First-round winners meet for key games

EHF / Björn Pazen & Danijela Vekić

30 November 2024, 11:00

After round 1 of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, six teams in groups B, D and F have two points and are now preparing to play what could be the most important games in the preliminary round – while the other six want to claim their first victories and stay in the running for progression.

In group B in Debrecen, either Montenegro or Romania can make a huge step towards the main round, while the winner of the match between Serbia and Czechia will end a series of defeats.

Round 2 of group D will start with two teams fighting for their first wins in Basel as Croatia take on the Faroe Islands. The exciting day in St. Jakobshalle will end with a clash between the two top teams, as Switzerland look to ride on their home support against 2022 silver medallists Denmark.

Group F in Innsbruck starts with a classic duel between neighbours Germany and the Netherlands, both wanting to take pole position in the group, while Iceland hope for their first ever point or win at EHF EURO tournaments against Ukraine.

GROUP B

Montenegro vs Romania
Sunday 1 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

both sides started their EHF EURO 2024 campaigns with victories: Romania turned the match against Czechia around in crunch time (29:28), while Montenegro took a clear 24:18 victory against Serbia
the teams face each other for the ninth time in official matches: Montenegro won four including the last duel at the EHF EURO 2022 (35:34); Romania took three victories; and one match ended in a draw
Durdina Jaukovic scored 11 times in the perfect EHF EURO debut of new Montenegrin head coach Susana Lazovic, ending round 1 as the top goal-scorer in the competition
Romanian left back Bianca Bazaliu stood out in her team’s first game, scoring nine goals, including the second-fastest shot of the tournament so far at 106.09 km/h
goalkeeper Marina Rajcic will play her 42nd EHF EURO match and level Jovanka Radicevic as Montenegrin player with the highest number of matches

Serbia vs Czechia
Sunday 1 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

as both sides started with defeats, the loser of this match will be out of the race for the main round
despite 20 saves by goalkeeper Sabrina Novotná and 11 goals from Charlotte Cholevová, Czechia let victory slip away in their opener against Romania (28:29) after leading for 56 minutes
Serbia did not lead once in the Balkan duel against Montenegro, losing 18:24. Their best scorer was Jovana Jovovic with seven goals; only Ukraine (17) scored fewer goals than Serbia in their opener
for Serbia it was their fourth straight defeat at EHF EURO tournaments, while Czechia lost their seventh consecutive game at final tournaments
this is the fourth official match between the two sides; Serbia won twice, while the last match – a qualifier for the EHF EURO 2016 – ended in a draw

GROUP F

Netherlands vs Germany
Sunday 1 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

the Netherlands took a close 27:25 win in their opener against Iceland, while Germany had an easy cruise, beating Ukraine 30:17 for their 50th EHF EURO victory
this is the eighth EHF EURO meeting between the two sides, with four wins for Germany and three for the Netherlands; the Dutch also won the 5/6 placement match at the 2023 World Championship and Germany won a test match in October 27:23
in total, including all test matches, it is the 80th meeting between the two: Germany have won 57 games, the Netherlands 18, and four matches ended in a draw
Dutch team captain Lois Abbingh will play her 30th EHF EURO match and is only three goals shy of her 100th EHF EURO goal, while German team captain Alina Grijseels will play her 100th international
two players of the current Dutch squad play for German clubs: Isa Ternede (Buxtehude) and Sarah Dekker (Bensheim/Auerbach); 10 more players have played for German clubs
Dutch right wing Angela Malestein and German left back Emily Bölk currently play together for Hungarian side FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

Iceland vs Ukraine
Sunday 1 December, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

both sides lost their openers, which means the loser of this match is already out of the race for the main round
Iceland were close to taking their very first point in their third EHF EURO participation after 2010 and 2012, but finally conceded their seventh defeat in the same number of matches against the Netherlands (25:27)
Ukraine lost the tenth consecutive EHF EURO match in their comeback after a 10-year absence; their last win dates back to 2010, when they beat Germany
with 15 saves against the Netherlands, Icelander Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir was the third-best goalkeeper of all matches in round 1
Iceland and Ukraine have not met since 2011/12, when Iceland won the first duel in the World Championship playoffs and then tied to qualify for the tournament in Brazil; in the EHF EURO 2012 qualifiers, Ukraine won twice (21:20 and 22:20)