Six young players standing out at the EHF EURO 2024

Here, we look at six notable young players so far, all of whom are part of the EHF’s Respect Your Talent programme, which aims to provide holistic assistance for handball athletes through they early stage of their careers. Note that this is not a shortlist for the award — these are players who may be in the running come the opening of the All-star Team vote, but we may still see others come to the fore, as the race for the title is far from over, with the main round only just begun. 

Angela Stoica — Romania

Fourth top scorer for her side, one of the fastest shooters at the EHF EURO 2024 and only 21 years old — Stoica is performing well as she steps into the enormous shoes left by Cristina Neagu on the Romanian left back position. Stoica has netted 11 goals in 85 minutes played, and was instrumental in Romania reaching the main round with five goals against Serbia in the pivotal preliminary round 3 game. Those five goals made her the joint-top scorer for Romania in the crunch match.

Mia Emmenegger — Switzerland

No surprises here. Mia Emmenegger has long been established as a bright star for Switzerland, despite being just 19 years old. Emmenegger was expected to play an important role for EHF EURO 2024 co-hosts Switzerland, and has done so, helping the side progress from the preliminary round at a major tournament for the first time in history. She is Switzerland’s third top scorer, with 18 goals, and has clocked the most playing time of the EURO, with 235 minutes — hardly any time off court in the side’s four games. 

Era Baumann — Switzerland

Emmenegger’s counterparts on the other side of the court are also youngsters to watch: 17-year-old Era Baumann and 20-year-old Alessia Riner. After the leading scoring trio of Tabea Schmid, Daphné Gautschi and Mia Emmenegger, who are the only Swiss players with double-digit goal tallies, Baumann is joint-next in line. In 120 minutes on court, Baumann has netted nine goals. She was particularly important in Switzerland’s preliminary round 3 victory over Croatia, when they secured progression to the main round for the first time, netting six goals to be the joint-top scorer of the game.

Petra Simon — Hungary

Another player fully expected to stand out at the EHF EURO 2024, Simon has delivered on that, withstanding the extra pressure that can come from playing a home event. The Hungary centre back is her team’s fifth top scorer, with 12 goals, has a high scoring efficiency of 80 per cent and has made six assists. Simon serves mainly as an attacking specialist for Hungary, and has clocked 97 minutes so far.

Romee Maarschalkerweerd — Netherlands

With some reshuffling of the Netherlands squad for this EURO, including the absence of long-time anchor of the defence Kelly Dulfer, the space is there for others to step up. Especially in defence, 20-year-old Maarschalkerweerd had a particular starring role for the Netherlands in their key preliminary round match against Germany, which decided top spot in group F. Overall, the line player counts 76 minutes on court across the four games played so far, and 45 of them were in the game against Germany, when she recorded two blocked shots. In attack, she has scored two goals.

Nina Engel — Germany

With Viola Leuchter temporarily sidelined due to illness, Nina Engel has stepped up to a bigger role on the right back, and delivered spectacularly. The 21-year-old is Germany’s second top scorer, with 18 goals. She has been on court for the majority of Germany’s four games, and had a particularly strong performance against Iceland in the preliminary round, when she netted seven goals to contribute to the side securing progression to the main round.

Photos © EHF/kolektiff