Norway face Netherlands in unbeaten showdown in Vienna

First, co-hosts Switzerland take on Slovenia in a must-win game for both teams eager to keep their tournament hopes alive. Later, Denmark will try to get back on the winning track against Germany, while the day will conclude with another heavyweight clash as two unbeaten teams, Norway and the Netherlands, will fight for first spot in the group.

GROUP II

Switzerland vs Slovenia
Saturday 7 December, 15:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• the two youngest teams in main round group II are entering the clash after their defeats against Germany and the Netherlands, respectively
• Slovenia's team captain Tjaša Stanko shares the current competition's top scorer title with Sweden's Nathalie Hagman after they both scored 31 goals in four matches; Swiss line player Tabea Schmid follows with 30 goals
• Stanko also leads the top assists list with 24, Switzerland left back Daphné Gautschi is at 18
• both teams have almost equally successful attacks in the competition with Switzerland netting only 0, 25 goals more on average
• Switzerland never beat Slovenia in their previous meetings, but this will be the first time they are clash at the European championship

Denmark vs Germany
Saturday 7 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Germany opened the main round in Vienna with a straightforward 36:27 win against Switzerland, while Denmark had a tough fight against Norway and suffered their first defeat, 24:27
• both teams are among the top five most efficient attacks, scoring 126 and 118 goals in four games, with 68.1 and 65.9 per cent efficiency
• the last time these two teams met at the European championship was 20 years ago when Denmark won in the preliminary round 27:24; three other encounters include the 1996 semi-finals and 1994 finals both won by Denmark
• Denmark have brought in right back Mette Tranborg to bolster their defence, with Stine Eiberg to be moved out of the regular match-day squad as a result
• this game will be Germany’s 100th EHF EURO match: they have participated in every edition of the final tournament, notching up 52 wins, five draws and 42 losses so far; German captain and left back Emily Bölk is five goals shy of her 100th EHF EURO goal
• the only time Germany managed to beat Denmark at the European championship was in the placement matches in 2000 (22:21); their most recent encounter at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ended in a narrow Danish win (28:27)

Netherlands vs Norway
Saturday 7 December, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• both teams are still unbeaten at the Women's EHF EURO 2024 – Norway won against Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia in the preliminary round, and started the main round with a 27:24 win against Denmark
• the Netherlands beat Germany, Iceland and Ukraine, and threw off in Vienna with a win against Slovenia
• Norway are currently the leading attack of the tournament, netting 136 goals in four games — or 34 goals per game on average, the Netherlands follows with 125 goals or 31.25 goals on average
• Norway's Henny Reistad netted 19 times but also added 20 assists, making her second-best in the competition; Zoë Sprengers leads the Netherlands' top scorer list with 22 goals
• goalkeepers Silje Solberg-Østhassel and Yara Ten Holte are the teams' main driving force with both around 40 per cent save efficiencies
• the teams met four times at the EHF EURO with Norway winning every time, including in the 2016 finals. Seven players from that game are at the EHF EURO 2024: Sanna Solberg-Isaksen, Silje Solberg-Østhassel, Camilla Herrem and Stine Skogrand (Norway), and Angela Malestein, Lois Abbingh and Laura van der Heijden (Netherlands)

Photos © EHF/kolektiff