France’s handball players set two records at the European Championships and duped Portugal in the second main round game. At 46:38 (28:15), the Équipe Tricolore scored more goals in one half than ever before by a team at a European Championship. The team around star player Dika Mem had already scored 28 goals at halftime.
The 28-year-old alone contributed eight goals. The previous record was held by Poland, who were successful 26 times in 30 minutes at the 2014 European Championships.
In addition, the French and Portugal played the highest-scoring game in European Championship history. A total of 84 goals were scored, three more than in this year’s preliminary round game between Slovenia and Montenegro.
When does France meet Germany?
The French only narrowly missed a third goal record, but at least equaled their own record from the preliminary round game against Ukraine. The European champions scored 46 times again – no team has ever been more successful.
With the resounding win against Portugal, France, which now has four plus points, underlined its title ambitions. On Wednesday, at the end of the main round, there will be a duel with Germany.