Live blog: Preparation for EHF EURO 2022 hots up

• the Men's EHF EURO 2022 throws off on Thursday 13 January with nine matches
• the tournament is co-hosted by Hungary and Slovakia, with preliminary round games in Budapest, Szeged, Debrecen, Bratislava and Košice
• download the Home of Handball app on iOS or Android to follow games and make match predictions
• follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitch
• listen to the official EHF EURO podcast from the (Un)informed Handball Hour
• find out how to watch the tournament wherever you are

20:00

That's all from the blog for today. We'll be back at 10:00 CET to bring you the build-up as the teams prepare to throw off. It's nearly time. 

19:30

By this time tomorrow the first points will have been decided in the EHF EURO! It's all getting rather exciting. Join in the build-up on social media and tell us who you're throwing your weight behind for the next few weeks. We want to see which teams have the support of their fans.  

18:00 

Hungary have only won one international medal in history, a whopping 36 years ago. Bu as they gear up to host the EHF EURO 2022 in the glorious new MVM Dome arena in Budapest, this could be their year to add a European championship medal. EHF journalist Courtney Gahan has looked into the reasons why.

16:45

Earlier in the blog we shared some thoughts from North Macedonia's player-coach Kiril Lazarov. EHF journalist Danijela Vekić sat down with Lazarov and his teammates and assistant coach, Filip Mirkulovski, to find out how they are tackling their dual role. Ideally, they would rather not play - but are ready to take to the court if need be.

16:00

Ahead of the competition, teams are confirming their final rosters. Here's Poland's line-up, announced earlier today.

15:20

The EHF EURO generates some great rivalries, and we've taken a look at one of the biggest - between Croatian's Ivano Balic, and France's Nikola Karabatic. Balic has retired and will be on the sidelines in Hungary this year, but Karabatic is on court as Croatia face France tomorrow night in Szeged.

14:30

The teams are all doing pre-tournament media calls today, and we're bringing you some of the best quotes here in this blog. North Macedonia are due to play Slovenia in group A's opening game in Debrecen, and despite several positive Covid-19 tests on Monday, including goalkeeper Nikola Mitrevski, coach-player (and EHF EURO legend) Kiril Lazarov remains bullish about his team's chances.

14:10

The Men's EHF EURO has been running since 1994, so plenty of players have made their marks on the tournament before 2022. In this deep dive into the top scorers, MVPs and All-star Teams of the past, we find out who has stood out and which players competing this year will have the chance to add to their records. Will stars like Nikola Karabatic, Mikkel Hansen, Sander Sagosen and Kiril Lazarov make yet more history this year?

12:30

The first day of competition will see 18 of the 24 teams take to the court in a bumper day of action. Highlights will include Hungary taking on the Netherlands in the 20,000-seat MVM Dome in Budapest. Olympic champions France face EHF EURO 2020 silver medallists Croatia in Szeged, and in Bratislava, Germany's match with Belarus is also promising.

Check out the previews for all nine games!

11:10

The (Un)informed Handball Hour dropped their latest podcast this morning - part one of their preview of the tournament. Listen or download it now, it's a perfect warm-up to the tournament.

10:40

Over the past weeks we've been counting down to the tournament with a preview of each team's chances, and today we reached reigning champions Spain.

Check out some of the countdowns below for 2020 gold and silver medallists Spain and Croatia, world champions Denmark, and co-hosts Hungary. You can find the other 20 on the news section on our website. 

10:00

The Men's EHF EURO 2022 is almost here, with two and a half weeks of amazing handball ahead. Can Spain win a third consecutive title, or will Olympic champions France or world champions Denmark continue the form they showed last year? Will co-hosts Hungary produce a fairy tale in front of their home fans?

These questions will all be answered in the coming weeks and were the topic of a very special live show on the Home of Handball Twitch channel on Monday night, when (Un)informed Handball Hour hosts Chris O'Reilly, Brian Campion and Alex Kulesh sat down with a series of amazing guests to discuss every team and every group. Click here to watch the show, and click here to read predictions from the EHF's team of journalists. Don't forget you can also predict results through the Home of Handball app (available from iOS or Android).