Pressure on Hungary as main round begins
The Women's EHF EURO 2022 main round begins in Ljubljana, with group I first up as four teams take the court on Thursday.
EURO co-hosts Slovenia will open the stage against EHF EURO 2020 bronze medallists Croatia, before Hungary meet 2021 World Championship bronze medallists Denmark. In a close group that sees four of the six teams on two points, Hungary are already under pressure, as they will have a very slim chance of reaching the semi-finals if they are defeated on Thursday.
GROUP I
Thursday 10 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
- both teams enter their main round opener with two points, but Slovenia collected four in the preliminary round and Croatia three
- after the first day of round 3 games to conclude the preliminary round, Slovenia captain Ana Gros is the second top scorer of the EURO, with 18 goals — one behind Sweden’s Nathalie Hagman
- Croatia goalkeeper Tea Pijevic is the fifth-ranked goalkeeper at the EURO in terms of saves made, with a total of 23 at an average rate of 37 per cent
- Croatia are 22 goals shy of 1,400 goals overall at the EHF EURO, with a tally of 1,378 in 57 games at the event
- Croatia and Slovenia have faced each other five times in official matches, but only once at a final tournament — at the EHF EURO 2004, when Croatia won by one goal. The last mutual clash was in the qualification play-offs for the 2017 World Championship
Thursday 10 November, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
- Hungary face the toughest journey in group I, starting the main round with zero points
- Denmark are one of four teams in group I with two points to start the main round, and sit in third position based on goal difference against their fellow two-point teams
- Denmark wing Emma Friis is the joint third top scorer overall, with 17 goals so far at the EURO, while Sandra Toft is among the top goalkeepers, with 25 saves
- Hungary backs Katrin Klujber and Csenge Kuczora have recorded the second fastest shot of the EHF EURO 2022 — 114 km/h — alongside five others, all of whom play in group I
- Hungary have never beaten Denmark at the EHF EURO and the historical balance stands in favour of Denmark — 11 victories to Hungary’s five, and two draws
