12 of the 24 teams taking part at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 have made it through to the main round, while the other half are heading home, after the conclusion of the preliminary round, in the competition co-hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

Six teams – Hungary, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Montenegro and France – are boasting a 100% record and will start the next phase of the competition with two points, after building a three-match winning streak in the preliminary round, while another co-host, Switzerland, has made it to the main round for the first time in their history, after clinching two wins in three matches.

In Group A, Hungary secured their main round ticket after the second match, a clear 32:25 win over Sweden, the second secured against their Scandinavian counterparts in Debrecen in the space of only nine months, after the 28:25 win secured in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournament back in April.

Hungary also won against Türkiye, 30:24, and North Macedonia, 29:19, being joined in the main round by Sweden, which secured clear wins against Türkiye, 47:19, and North Macedonia, 28:18. Right wing Nathalie Hagman also hit the 900-goal milestone for her country in the match against Türkiye.

Group B was a topsy-turvy affair, but Montenegro displayed grit and defensive prowess, to take three wins – 24:18 against Serbia, 27:25 against Romania and 28:21 against Czechia, limiting Czechia to only four goals scored in the first half of the match. 

Romania finished second, courtesy of two fantastic comebacks, erasing a six-goal deficit against Czechia in their 29:28 win and a five-goal deficit against Serbia, to take a 27:25 win, avoiding their worst-ever finish in the competition by making it to the main round.

Group C provided one of the biggest shocks of the preliminary round, Spain’s elimination, after only four months since the European side was present at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ambros Martin’s side started with a 30:24 win against Portugal, stood close against France in a 22:24 loss, but collapsed entirely in the last match against Poland, with Poland’s 26:23 win seeing them edge the main round berth by finishing second. France, the reigning world champions, dominated Poland, 35:22, and Portugal, 28:16, to win the group.

Denmark also were immaculate, with wins over Croatia, 34:26, Switzerland, 35:30, and the Faroe Islands, 33:24, to win Group D, with co-hosts Switzerland making it to the main round of the EHF EURO for the first time in history, with wins over Croatia, 26:22, and the Faroe Islands, 28:25.

The Faroe Islands also secured their maiden point in history in the Women’s EHF EURO, with a 17:17 fantastic draw against Croatia.

Reigning Olympic champions Norway had the best attack of the preliminary round, scoring 109 goals in their three wins, 33:26 against Slovenia, 38:24 against Austria and 38:15 against Slovakia, to make it to the main round, while co-hosts Austria were eliminated due to their last-gasp loss against Slovenia, 24:25, where left back Tjasa Stanko scored eight goals.

In Group F, the Netherlands secured three wins in Henrik Signell’s debut on the European side’s bench, with a 27:25 win over Iceland, a 43:23 win over Ukraine and a strong 29:22 win over Germany, the other qualified team.

Group I of the main round will start on 5 December in Debrecen, where France, Hungary and Montenegro start with two points, while Romania, Sweden and Poland start on zero points. Group II of the main round is due to start also on 5 December in Vienna, with Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark starting on two points, as Switzerland, Slovenia and Germany are on zero points.

The first two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals.

Slovenia’s Tjasa Stanko is the top scorer of the competition so far, with 24 goals, followed by Montenegro’s Djurdjina Jaukovic, with 23 goals, and Sweden’s Nathalie Hagman, with 22 goals.

Credit photo: EHF / Axel Heimken / kolektiff