Preliminary round ends with crunch matches

In group B everything is open before the final round in Debrecen. All four teams still have a chance of proceeding to the main round, although Montenegro, with four points, are in the most comfortable position and only need a draw against Czechia.

The favourites Denmark open the last day of group D in Basel against the Faroe Islands, but the final game will bring a thrilling clash between Croatia and co-hosts Switzerland in what could be a crucial match for progressing to the main round.

In group F in Innsbruck, the last match will also decide which team will join the Netherlands in the main round in Vienna: Iceland and Germany are equal on two points and a draw would see Germany progress.

GROUP B

Serbia vs Romania
Tuesday 3 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Serbia have zero points after the defeats against Montenegro (18:24) and Czechia (24:27), but if they win by six goals or more and Montenegro beat Czechia, they would proceed to the main round
• Romania have two points after their opening 29:28 win against Czechia; assuming they pick up at least a point in this game, their progression to the main round still depends on the outcome of the second match
• Serbia have not won at the EHF EURO final tournament since beating the Netherlands in the first game at the EHF EURO 2020
• Romania won four of six previous matches with Serbia, including the last one, 37:28 at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark
• the teams’ current top scorers are Andjela Janjusevic with 14 goals for Serbia and the Romanian duo Gabriela Ostase and Bianca Bazaliu with 12 goals each

Czechia vs Montenegro
Tuesday 3 December, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• Montenegro are on top of the group after two wins and will definitely go through to the main round with at least a draw against Czechia; a loss for Romania would see them qualified before this game
• if the Czechs win, they are in the main round, but could also progress with a draw or defeat depending on the result of Serbia vs Romania
• Czechia ended a 12-match losing streak at the EHF EURO with a 27:24 victory over Serbia with goalkeeper Sabrina Novotná (14 saves) and right back Charlotte Cholevová (eight goals) as their match winners; with 19 goals, Cholevová was the overall top scorer after the second round
• this is the tenth meeting between the two sides; Montenegro have won seven matches including the 7/8 placement match at the 2023 World Championship in Herning (28:24)
• goalkeeper Marina Rajcic will play her 43th EHF EURO match and will pass Jovanka Radicevic as Montenegrin player with the highest number of European championship matches
• after her eight goals against Serbia, Markéta Jerábková is Czechia’s all-time second-best EHF EURO scorer with 62 strikes, only topped by Petra Cumplova (80)

GROUP D

Faroe Islands vs Denmark
Tuesday 3 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• 10 Faroese national team players play for clubs in Denmark
• the Faroe Islands earned a historic first point at a major competition after drawing 17:17 with Croatia, while Denmark secured their main round berth after beating Switzerland
• goalkeepers Annika Frídheim Petersen (Faroes) and Anna Kristensen (Denmark) are both among the top four goalkeepers of the competition, with 26 and 24 saves respectively
• the Faroe Islands have the third-best defence of the competition, conceding only 45 goals in two games – only Montenegro and France conceded fewer – while Denmark are the second-best attack, scoring 69 times
• this will be only the third official match between the two. Denmark won twice in qualification for the EHF EURO 2022

Croatia vs Switzerland
Tuesday 3 December, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• Switzerland come into the match following their 20:35 defeat against Denmark, while Croatia drew with the Faroe Islands
• if Croatia fail to make the main round it would be the first time since 2018; Switzerland did not progress in their debut EHF EURO two years ago and are looking for their first main round appearance
• Switzerland are among the top 10 attacks of the competition, Croatia scored only 21.5 goals per game on average
• Swiss line player Tabea Schmid is jointly the competition's third-best scorer with 15 goals scored in two games; Katarina Jezic and Katarina Pavlovic lead the Croatian statistics with nine goals each
• Switzerland and Croatia met five times so far, but only once at the EHF EURO — 26:26 in round 3 of the preliminary round in 2020

GROUP F

Ukraine vs Netherlands
Tuesday 3 December, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• beating Iceland (27:25) and Germany (29:22) provided the Netherlands with a main round ticket for the seventh consecutive time, and confirmed them as group winners
• against Germany, goalkeeper Yara ten Holte was the match winner, turning a 4:10 deficit into a clear victory with 16 saves; Dione Housherr was top scorer with seven goals
• Ukraine still wait for their first win at the EHF EURO 2024 after losing 17:30 to Germany and 24:27 to Iceland, despite a good second-half comeback against Iceland
• Ukraine won their first five official matches against the Netherlands, including at the EHF EURO 1998 and 2002, but the Dutch comfortably won the last two meetings, 25:13 at the EHF EURO 2010 and 40:21 at the 2023 World Championship
• Dutch team captain Lois Abbingh is two goals shy of her 100th EHF EURO goal

Iceland vs Germany
Tuesday 3 December, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• both teams enter the match with two points, but Germany have the better goal difference and would progress with a draw. In their 15 previous EHF EURO participations so far, Germany missed the main round only in 2010
• Iceland made history on Sunday night, as their 27:24 win against Ukraine was their first-ever victory at an EHF EURO final tournament in three participations and after seven defeats in a row
• Germany gave away a 10:4 lead on Sunday against the Netherlands due to a weak attacking performance; they won their opener against Ukraine 30:17
• after round 2, Iceland’s Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir is the joint third-best goalkeeper in the tournament with 26 saves (38.8 per cent efficiency) and left wing Perla Albertsdóttir is jointly the competition’s third-best scorer with 15 goals in total
• the two teams have only met three times before, with Germany winning both qualifiers for the EHF EURO 2016, but Iceland eliminated Germany with a 26:20 preliminary round victory at the 2011 World Championship
• Germany’s Xenia Smits will make her 25th EHF EURO appearance and is only two goals shy from her 50th EHF EURO goal

Photos © EHF/kolektiff