Huge upset in Kolding! Serbia was seven goals behind the Netherlands at the beginning of the second half, but still managed to win the game due to the miraculous comeback, even without their superstar Andrea Lekic who was taken off with an injury – 25:29 (15:9).
Down by six goals at halftime, Serbia decided it was all or nothing against the Dutch side. Coach Ljubomir Obradovićcdecided to substitute his goalkeeper with an outfield player during the attacks and his gamble paid dividends, as Serbia made a 7:0 run to lead 23:22.
After not scoring for 10 minutes the Dutch finally broke through, but it was too little, too late, as Serbia secured a miraculous 29:25 win. Katarina Krpez-Slezak, who was the leading goalscorer at EURO 2018, netted 12 goals.
The Netherlands vs Serbia 25:29 (15:9)
The Netherlands: Wester 15 saves, Dujindam – Abbingh 4, Smeets 2, Kramer, Van der Heijden 4, Snelder 5, Malestein 2, Smits 1, Dulfer 1, Freriks, Hušer 2, van Wetering 2, Nusser 2, Van der Vlit
Serbia: Tomašević 1+1 save, Risović 14 saves – Krpež 12, Janjušević 3, Pop-Lazić 1, Lekić 2, Trifunović, Nikolić 2, Lavko 2, Liščević 2, Stoiljković 2, Radosavljević 2, Radojević, Agbaba, Jovović
Result: 0:1, 3:2, 7:3, 9:7, 13:8, 16:9, 18:13, 20:16, 22:16, 22:23, 24:26, 25:29
Photo: kolektiffimages
