Live blog: Iceland lead Ukraine; Serbia press Czechia
Round 2 of the Women's EHF EURO 2024 continues on Sunday, starting at 15:30 CET in Basel before concluding in Debrecen and Innsbruck. Iceland and the Faroe Islands both have a chance at winning their first games ever at a final tournament, but a loss for either of them would see their hopes of going any further dashed.
15:22
The teams are being introduced. This is Katarina Jezic's 25th EHF EURO game, putting her joint third in the all-time list for Croatia. It's the second-ever EHF EURO match for the Faroese!
15:00
There's 30 minutes until today's first game throws off in Basel. Can the Faroe Islands shock the Queens of Shock themselves, and take a point against Croatia?
Don't forget to make your match predictions on the Home of Handball app!
14:25
The Netherlands vs Germany, at 18:00 CET in Innsbruck, should be one of the best games of the day. The two teams' goalkeepers think so at least!
It is the most fun game, but also the hardest game. I know them, they know me. But it is still fun, as you play against many friends, you try to get the best out of it. In our last test match against Germany in October, we had problems in attack, we have to learn from those mistakes and do it better than in this match.
It will be a game of fight. It will probably end up with one, two, three goals difference, I think, for us. These are games why you are here. You want to win such games, as only such games bring us as a team further. Now it's just about delivering, being confident and winning the game. Our key point is, of course, defence and goalkeeper performance. That will be crucial in the game. If we create a great defence with good goalkeepers, then we can win.
14:10
Today’s Stat of the Day focuses on the game between Montenegro and Romania, the first-round victors in group B. Montenegro started the tournament with a good deal of luck, as they kept possession of the ball after 25 per cent of their missed shots. No other team achieved a higher percentage – although their round 2 opponents, Romania, rank third with 21.2 per cent.
13:50
Our second feature today is a great interview with young Swiss star Mia Emmenegger by EHF journalist Danijela Vekić. Still only 19, Emmenegger is the joint all-time top scorer for Switzerland at the Women’s EHF EURO, with 20 goals in four games played this year and in 2022. The Vipers Kristiansand right wing hopes that Switzerland’s first win at the final tournament, against the Faroe Islands in round 1, will be a spark to build handball in the country – and judging by the pictures from the autograph event the Swiss team held the other day, children are keen to follow the team.
