Seven Respect Your Talent alumni who could shine at the EHF EURO 2024

Francisco Costa (Portugal)

The Portugal right back will not turn 19 years old until the end of the EHF EURO 2024, but he has been already shining for both club and country over the last years. Snapped up by Sporting CP in 2021, Costa scored 61 goals in his first season in the EHF European League Men, 97 in his second one and has 32 goals under his belt after six matches in this season of the second-tier European competition.

In the summer of 2022 at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, Costa lifted Portugal to the silver medal after an astonishing performance, where he was the top goal scorer with 58 goals, as well as being named All-Star right back after he had four matches finishing in double digits.

Costa made his debut for the senior national team in 2022, and this will be his second major international competition after featuring for Portugal at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. However, Costa will be aiming high to write his name under another Portugal good performance at his first-ever EHF EURO.

Miloš Kos (Serbia)

The 21-year-old left back has been shining for Serbia’s younger age category teams in the past years, including being one of the key players in the squad which took the bronze medal at the M20 EHF EURO 2022. In fact, the towering left back, which stands at 1.92m tall, was the fourth-best scorer of the competition with 44 goals.

Kos, who is now 21 years old, has had a breakthrough year in his second season in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, where he features for HC Zagreb. In the previous season, where he was also loaned to HC Izvidac, Kos scored one goal; this time around, he has been unstoppable at times for Zagreb.

Only experienced left wing Timur Dibirov and right back Luka Klarica have scored more goals for Zagreb in this season than Kos, who has 35 goals under his name, proving to be a future household name for Serbian handball. Now Kos will get ready to make his debut at the EHF EURO for Serbia in the senior category, after he was the third top scorer at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship with 50 goals, helping Serbia to a fourth-place finish.

Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu (Faroe Islands)

At only 20 years old, Ellefsen á Skipagøtu was named MVP of the Swedish league. One year later, he was the top scorer of the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and completed a move to THW Kiel, one of the giants of European handball, as his talent was impossible to pass up.

Now, Ellefsen á Skipagøtu will lead the Faroe Islands in a historic competition: Their maiden appearance at the EHF EURO, after a superb performance in the Qualifiers, where they secured wins against Romania and Ukraine on their home court.

The centre back has scored 33 goals in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, as that experience will likely propel him to a starring role in Germany this season after having already written history for the Faroe Islands in the younger age categories. The ceiling is high for Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, who is surely one of the top players to watch at EHF EURO 2024.

Dominik Kuzmanović (Croatia)

Goalkeepers usually come of age later in their careers, but the path of the ascension for Kuzmanović has been nothing short of extraordinary. Despite being only 21 years old, the Croatian shot-stopper has already seen some excellent performances in his career, including at club level for RK Nexe.

Last season in the EHF European League Men, Kuzmanović was eighth in the number of saves, stopping 112 shots for a 31.3% saving efficiency. This season, he has taken it up a notch, being fourth in the number of saves with 60 blocked shots for a 32.7% saving efficiency.

Croatia have a list of top goalkeepers in their history, and Kuzmanović might well be one of the best in history if he continues his progress, having already dominated the position at the younger age categories for his national team.

David Späth (Germany)

Standing at 1.97m tall, Späth can be an immovable wall when he gets into the groove, as proven time and time again. When Germany won the M19 EHF EURO 2021, the goalkeeper was a crucial part of their success, being nominated to the All-star Team of the competition.

Two years later, at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, Späth delivered some more magic, being named into the All-star Team yet again after helping Germany seal the title, with a 35% saving efficiency.

Späth has a 30.4% saving efficiency in the Bundesliga for his club, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, and will make an excellent pair with the more experienced Andreas Wolff for Germany, who are coming in with huge expectations for the EHF EURO 2024.

Zoran Ilic (Hungary)

After being loaned to Orlen Wisla Plock in the 2020/21 season, Ilic came back to his parent club, Telekom Veszprém HC, where he had his best season of yet in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, scoring 22 goals for the Hungarian side at only 22 years old.

A tall and commanding right back, Ilic was named the Hungarian Youth Male Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022 and was also the All-star right back at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, with some stellar performances in the team which finished in second place behind Germany.

Having made his debut for the senior team in 2020, Ilic will likely feature for Hungary at the EHF EURO for the first time, failing to make the cut for the team in 2022 when Hungary were co-hosts.

Óli Mittún (Faroe Islands)

Mittún is the latest fantastic prospect produced by the Faroe Islands and will make his debut at the EHF EURO at only 18 years of age, after shining in the younger age categories for the Faroe Islands.

With 80 goals scored at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, Mittún was not only the top goal scorer, but also the MVP of the competition. One year later, at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, the centre back scored 87 goals and was the top goal scorer and the All-star centre back.

Mittún has extended his fantastic performances in the EHF European League Men this season, scoring 29 goals for IK Sävehof and being a key cog for the Swedish side which made the main round, providing an excellent platform for Mittún, who is following in the footsteps of his cousin, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu.