Another opportunity for a future generation to showcase their talent offers the M18 European Championship 2022 in Podgorica. Divided over four groups, 16 teams start their hunt for the trophy this week.
The field is led by Germany, who have won this title a record three times in the last seven editions. France (twice, in 2014 and 2016) and Sweden (2018) are the only other nations to win M18 EHF EURO gold over the past 10 years.
Last year, Germany defeated Croatia in the final, when the event was carried out as an M19 championship following its postponement in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, Germany headline group A, where they meet Hungary in the tournament opener on Thursday 4 August at 13:45 CEST, and Poland and Iceland being the other opponents; Croatia face Italy, hosts Montenegro, and Portugal in group B.
In group C, Nordic nations Denmark and Norway are set to take on Balkan states Slovenia and Serbia. And group D includes the three former champions Spain, Sweden, and France, alongside Faroe Islands.
The preliminary round runs from Thursday through Sunday, with the two best-ranked teams from all four groups advancing to the main round on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 August.
The top two from both main round groups will then meet in the semi-finals on Friday 12 August, followed by the medal matches on Sunday 14 August.
With the exception of already-qualified hosts Croatia, the top 11 teams at the end of the M18 EHF EURO will qualify directly for the M19 World Championship 2023. At the other end of the scale, the teams ranked 14 to 16 at the M18 EHF EURO will be relegated to the M20 EHF Championships 2024.
All matches of the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2022 will be streamed live on EHFTV.
photo © 2021 Anze Malovrh | kolektiff
