Croatia and Switzerland duel for main round spot
The last main round ticket from Women’s EHF EURO 2022 group A will be decided in the first match on Tuesday when Croatia take on Switzerland. In the later match, already qualified Norway and Hungary play for valuable points to take into the main round.
GROUP A
Croatia vs Switzerland
Tuesday 8 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- Croatia are strong favourites to grab the ticket to the main round, as even a defeat against Switzerland might see them go through
- EHF EURO debutants Switzerland are still waiting for their first points – but they can still make the main round with a big win over Croatia
- Croatia team captain Katarina Jezic heads into her 20th EHF EURO game; she first played at the tournament in 2012
- Swiss right wing Mia Emmenegger, 17, is her team’s top scorer after two matches with 10 goals; Valentina Blazevic leads for Croatia with 12 goals
- Croatia won all four previous matches they played against Switzerland, most recently in an EHF EURO 2018 Qualifier in May 2018, when they won 33:16
- Swiss coach Martin Albertsen pointed out their advantage is playing fast: Mia Emmenegger and Kerstin Kunding have top running distances, while Dimitra Hess sprinted at 28.15 km/h, the third-fastest figure so far
Switzerland coach Martin Albertsen: “We have to be careful with their defence and goalkeeper, we saw Tea Pijevic was amazing against Hungary. Our advantage is we can run and make them run with us.”
Croatia left back Tena Petika: “We have to play concentrated and on a high level, just like against Hungary. Crucial is to have a strong defence to help our goalkeepers and then the attack score what they need to score.”
Norway vs Hungary
Sunday 8 November, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
- both teams have already secured a main round spot, so this match decides how many points each team takes with them to the next phase
- Norway can continue their winning streak at the EHF EURO to 15 matches since 2018; a win would be their 90th from 109 matches in the competition
- goalkeeping legend Katrine Lunde is set to appear in her 55th EHF EURO match and become the outside record holder for most EHF EURO matches played
- after three playing days, Norway have scored the most goals: 70; Hungary have netted 51 times
- since their first encounter in 1994, Norway and Hungary have met 12 times at the tournament, with Hungary winning just one of them – back in 2014 (29:25)
Norway coach Thorir Hergeirsson: “We have respect for Hungary. They have good players despite not having a good day against Croatia. I believe they can play much better and we will prepare well for that match.”
Hungary coach Vlagyimir Golovin: “It is really hard to concentrate on the next match after a defeat like this (one against Croatia). We will do our best to be a better opponent to Norway. I am sure my players know that they can play better than what they have shown against Croatia.”
