Today the EMF EURO has come to its final day. Over the course of the last six days, the Masterplast Arena saw 32 of the best European teams battle against each other in Székesfehérvár.
The last day of the tournament started with the semi-finals in the morning. First the Czech Republic, who had beaten Poland in the quarter-finals, were up against Kazakhstan, who defeated Germany in the previous round.
It was an intensive first few minutes, with both teams aggressively trying to grab the first goal of the clash. After several missed gilt-edged chances on both sides, it was Kazakhstan’s Murat Akhmetsharipov who opened the scoring in the 12th minute. The Czech Republic pressed hard for a leveller in the last minutes, but failed to find one.
Six minutes after the restart Jan Koudelka handled the ball in the box. The referee awarded a penalty to Kazakhstan, and Assan Barlybayev scored. Two minutes before the end, Kazakhstan’s goalkeeper Zhassulan Mustafin saved a Czech strike, just so that he could brilliantly fire the ball straight into the unguarded Czech net, securing the 3:0 final score.
“Although we missed chances in the first half, the key point was that we conceded a goal, which we shouldn’t have. It’s really hard to play against a strong team like Kazakhstan, after they have already scored” told us the disappointed Jan Koudelka.
The next semi-final match saw Croatia, who won against Wales in the quarter-finals, face Montenegro. Montenegro reached the semi-finals after a shootout victory against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Bruno Piskac lit up the uneventful first half with a stunning goal in the 18th minute. Tin Prpic quickly doubled the lead for Croatia, making it 2:0 on the stroke of half time.
Three minutes into the second half Aleksandar Nenadovic finally pulled one back for Montenegro. But Montenegro missed all their chances to equalise in the second period. In the 38th minute, it was Antun Hercigonja’s goal that put an end to the game, settling the 3:1 final score.
Croatia will face Kazakhstan in the final, while the Czech Republic will play against Montenegro for the bronze.