3 |
Initial standing and matches edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia (D) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 58 | +4 | 4 |
| Spain (C) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 3 |
| Hungary (C) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 3 |
| Slovenia (D) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 63 | 0 | 2 |
| Iceland (D) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 0 |
| France (C) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 0 |
(C) and (D) above indicates from which group the teams came, in the main round they are only playing against teams from the other group.
| 22 January 2012 16:10 | Hungary | 21–27 | Iceland | Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| Császár 7 | (10–14) | Atlason, Sigurðsson 5 | ||
| 3× 4× | Report | 3× 6× |
| 22 January 2012 18:10 | France | 28–26 | Slovenia | Attendance: 4,700 Referees: Dinu, Din (ROU) |
| Barachet 6 | (14–15) | Žvižej 6 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 7× |
| 22 January 2012 20:10 | Spain | 24–22 | Croatia | Attendance: 7,500 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE) |
| Tomás 5 | (11–14) | Čupić 5 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 24 January 2012 16:10 | Spain | 31–26 | Iceland | Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Nikolov, Nachevski (MKD) |
| Aguinagalde 5 | (17–13) | Sigurðsson 6 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 2× |
| 24 January 2012 18:10 | France | 22–29 | Croatia | Attendance: 7,500 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Fernandez, Barachet 4 | (12–11) | Kopljar, Čupić 7 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 24 January 2012 20:10 | Hungary | 30–32 | Slovenia | Attendance: 6,800 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Putics 7 | (13–14) | Gajić 13 | ||
| 3× 5× 1× | Report | 4× 6× |
| 25 January 2012 16:10 | France | 29–29 | Iceland | Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Nikolić, Stojković (SRB) |
| Accambray 10 | (11–15) | Sigurðsson 5 | ||
| 3× 2× | Report | 3× 1× |
| 25 January 2012 18:10 | Spain | 35–32 | Slovenia | Attendance: 3,200 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Romero 7 | (15–15) | Žvižej 7 | ||
| 3× | Report | 3× 3× |
Knockout stage edit
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
Bracket edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 January – Belgrade | ||||||
| Serbia | 26 | |||||
| 29 January – Belgrade | ||||||
| Croatia | 22 | |||||
| Serbia | 19 | |||||
| 27 January – Belgrade | ||||||
| Denmark | 21 | |||||
| Spain | 24 | |||||
| Denmark | 25 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 29 January – Belgrade | ||||||
| Croatia | 31 | |||||
| Spain | 27 | |||||
Semifinals edit
| 27 January 2012 17:45 | Denmark | 25–24 | Spain | Attendance: 14,000 Referees: Krstić, Ljubič (SLO) |
| Lauge 6 | (12–10) | Aguinagalde 5 | ||
| 4× 3× | Report | 3× 3× |
| 27 January 2012 20:15 | Serbia | 26–22 | Croatia | Attendance: 23,040 Referees: Lazaar, Reveret (FRA) |
| Ilić 8 | (13–14) | Kopljar 7 | ||
| 3× 3× | Report | 3× 2× |
Fifth place game edit
| 27 January 2012 15:15 | Macedonia | 28–27 | Slovenia | Attendance: 5,500 Referees: Raluy, Sabroso (ESP) |
| Lazarov 8 | (16–12) | Dolenec 7 | ||
| 3× 5× | Report | 3× 6× |
Bronze medal game edit
| 29 January 2012 14:30 | Croatia | 31–27 | Spain | Attendance: 8,500 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER) |
| Lacković, Čupić 7 | (13–12) | Sarmiento 7 | ||
| 3× 5× | Report | 3× 2× |
Final edit
| 29 January 2012 17:00 | Serbia | 19–21 | Denmark | Attendance: 21,800 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR) |
| Prodanović 4 | (7–9) | M. Hansen 9 | ||
| 4× 1× | Report | 2× 3× |
The final was played at the Belgrade Arena between the host-nation Serbia and Denmark, and was seen by 19,800 spectators.[14] The teams played a match against each other in the group stage of the tournament, when Serbia defeated Denmark 24–22. Serbia's coach Veselin Vuković could not rely on Žarko Šešum, whose left eye was injured after he was hit with a bottle on the halftime break of the semi-final match against Croatia.[15]
The match started with tough play by both teams and low scoring. Denmark claimed the lead in the early phase of the match and controlled the period. Serbia's attacks were ineffective, and goalkeeper Darko