Hallgrímsson’s eighteen saves give Iceland the group F advantage

Iceland defeated Hungary 24–23 in Kristianstad to win European Championship group F and carry two points into the main round. Both teams had already qualified, but the final preliminary encounter determined their starting positions for the next stage in Malmö.

The teams were tied 14–14 at half-time after repeatedly exchanging the lead. Red cards disrupted both sides after the restart, and Hungary recovered from Iceland’s first three-goal advantage before another Icelandic push created a 24–22 lead in the closing minutes.

Viktor Hallgrímsson made eighteen saves at forty-five per cent efficiency and received the match award. His late stop against Richárd Bodó helped preserve the result; Gísli Kristjánsson and Hungary’s Bence Imre scored seven each.